Larry Benard McDonald (born November 24, 1967) is a former

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), ...

pitcher. The first overall pick in the

1989 MLB Draft First-round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1989 Major League Baseball draft on June 5. Supplemental first round selections Other notable players * Brian Hunter, 2nd round, 35th overall by the Houston Astros * Ti ...

, McDonald played for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and Milwaukee Brewers from 1989 through 1997.

Baseball career

College

A collegiate star at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

who also played varsity basketball there, McDonald stands 6'7". He also led the 1988 US Olympic Team to a gold medal for baseball, winning complete games against host

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. During his three-year college career at LSU, McDonald twice helped his team reach the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

. He gave up a notable walk-off grand slam to Stanford's Paul Carey in the 1987 series. His best collegiate season came in 1989, which he finished with a 14–4 record, a 3.49

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, and a

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

record 202 strikeouts. That year, he was selected as a member of the

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

team, and he won the

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

. In 1989, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, recording one start.

Minor leagues

That summer, the

made McDonald the first overall selection in the June draft. He is the only LSU Tiger to have been drafted number one, and is followed by shortstop Alex Bregman who was selected while he was a junior with the second pick in the first round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

. He had earlier been chosen by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

in the 27th round of the 1986 draft, but decided to go to college at that time instead of signing. He signed with the Orioles on August 19, and on September 6, he made his major league debut. McDonald was the second member of his draft class to reach the majors, coming up three days after his Olympic teammate John Olerud.

Baltimore Orioles

In the finale of the 1989 season, McDonald tossed one scoreless inning of relief versus the American League East champion Toronto Blue Jays, logging his first career win. Of note, he would become the sixth player to make the majors in the same season that he was selected as the number one overall pick in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. McDonald joined the Orioles' starting rotation in 1990, and in his first major league start on July 21, he threw a complete game shutout against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. At the end of the season, he finished eighth in Rookie of the Year voting, with the award going to catcher

Sandy Alomar Jr. Santos "Sandy" Alomar Velázquez Jr. (, ; born June 18, 1966) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher between 1988 and 2007, most notably as a member of the Cleve ...

McDonald would go on to spend seven seasons with the Orioles, before leaving as a free agent in 1996 to join the Milwaukee Brewers. He never led his league in a major category, but ranked among the top 10 at various times in categories such as complete games, wins, ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts. McDonald was the first #1 draft pick to win his first three starts in Major League history, a feat which has been equalled by

Gerrit Cole Gerrit Alan Cole (born September 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Cole played for the baseball team ...

Milwaukee Brewers

While with the Brewers, McDonald began to encounter shoulder problems, missing part of the 1997 season. He was traded to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

that offseason, in a deal that brought

Marquis Grissom Marquis Deon Grissom (born April 17, 1967) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and ...

and

Jeff Juden Jeffrey Daniel Juden (born January 19, 1971) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos, Cleveland Indians, Milwauke ...

to Milwaukee in exchange for him,

Mike Fetters Michael Lee Fetters (born December 19, 1964) is an American professional baseball coach. He is currently the bullpen coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for eight teams during his 16-year career as ...

, and

Ron Villone Ronald Thomas Villone, Jr. (born January 16, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed relief pitcher and current minor league coach. Villone played for 12 teams in his career, tied for 3rd all time with pitcher Mike Morgan and o ...

. McDonald would never pitch for the Indians, though, as an operation to repair his

rotator cuff The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...

on February 26, 1998 proved unsuccessful. He was ultimately forced to retire, and the Brewers sent

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, ...

to Cleveland to resolve their obligation in the matter. McDonald ended his career with a 78–70 record, 894 strikeouts, and a 3.91 ERA in 1,291 innings pitched. He never pitched in the postseason. In 2008, McDonald was elected to the

College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...

.McDonald Elected to College Baseball HOF
/ref>

Post-baseball career

McDonald is a color commentator for Orioles telecasts on

MASN The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between two Major League Baseball franchises, the Baltimore Orioles (which owns a controlling 77% interest) and the Washington Nationals (which ...

. He served as an assistant coach for the

Denham Springs High School Denham Springs High School is a public high school located in Denham Springs, Louisiana, United States. Denham Springs High School is a part of the Livingston Parish School System and was founded in 1897 as a school for the residents of Denham Sp ...

softball team in

Denham Springs, Louisiana Denham Springs is a city in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2010 U.S. census placed the population at 10,215, up from 8,757 at the 2000 U. S. census. At the 2020 United States census, 9,286 people lived in the city. The city is ...

. He also is a color analyst for the NCAA Baseball Tournament on ESPN. McDonald and his wife Nicole have a son and a daughter. Son Jase McDonald is a pitcher for LSU-Eunice.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Ben 1967 births Living people Denham Springs High School alumni Baltimore Orioles players Milwaukee Brewers players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Baton Rouge, Louisiana LSU Tigers baseball players LSU Tigers basketball players Orleans Firebirds players Golden Spikes Award winners Frederick Keys players Hagerstown Suns players Rochester Red Wings players National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball All-American college baseball players Major League Baseball broadcasters Baltimore Orioles announcers American men's basketball players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players