Remembering Todd Benzinger, Who Caught the Final Out of the 1990 World Series, 1963-2026

Todd Benzinger, the first baseman who squeezed the last out of the Reds' 1990 World Series sweep, has died at 63. The Reds announced his death Thursday, and no cause has been released (via WLWT and WKRC).

A hometown kid on the biggest stage

Benzinger (1963-2026) was born across the river in Dayton, Kentucky, and played his high school ball at New Richmond. The Boston Red Sox brought him to the majors in 1987, and a December 1988 trade sent him home to Cincinnati. He was an everyday player right away, appearing in 161 of 162 games in 1989, and he shared first base with Hal Morris on the 1990 club that led the National League West from the first day to the last.

Then came October 20, 1990, in Oakland. With the Reds up 2-1 in the ninth inning of Game 4, Carney Lansford lifted a pop-up into foul territory behind first base. Benzinger drifted back, made the catch and raised his glove, and Cincinnati had its first title since the Big Red Machine (via MLB.com).

After Cincinnati, he played for Kansas City, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco before retiring in 1995. He never really left Reds Country. He managed the Dayton Dragons in 2009 and 2010, coached kids around New Richmond and kept showing up for Redsfest, the Reds Caravan and the Reds Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame executive director Rick Walls called him a tremendous friend of the museum who generously gave his time to fans (via WKRC).

Our Take: Every Reds fan old enough to remember 1990 can still see that glove go up. Benzinger was a role player on a team of stars, and he got the moment anyway, then spent the next 30-plus years giving it back to this community. That is a Red worth remembering.

Our thoughts are with the Benzinger family and his 1990 teammates.

Photo: Boston Red Sox Photo Cards (1986), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Todd_Benzinger_Red_Sox.jpg).

Sources: WLWT, WKRC Local 12, MLB.com, Baseball-Reference