Andrew Charles Benes (born August 20, 1967) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

from 1989 to 2002, most prominently as a member of the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

where he was named to the National League All-Star team in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

and led the league in strikeouts in 1994. He also played for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

, the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

. His brother Alan Benes also pitched in the Major Leagues, and was his teammate in 1996–97 and 2000–01.

Career

Benes was born in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

where he attended Evansville Lutheran School and Evansville Central High School along with his brother Alan. He was the first player selected in the 1988 Major League Baseball draft after playing college baseball at the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

. Benes pitched well enough in his first year to make it to the majors and be named National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year by ''The Sporting News''. Benes was an All-Star in during a 15–15 season with the Padres, and led the Majors in losses with 14 and in strikeouts with 189 the next season. Benes finished third in the Cy Young Award balloting in after an 18–10, 3.83

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

season. After the 1997 season, Benes agreed to sign a 5-year, $30 million contract to return to the Cardinals. Unfortunately, the contract was signed after the deadline for players to re-sign with their 1997 teams. Benes would then have to wait until May 1 to re-sign. Instead, Benes became one of the first players in Diamondbacks history when he signed as a free agent prior to the season and threw the first pitch in the history of the franchise. Benes was primarily a starting pitcher but on May 29, 1996, he picked up his only major league save. He recorded the final out of a 6–5 Cardinals victory over the Rockies to close out the game for the Cardinals. In a 2004 column for ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'', pitcher

Todd Jones Todd Barton Jones (born April 24, 1968) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was an effective middle reliever for several teams and also filled the role of closer, most nota ...

wrote that Benes had a habit of gritting his teeth when preparing to throw a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

, a tell that some hitters exploited.No spying in baseball? Then you aren't paying attention
,

, ''

'', published August 23, 2004, accessed April 23, 2006.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benes, Andy 1967 births Living people Baseball players from Indiana Major League Baseball pitchers San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players St. Louis Cardinals players Arizona Diamondbacks players National League All-Stars National League strikeout champions Baseball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Evansville, Indiana Wichita Wranglers players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Prince William Cannons players Arkansas Travelers players Louisville Redbirds players Potomac Cannons players Memphis Redbirds players Evansville Purple Aces baseball players Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball All-American college baseball players

Career

See also

References

External links