Let's get the story on Benintendi's headband

October 11th, 2019

At 25 years old, already is preparing this offseason for his fourth full year in the Major Leagues. He didn’t take long to establish himself in Boston and help the team win a World Series championship last season. Find out more about Benintendi away from the game.

Let’s talk about the headband. When and why did it start?
When I used to have long hair, I wore a headband every day. I wear this one now -- it’s an American flag. My girlfriend got me this one, so I wear it. … I have this one and I have a few other Red Sox ones, but this is the one I wear. I also wear the matching shorts, usually.

Who are your top three musical artists in your playlist?
Pretty much all I listen to is country. Top three I’m probably listening to right now is Luke Combs, Jason Aldean and Eric Church. There are others, too, like Chase Rice. And I like LoCash. That’s just kind of my style of country. There are some country songs that sound too pop to me. But I kind of like the more country-sounding sounds, more traditional.

What does your offseason look like?
Right away, it’s kind of just relaxing and catching up with family and friends. I’ll go to Cincinnati for a little bit, and then I’ll go to St. Louis where I’ll start working out, hitting, golfing. It gets cold in St. Louis, so we play through that.

A lot of players go somewhere warm in the offseason. Why did you pick St. Louis?
This will be my fourth offseason in St. Louis. Initially, I went there to work out at P3 [training facility], and I had a few college teammates who lived there, too, so we would always hang out. Now my girlfriend’s from there. This will be my last year there because she finishes up school. I love St. Louis. It’s kind of like Cincinnati, where I’m from. Not too bad of a drive back home if you need to.

Who is the person on the team you talk to the most in the offseason?
I feel like I talk to a decent amount of people. I talk to Brock [Holt] the most, but I’ll keep in touch with Mitch [Moreland], pretty much everybody. I feel like me and Brock, ever since I came up, we’ve been close. [Our friendship] is awesome. He’s a free agent this year, so hopefully he’s back. When I got called up, he was the guy I’d ask what I need to wear and what time I’d need to be there. I feel like our personalities are similar.

What’s your favorite kind of food?
My favorite food would probably be steak. I like my set number of things, and I don’t like to stray from it. It’s basically steak, burgers -- basically all the American foods. The steak places I go to [in Boston] a lot are either Abe & Louie’s or Del Frisco’s, I like those the best. I’ll venture out and get some P.F. Chang’s.

You’ve had a lot of involvement and interaction with Red Sox fans. What is your most meaningful fan memory so far?
I’ve done some interviews with the Jimmy Fund in the concourse [at Fenway Park]. The kids that interviewed me, it’s fun to do. One girl, it was fun. It was cute to hear her ask questions and then laugh. She was asking me what some of my favorite stuff is.

If someone would have told you when you walked into Fenway Park in 2016 that you’d be here three years later, having accomplished all you’ve achieved, what would the rookie version of you have thought?
I would have been pumped, especially after last year. If you’d told me when I walked in and said, “You’ll have been in three postseasons and won a World Series in your first three full seasons,” I’d be super excited. It’s been fun so far.