WASHINGTON -- Considering Major League Baseball has been around for more than a century and a half, it can be difficult to crack any sort of statistical list that only has eight people on it.
Yet that is precisely what Carson Benge did on Friday, when he hit his 20th homer in a 7-6 loss to the Nationals to become the eighth player in MLB history to record a 20-20 season in their debut year. Benge, a National League Rookie of the Year candidate, has 20 homers, 22 stolen bases and a Mets rookie record 162 hits.
His 20th homer, which came off Andrew Alvarez in the fifth inning at Nationals Park, put Benge alongside Jackson Chourio, Anthony Volpe, Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodríguez, Marty Cordova, Ellis Burks and Mitchell Page as the only players to go 20-20 in their debut seasons. Ten others, including Mike Trout, Carlos Beltrán and Nomar Garciaparra, went 20-20 as rookies after appearing in some games the prior season.
No matter the qualifier, Benge is the only Mets rookie to go 20-20 -- period.
“I feel like anything that can be in the history books and done for the first time is something special, and I hold that close to the heart,” Benge said.
The shorter list is a fitting one for Benge to be on, considering five of the seven previous MLB debutants to go 20-20 did not win their league’s Rookie of the Year award. Benge may become the sixth given the likelihood that voters reward Sal Stewart for a 32-homer, 111-RBI rookie campaign in Cincinnati.
Stewart’s case is as old-school as they come, focusing almost entirely on run production. By comparison, Benge’s resume is more well-rounded.
In addition to his homers, his stolen bases and his record-setting hits total, Benge has been a plus defender at a more premium position than Stewart, collecting 10 outfield assists -- tied for 20th among MLB rookies this century. Entering Friday’s play, his bWAR (3.7) and fWAR (3.7) totals both ranked second among NL rookies behind JJ Wetherholt of the Cardinals, who has derived much of his own WAR value from defense.
There is, in other words, a real case for Benge to be the Rookie of the Year over Stewart, Wetherholt and even his own teammate, Nolan McLean, who has been the best NL rookie pitcher by a significant margin.
“He just did something no Mets rookie’s ever done before,” Mets manager Andy Green said. “That’s pretty special. It’s well-rounded. I think when you look at what he’s done offensively, what he’s done defensively … you put all that together and add in the bases, he’s done all of those things in my mind as well as anyone in baseball.”
“I feel like that’s a huge award, and there’s a bunch of guys in the running -- one being another guy in this clubhouse,” added Benge. “But I feel like there’s a lot of good players in there, and winning that would be amazing.”
Even if Stewart wins, it won’t diminish the excellence of Benge’s rookie season -- nor what it portends for his future. In addition to his homer on Friday, Benge reached base safely in all four of his plate appearances, with a single and two walks.
He has come a long way from March, when Benge made the Mets’ Opening Day roster but initially fell flat, holding a .416 OPS on the morning of April 23. Since that time, Benge has batted .295 with an OPS north of .800, which will play on any team, in any year. Benge called it an example of “showing what I’m made of.”
Still just 23 years old, Benge has a chance to continue showing what he’s made of next year as a sophomore. On Friday afternoon, Green talked to him about adding strength in the offseason, which could help him increase his future homer totals well beyond 20. That’s now a goal for Benge, who wants to be known for more than just a standout debut.
In the interim, though, this is who Benge is -- a rookie, and a damn good one, who just could pull off an upset for one of MLB’s most coveted awards.
“That’s not my job to decide,” Benge said. “I just go out there and play my best every single day and let other people vote for that.”