Benji!

If you grew up in the late-70′s and early-80′s in Wisconsin, the name Benji does not make you think a movie dog.  The name Benji brings to mind a slugging outfielder who had an awkward slide.

That’s Ben Oglivie rocking the sleeves under the uniform.  I like to think that the inventors of Under Armor saw this baseball card and thought, “There’s GOT to be a better way.”

Okay, so why bring this up today?  My google alert for the Whitecaps, um, alerted me to this blog post.

A former Detroit Tigers slugger may be joining the West Michigan Whitecaps’ coaching staff.

TigsTown.com reported today that Ben Oglivie is expected to be the Whitecaps’ hitting coach next season.

The post at TigsTown.com – which is linked above – includes this information.

Oglivie was a 16-year major league veteran, spending four seasons in the big leagues with the Tigers. He finished his Tigers career with a .275/.326/.444 line in 439 games. Oglivie was named an All-Star three times in his big league career, while also earning a Silver Slugger award in 1980.

If this report is true, make your plans for July 13-15, 2011. Those are the three dates on which the West Michigan Whitecaps visit Time Warner Cable Field.