Only Bench Jockeys Get Best of Benner

All around the South Coast League the sentiment is the same. “Brian Benner? Oh, he’s just outstanding,” league coaches say. “Terrific hitter. Great bat. Tremendous.”

Benner, senior outfielder at Capistrano Valley, hears none of it. That’s probably because all the praise is drowned out by his teammates’ good natured heckling. Sometimes, he worries that he can’t do anything to please the Cougar bench jockeys.

“I’ll hit a home run and they’ll get on me for just trotting around the bases like it happens all the time,” said Benner, who hit five homers last season. “Other times, they’ll get on me for getting too excited, for pumping my fist in the air. I can’t win, I guess.”

If this is the extent of Benner’s troubles, then he’s in excellent shape this baseball season. He seems to be handling everything else well enough.

Capistrano Valley Coach Bob Zamora moved Benner from third base to left field this season in hopes of taking some of the defensive pressure off his slugger.

In addition to his five homers, Benner hit .465, one of the top averages in Orange County last season, and knocked in 26 runs.

This season’s goal is identical to last season’s: hit .400.

But all he’s heard from his friends is: “You can’t do that again, man. You’re gonna choke this year.”

Benner tries to laugh it off, but he’s finding pressure--even self-imposed pressure--can be tough to handle sometimes.

“I noticed before our scrimmage against Edison (last week) that I was really nervous before the game,” he said.

He became more comfortable as the scrimmage wore on, but already he’s noticed a startling difference between the start of last season and this one.

At this time a year ago, Benner was considered an unknown. Sure, he had batted .356 on the junior varsity as a sophomore, but who knew how he would respond on the varsity? In early March, 1992, the difference between potential accomplishment and real accomplishment was months away.

Now, he’s a marked man among league pitchers and coaches. They know him as the guy who has already signed to play at Cal State Long Beach but might be tempted by the big bucks of the June baseball draft.

Benner says he’s looking forward to becoming a 49er, but Zamora, who pondered the money major league teams are doling out, said, “It’s all a big poker game. It comes down to the point where if somebody comes up with the right amount of money, you’re going to sign.”

“At the school he’s chosen, he’s going to get better. It’s a win-win situation for him. Somebody’s going to get a good baseball player.”

Although he’s only just turned 17, and is younger than many of his teammates who are juniors, Benner has developed rather quickly. He has tremendous upper body strength, which has had a great effect on his batting skills, according to Zamora.

He also has a strong arm and good foot speed, which is part of the reason Zamora moved him to the outfield this season. However, Benner struggled at times at third base with what Zamora called “hard hands.”

Translation?

“He made quite a few errors, and we were worried that it was carrying over to his batting. Sometimes, it’s hard to leave an error behind you.”

The position change doesn’t bother Benner, who knows his forte has always been hitting and will probably always be hitting.

That said, he maintains that last season’s success at the plate came as something of a shock.

“All I wanted to do was hit .400,” Benner said. “Then I got hot at the end of the season. I’m not looking to do better than that. I’m not getting greedy here. If I hit .430 or something, I won’t be disappointed at all.

“Some people expect be to do better this season, but more people seem to think I’ll do worse. I think that’s why I’m so nervous this year.’

More Orange County sports, C14-17.