CINCINNATI — Todd Benzinger, the first baseman whose catch in foul territory ended the Cincinnati Reds’ four-game sweep of Oakland in the 1990 World Series, has died at age 63, the Reds announced Thursday.
The club said Benzinger died Wednesday. No cause of death was given.
Benzinger grew up in the Cincinnati area and attended high school in New Richmond, Ohio. Boston drafted him out of high school in 1981, and he reached the majors with the Red Sox in 1987. After two seasons there, he was dealt to his hometown team before the 1989 campaign.
On Oct. 20, 1990, in the defining play of his career, he gloved the game-ending pop-up against the Athletics in Oakland, sealing what remains the franchise’s most recent championship.
Cincinnati moved him to Kansas City in 1991, and he later played for the Dodgers and Giants before retiring after 1995. Over nine big league seasons he hit .257 with 733 hits and 376 RBIs across 924 games.
He stayed close to the game after his playing days, managing the Reds’ Class-A affiliate in Dayton in 2009 and 2010 and helping with youth baseball in New Richmond. The team said he was a regular at Reds Caravan, Fantasy Camp, Redsfest and its Legends Remember program, and it offered condolences to his family, friends and former teammates. The leader of the club’s team museum called him a generous friend who shared his time with fans.
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