Ben Daniel Revere (born May 3, 1988) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, and Los Angeles Angels.
Revere played baseball at Lexington Catholic High School, where he received several awards during his junior and senior seasons. Revere was selected in the first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft by the Minnesota Twins and played in their farm system for three seasons before being called up to Major League Baseball in late 2010. He played with the Twins for two more seasons before being traded to the Phillies in the 2012 offseason.
Revere began the 2013 season as the Phillies' leadoff hitter before suffering an injury and being moved down in the lineup. His primary strengths were his speed and his defense; he struggled to hit for power, hitting just seven home runs in the major leagues. Writers and teammates have described Revere as being a genuine, goofy, energetic player.
Revere was born in Atlanta and raised in LaGrange, Georgia. In the early 2000s, he moved to Richmond, Kentucky, where he attended Lexington Catholic High School from 2003 to 2007. He led the varsity baseball team to a state championship his junior season (2006), and was named most valuable player. After his senior season, he was named the Gatorade Kentucky Baseball Player of the Year, 2007 Mr. Baseball for Kentucky, and a member of the All-USA Today high school baseball team. The Minnesota Twins selected him in the first round (28th overall pick) of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft and signed shortly thereafter. He had previously committed to play college baseball at Georgia.
After his first-round selection, the Twins assigned Revere to the Gulf Coast League Twins, with whom he posted a .325 batting average (BA) in his first season of professional ball, and was named a 2007 Gulf Coast League Postseason All-Star. The following season with the Beloit Snappers of the Single-A Midwest League, Revere's batting average increased to .379 with 44 stolen bases and ten triples. He won several awards for his performance, including a Midwest League All-Star selection, Mid-season MVP, Postseason All-Star, Most Valuable Player, Prospect of the Year, and the Sherry Robertson Award as Twins' minor league player of the year. Baseball America placed him on their 2008 High-A All-Star team and called him the Twins' second best prospect, behind Aaron Hicks.
Revere began the 2009 season with the Fort Myers Miracle of the Florida State League (FSL). In the first half of the season, he batted .342 with 23 RBI, 32 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. He was named the FSL Player of the Week for May 11–17, and was an All-Star for the FSL's Southern division. He did not commit an error all season in 225 chances playing both center field and left field. He finished the season with a .311 batting average, two home runs, and 48 RBI.
Before the season, Baseball America ranked him the Twins' fifth-best prospect. Revere began the 2010 season with the New Britain Rock Cats of the Double-A Eastern League. He was named the Twins minor league player of the month in May after hitting .336 with 6 doubles, a home run, and 15 runs batted in (RBI). He played in the 2007 All-Star Futures Game at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. After totaling a .305 BA with 36 stolen bases during the season, his contract was purchased by the Twins on September 4, 2010.
Revere made his major league debut on September 7, 2010, as a pinch hitter for Denard Span, striking out against Kansas City Royals' pitcher Jesse Chavez. He remained in the game, replacing Span in center field. He recorded his first major league run batted in (RBI) on September 18, when he grounded out to score J. J. Hardy in a game against the Oakland Athletics. He recorded his first major league hit a day later.
Revere began the 2011 season with the Twins' Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings of the International League. In May, Revere was called up to Minnesota to play left field for the injured Delmon Young. Soon after Young's return, Span was placed on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion. As a result, Revere was given another position to play.
In late 2012, Revere amassed a 21-game hitting streak, his career best. He finished the 2012 season playing 124 major league games with a .294 batting average, no home runs, and 32 RBIs.
On December 6, 2012, Revere was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Vance Worley and Trevor May. Revere was picked to lead off the Phillies' Opening Day lineup for the 2013 season against the Atlanta Braves over Jimmy Rollins after a strong spring training performance. After acquiring Revere, Phillies General Manager (GM) Rubén Amaro Jr. said, "He can go to the top of the order or bottom of the order. Either way, for us it was about the defense and the speed. We like athletic players and he's certainly that. He has great energy, a fantastic defender. And those are priorities for us."
On April 15, 2013, the day of the Boston Marathon bombing, Revere inscribed "Pray for Boston" onto a piece of masking tape and taped it to his glove, which he left sitting out while he stretched. A photographer from Getty Images photographed the glove, and Revere later commented that his phone was "ringing off the hook" with thanks for the gesture. Revere commented,
"A bunch of people who live in Boston said it was all over the news out there", Revere said. "I just showed my appreciation. Even when I'm playing, I'm thinking of the people in Boston. It's just terrible that it happened. For me, I'm just playing the game for them a little bit."
In the subsequent game, Revere made an incredible leaping, diving catch with the glove, robbing Todd Frazier of an extra base hit.
Near the beginning of the season, Revere sustained an injury to his quadriceps that he worsened in the April 24 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He missed multiple consecutive games and was replaced in the lineup by Freddy Galvis. Revere finally returned on May 3, his 25th birthday. He injured his elbow in a game against the Boston Red Sox on May 27 after jamming it into the metal fence at Fenway Park. He remained in the game, and x-rays later turned up negative. Revere later said of the injury, "Luckily, I've got strong enough bones. If it was somebody else it may have been bad, but luckily it wasn't serious."
By the end of May, Revere was back hitting mainly at the top of the order after manager Charlie Manuel decided to adjust the lineup in hopes of sparking some offense. He managed two hits in a game against the Miami Marlins on June 3, stole two bases, and stopped an extra-base hit from Adeiny Hechavarria. "I just have to take it one game at a time and not put any pressure on myself. I'm finding my stroke", Revere later said of the game. On July 13, Revere suffered a fractured foot after a foul ball hit him while at-bat. He had surgery for the fracture on July 16. Although the initial timetable for Revere's return was six to eight weeks, the Phillies official website later published an article stating that there was no timetable for his return and they were unsure whether or not he will return for a remainder of the 2013 season. He ended up missing the rest of the 2013 season, and finished with a .305 batting average, 0 home runs, 17 runs batted in and 22 stolen bases.
Revere entered the 2014 season healthy, and, amidst chaos and position battles elsewhere, he was the preeminent starter in center field. Before the season, Pat Egan of Phillies Nation published an article declaring the Phillies as the clear winners of the trade that brought Revere to Philadelphia. Though initially writers thought the Twins received a terrific return and it was a terrible trade for the Phillies, Worley was ultimately outrighted of the Twins' roster and traded, and May's status as a top prospect languished, whereas Revere had emerged as a viable everyday center fielder who was under contract with the Phillies through 2018. On April 1, 2014, Revere set a new MLB record for most plate appearances without a home run (1,410) by a non-pitcher. Despite his initial preeminence, because of sore ribs (caused by a diving catch in the outfield), backup Tony Gwynn Jr. started four consecutive games in center field (beyond the time Revere needed to recover from his injury due to Gwynn's success at the plate) while Revere, who had recently struggled at the plate, was on the bench. However, a few days later, Revere came up to bat in the eighth inning in a scoreless game, and hit an RBI single, which re-implanted him atop the Phillies' starting lineup. As for Gwynn, Revere commented,