Now this here story I’m about to unfold took place back in May of 2025. I only mention it because sometimes there’s a man … I won’t say a hero, ’cause what’s a hero? But sometimes, there’s a man. And I’m talkin’ about Will Benson here. Sometimes, there’s a man, well, he’s the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that’s this dude Benson, in Cincinnati, right now.
By Thursday of last week, the Redlegs had lost nine of their previous 11 contests, including two in a row at home to the hapless Chicago White Sox. They were in fourth place in the National League Central, five games back and four games under .500. After a surge in early May that saw the club reach a high-water mark of 18-15, the season was beginning to spiral out of control. The culprit, not surprisingly, was a scuffling offense that had managed to score just 22 runs in those 11 games (if you don’t count one glorious 10-run inning against Houston).
Enter Will Benson. Over four breathless nights between a sun-splashed Thursday and a cloudy Sunday, the longtime disappointment turned into a sensation. They say baseball is a game of inches. Well, Benson just covered a mile. Maybe he is a hero after all.
Another big hero, Batman, once said, “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.”
I’m getting way ahead of myself, but I love baseball redemption arcs. Yet few arcs are this steep. After Benson’s first season in Cincinnati saw him hit .275/.365/.498 with a 128 OPS+, he entered 2024 on a high. He then proceeded to hit .187 over 128 games, posting the 13th-worst WAR in MLB alongside the league’s worst strikeout rate. Benson was mostly an afterthought this spring, and the Reds’ front office politely shelved him in Louisville to begin the campaign.
He did get one brief opportunity with the Reds in early April but went 0-4 with four strikeouts in his only game, whereupon he was promptly returned to Triple-A. You wouldn’t be blamed if you thought that was the last we were ever going to see of Will Benson.
Yet he didn’t sulk. He tinkered. Eric Davis, Cincinnati’s patron saint of graceful swings, suggested that Benson was too stiff at the plate and recommended loosening everything and holding his hands more out in front of him as a means to help make Benson’s swing more fluid. A .897 OPS with the Bats indicated that the experiments might be working, but Triple-A is full of mirages.
Then came Thursday, the beginning of four memorable games. Back in March, manager Terry Francona had told Benson, “Go play, you’ll get another chance.” On Thursday against the White Sox, with T.J. Friedl’s wrist injury the latest in a series of setbacks to Cincinnati’s outfield, that chance arrived.
First came a two-run single, and Benson followed with a fifth-inning home run as the Reds salvaged one victory in the Chicago series by a 7-1 margin. You could almost see Benson exhale. Gratitude, of all things, had elbowed its way into the box score. “I’m just grateful to be here,” Benson told Charlie Goldsmith, “and I’m not necessarily trying to do too much with what I’m given. It’s already a blessing to be considered a big leaguer. To be in this dugout and get the opportunity to play, man, what an honor. What a blessing.”
On Friday, in a scoreless game against Cleveland, Benson turned a Tanner Bibee pitch into a three-run homer deep to right field. He went 2-4. On Saturday, he followed up with a game-tying homer in the fifth inning and Cincinnati ultimately won 4-1.
By Sunday afternoon, a crowd of 27,626 showed up early, half to chase autographs and half to see whether lightning could strike a fourth time for Super Will—or at least that’s what I want to imagine. In the fourth inning, Reds starter Andrew Abbott wobbled, then escaped; in the bottom half Benson strode up, having already singled in his first at-bat. Homer, followed by another homer in the sixth inning. Suddenly Cincinnati had a sweep, a .500 record, and a brand-new National League Player of the Week.
Benson’s swing looked freer, the takes more confident. The numbers over his first week back in The Show glittered: 11 for 26, seven extra-base hits, 10 RBIs, and five homers in four games. He now has a season OPS+ of 258. And maybe it’s just my untrained eye, but those numbers don’t capture the bounce in his step, the grin under the helmet, the dugout railing suddenly crowded with teammates angling for a better view. That’s always been the best part of The Will Benson Experience. It was fun to see it in Cincinnati again.
“I have one power,” said Benson. “I never give up.” No, wait, that was also a quote from Batman. But Francona says it fits Benson too. “He’s always been a good kid. He’s as respectful as anybody you’re going to be around. He doesn’t cheat you on work. So he’s easy to root for.”
Obviously, four games is a tiny sample size, and I’m not ready to declare Benson a superstar. I am, however, ready to amend my earlier statement: I will tell you that Benson is a hero. To mangle yet another comic-book movie quote, he may not be the hero Cincinnati deserves, but he’s the one we needed. With the Reds season appearing to be on the brink of slipping away, Benson’s energy, enthusiasm, and big bat gave us something to enjoy. Something to dream about. And he helped turn the Reds season back in the right direction.
Cincinnati began a three-game series on Monday against Pittsburgh, the second-worst team in the NL, with a 7-1 rout. Benson had a double in the game, no homers. But he’ll soon lead the Redlegs home for a weekend series against the first-place Cubs with an opportunity to make some noise in the Central Division and change the narrative about a season that’s been uneven at best thus far.
In Will Benson we trust.
Chad Dotson helms Reds coverage at Cincinnati Magazine and is co-author of “The Big 50: The Men and Moments That Made the Cincinnati Reds,” revised, updated, and available in bookstores now. His newsletter about Cincinnati sports can be found at chaddotson.com.
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