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New Skipper to Captain the Steam The boys are back for the summer of 2008 and with that comes a new manager for the Cincinnati Steam. For the second straight year a member of the 1990 Cincinnati Reds World Series Champions will lead the team. Todd Benzinger takes over the reigns of the third year entrants into the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. The GLSCL is a wooden bat summer league affiliated with Major League Baseball and sanctioned by the NCAA. Benzinger takes over a team that finished 23-14 last season under Ron Oester, good for fourth place in the regular season and a qualifier for the post season playoffs. The Steam will return 15 players that have spent time in the organization. With Todd Benzinger taking over the helm of the Steam, he continues the philosophy of the organization to keep its program local. From the management to the coaches and the players to the interns the organization is a local affiliation. Benzinger, 45, is a native of New Richmond. He spent his amateur playing days suiting up for New Richmond High School and during the summer playing for the Midland Redskins. Following his senior year he was drafted, in 1981 by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round. He made his Major League debut in June of 1987. While spending nine seasons in the Major Leagues, he spent time with the Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. Over his nine seasons, Todd appeared in the playoffs with Boston in 1988, losing to the Oakland A’s in the League Championship Series; and in 1990 he was a member of the Reds wire-to-wire World Series champions, remembered by all Cincinnatians as the Red who caught the foul fly to record the final out. Since his playing days the local fans of Cincinnati will remember Benzinger for roaming the sidelines of Seven Hills and Loveland High School as a very successful varsity girls basketball coach. Benzinger spent seven years with Seven Hills, compiling a 122-47 record while reaching two Division IV district finals. At Loveland, over the past two seasons he was 30-12. The winter of 2008 will mark a new endeavor, leading the program at Lakota East. In March, the Cincinnati Reds invited Benzinger to join them in Spring Training as a special instructor, thus continuing something that was started a couple of years ago by bringing former Reds back into the fold. Todd’s connection with the Reds and the Steam is a perfect scenario for baseball in Cincinnati, especially during the summertime on the west side of town. The Cincinnati Steam will begin their season on June 13th with their home opener slated for Tuesday, June 17th. Home games are held at the newly renovated Western Hills High School Stadium. Please visit www.cincinnatisteam.com for more information.
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