Derek Bender's Symphony
NA Brockton Rox

Derek Bender's Symphony

Published on July 28, 2026 under National Association (NA)
Brockton Rox News Release


Derek Bender looks every bit the part of a professional catcher.

He sits down for our interview in a normal human-sized office chair that his 6'3", 235-lb frame makes look tiny, as if it were an office chair made for children. I decide to lead off with a question I have been curious about for a while.

As a leader in the clubhouse, Bender is one of the chosen few tasked with controlling the music from the boombox, a locker room title appointed only to individuals with a rare combination of on-field talent, clubhouse presence and palatable playlists. I ask him what music he has been playing lately, and his answer immediately catches me off guard:

"I listen to a lot of classical music before games," Bender replies. "Gustav Holst, The Planets."

For those who have not been in a clubhouse, the works of Gustav Holst, an early 20th-century English composer, are not commonplace pregame backtracking for athletes. But that, in essence, is who Derek Bender is. Charismatic and unique. It's part of what made him a leader on the Brockton Rox in his first season and has led him to blossom into a bona fide MVP candidate in his second.

Bender's 2026 has been scorching to begin. He is batting .340, has launched 17 HRs, and is near the top of the league in every other major offensive category through 67 games. On top of that, he caught fire with a 25-game hit streak, posing an impossible out for opposing arms.

For comparison, last season Bender hit 11 homers in 92 games and drove in 54. A solid offensive campaign by many standards. But in nearly 200 fewer at bats this year, he has almost eclipsed his past total.

For the Niskayuna, NY native, the work to evolve into a dominant player began in the offseason.

"I made it a really big focus to work on my body composition, work on speed work, agility work, just really trying to cut weight and add agility, add athleticism," Bender says of his offseason efforts. "I feel like this year I've felt an immense weight, both literally and figuratively, get lifted as far as my ability to run the bases, my ability to move laterally when I'm catching, my ability to swing faster when I'm in the box."

Even without digging into the numbers, Bender's physical improvements are paying marked dividends to the naked eye. The exit velocities are faster. The blocking behind the plate is smoother. On the bases, Bender has always had a penchant for aggressive running, and this season he is doing it more freely. He is second on the team in stolen bases, and on numerous occasions has flipped games on their head on account of catching opponents napping in the field.

According to Bender, these improvements were all part of falling back in love with the process of the game. "I feel like coming into last year I wasn't myself in a lot of different aspects, especially with baseball, so the biggest thing coming out of the offseason was how can I get back to why I love the game," Bender reflects. "You know, the age-old saying is it's better to be lucky than good, but the harder you work, the luckier you get, and I think, for me, finding the love of showing up every day, just dealing with the highs and lows, showing up and playing baseball, you know, what more could I want to do?"

The former Coastal Carolina Chanticleer isn't just an offensive threat, though. Talk to any pitcher on the Brockton staff, and the first thing out of their mouth is praise for his game-calling ability and understanding of hitters.

"I trust that guy with my life," says starting pitcher Zach Eldred. "Anything he puts down I'm usually shaking yes. I trust his scouting report and everything he does at the ballpark."

Bender attributes his pitch-calling ability to pitching coach Dan Sausville. "I grew up with Dan. A lot of the things that I've learned, not only as a baseball player but as a man, have come from him," he says with a smile. "I think that was the first thing I learned whenever I met him was how to call a game; a lot of my game calling comes from him."

Bender describes his game-planning process as trying to find a pitcher's outlier. Identifying their most elite quality or pitch and figuring out how to set it up for maximum effectiveness.

But without a doubt, Bender's own outlier is his leadership. At just 23 years of age, Bender was one of Brockton's youngest players last season and continues to be this year. Yet from the get-go, he was one of the most vocal players in the clubhouse.

A leader by all accounts, Bender describes leadership as "imperative" on good teams. But he never tries to force it.

"I try my best to let guys come to me if they have stuff they want to talk about. I found that people are way more willing to listen if they come to you first. If there's something glaring that I see, I'll try to bring it up in like a casual way, not really like, 'Hey, you have to do this one way or the other,' and really just kind of let, let, let the game kind of work itself out in a way."

In year two for Derek Bender, the game is certainly working itself out

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National Association Stories from July 28, 2026


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