Tom Benson’s father and uncle were both local baseball players, so it was no wonder that Benson junior would follow in their footsteps. In addition to baseball, Benson also plays football for Norwood High School, but playing on the diamond is by far his number one sport.

The Mustangs opened Benson’s senior campaign going 1-7 and could never get themselves out of the hole they dug. Norwood eventually concluded the season with a 7-13 record, and missed out on the post-season. As soon as the high school season came to an end, however, Benson was almost immediately back on the field; this time with the Norwood American Legion team where his father is an assistant under Coach Paul Samargedlis.

“My dad got me into sports when I was young and I just loved the sport of baseball and stayed with it,” Benson said. “I basically play the game for the fun of it, more than the winning.”

Benson was originally a second baseman, but the Mustangs were in need of help at third this year so the senior volunteered to take on the hot corner to help the team. When he got into his first varsity game as a sophomore, he found himself uneasy about taking the field with the older players.

“I was definitely nervous at first playing with the older kids but figured I could only get better and go up,” Benson said. “I was thinking that if I didn’t make the varsity team it would be no big deal but I was very happy that I did and my hard work paid off.”

Three years ago, Benson continued his baseball playing during the summer by joining the Norwood American Legion knowing that the competition was much better than high school baseball. Much like his original stint with the Norwood varsity team, Benson felt much the same during his first season under Samargedlis.

“I gave the legion a shot and it was also a very nerve-racking experience playing with all the older dudes,” Benson said. “At the beginning, I didn’t see the field all that much but eventually I got a start. I feel that legion games are much harder and it seems that we are not fully focused at the beginning of the games and always find ourselves down, but we seem to come back a lot of the time.”

While the team as a whole may not be fully focused at the first pitch, Benson says he is always focused each time he steps onto the field for a game.

“Tom is one of the toughest kids on the field, he is one of our better hitters and has the speed to move around the bases with ease,” the Norwood Legion coach said. “He can play just about anywhere except catcher and we never have any issues with him no matter where we put him on the field. He’s a throwback player to the old days when players would do whatever it took to help the team win.”

Samargedlis continued to say that in today’s athletics its hard to make a baseball player, more than any other sport. Kids need to have the mentality of not failing and Benson, who has baseball DNA, is one of those players.

As Benson enters his third season with Norwood, the Legion skipper has noted that Benson is an athlete that works hard on his ability and it comes from his upbringing. 

“He works hard at his craft,” Samargedlis said. “Last year he was reliable. and this year he is even better. Right now we are 6-0 and a lot of that is because of his leadership on and off the field.”

Coming into the season, Benson is hoping that Norwood is able to continue playing up to its capabilities and earn a position in the playoffs while still having fun with his friends.

With his high school career over and the legion season is finished, Benson will begin concentrating on his next chapter at Elon University in Elon, NC, where he will not be playing for the Phoenix.

“Elon is a Division 1 school and although they have baseball I don’t want to try and walk on,” Benson said. “I feel that I wouldn’t get a lot of playing time. I think that I’d have a better chance of seeing the field if I play for a club team there. I really just want to play for fun over the next four years.”

For now, Benson will continue to work on improving his game for Post 70 this summer in hopes of making a run through the post-season.