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Chad Bentz: Not your ordinary big league debut
MIAMI -- In most ways, Chad Bentz was like any other kid.
He was self-conscious. He didn't like being ridiculed. He nearly let peer pressure lead him into making a bad decision.
Like his idol Jim Abbott, Chad Bentz switches his glove between hands after he throws a pitch. (Getty Images)
"I played baseball when I was younger, and got made fun of," the Montreal Expos left-handed reliever said. "I told my parents I really didn't like playing. I didn't like going there because all they did was make fun of me. So I didn't play anymore.
"Then I saw Jim Abbott. He gave me the will to at least try playing again."
In Abbott, the former major-league pitcher born with a deformed right hand, Bentz found somebody else with a similar birth defect.
And now, the two lefties have something else in common. Bentz, who pitched in Double-A last season, made his big-league debut with two-thirds of an inning in Montreal's 3-2 victory over Florida on Wednesday night.
The Expos led 3-1 the seventh when manager Frank Robinson walked to mound and signaled for Bentz to replace right-hander Luis Ayala.
"He said, 'There's nobody on. One out. Get after them,'" Bentz recalled. "I said, 'Yes sir.'"
Bentz retired pinch-hitter Abraham Nunez on a grounder, gave up a single to Juan Pierre, then got Luis Castillo to hit into an inning-ending ground out.
"My legs weren't shaking, I wasn't numb like everybody was saying," said Bentz, a 23-year-old who grew up in Seward, Alaska, where he mostly played indoors because of the climate.
"I got up twice on the bullpen (during Tuesday's game). I was pretty nervous then, but tonight I was pretty calm and confident."
Others noticed that.
"He was very composed, like he had been around for 20 years," Robinson said. "He's a cool operator, a customer.
"We don't treat him any differently and that's the way he wants it. That's the way it should be."
Bentz's teammates agreed.
"People read too much into it," said Carl Everett, who hit a two-run homer in the first off Marlins starter Brad Penny. "He wants to be known as a ballplayer. He doesn't want to be known as a pitcher with one hand. So it wouldn't be right for me to sit here and talk about his one hand."
Like Abbott, whom Bentz met as a high school senior, the reliever pitches and catches with his left hand, switching his glove between hands.
"On the field, like when I went out tonight, I'm no different than any other left-hander trying to get guys out. I'm no different; I'm nothing special," he said. "Off the field, yeah, I might be a little different."
Bentz was eager to call his wife, Christie, who's expecting a "healthy" baby in August. After spending the spring and Tuesday's opener in Florida, she returned to her home in Vermont earlier Wednesday.
If not for Abbott, would Bentz be calling someone, anyone, to share the news of his major-league debut?
"I don't know, that's a good question," said Bentz, who clearly understands he's a role model now.
"Off the field, I hope I am an inspiration. I hope I can touch kids, touch people. I saw Abbott and I know how he made me feel. If I can do that for anybody else, no matter what, that makes me feel great."
Chad Bentz: Not your ordinary big league debut
MIAMI -- In most ways, Chad Bentz was like any other kid.
He was self-conscious. He didn't like being ridiculed. He nearly let peer pressure lead him into making a bad decision.
Like his idol Jim Abbott, Chad Bentz switches his glove between hands after he throws a pitch. (Getty Images)
"I played baseball when I was younger, and got made fun of," the Montreal Expos left-handed reliever said. "I told my parents I really didn't like playing. I didn't like going there because all they did was make fun of me. So I didn't play anymore.
"Then I saw Jim Abbott. He gave me the will to at least try playing again."
In Abbott, the former major-league pitcher born with a deformed right hand, Bentz found somebody else with a similar birth defect.
And now, the two lefties have something else in common. Bentz, who pitched in Double-A last season, made his big-league debut with two-thirds of an inning in Montreal's 3-2 victory over Florida on Wednesday night.
The Expos led 3-1 the seventh when manager Frank Robinson walked to mound and signaled for Bentz to replace right-hander Luis Ayala.
"He said, 'There's nobody on. One out. Get after them,'" Bentz recalled. "I said, 'Yes sir.'"
Bentz retired pinch-hitter Abraham Nunez on a grounder, gave up a single to Juan Pierre, then got Luis Castillo to hit into an inning-ending ground out.
"My legs weren't shaking, I wasn't numb like everybody was saying," said Bentz, a 23-year-old who grew up in Seward, Alaska, where he mostly played indoors because of the climate.
"I got up twice on the bullpen (during Tuesday's game). I was pretty nervous then, but tonight I was pretty calm and confident."
Others noticed that.
"He was very composed, like he had been around for 20 years," Robinson said. "He's a cool operator, a customer.
"We don't treat him any differently and that's the way he wants it. That's the way it should be."
Bentz's teammates agreed.
"People read too much into it," said Carl Everett, who hit a two-run homer in the first off Marlins starter Brad Penny. "He wants to be known as a ballplayer. He doesn't want to be known as a pitcher with one hand. So it wouldn't be right for me to sit here and talk about his one hand."
Like Abbott, whom Bentz met as a high school senior, the reliever pitches and catches with his left hand, switching his glove between hands.
"On the field, like when I went out tonight, I'm no different than any other left-hander trying to get guys out. I'm no different; I'm nothing special," he said. "Off the field, yeah, I might be a little different."
Bentz was eager to call his wife, Christie, who's expecting a "healthy" baby in August. After spending the spring and Tuesday's opener in Florida, she returned to her home in Vermont earlier Wednesday.
If not for Abbott, would Bentz be calling someone, anyone, to share the news of his major-league debut?
"I don't know, that's a good question," said Bentz, who clearly understands he's a role model now.
"Off the field, I hope I am an inspiration. I hope I can touch kids, touch people. I saw Abbott and I know how he made me feel. If I can do that for anybody else, no matter what, that makes me feel great."
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.
--Albert Einstein
--Albert Einstein
