Andrew Charles Benes (born August 20, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1989 to 2002, most prominently as a member of the San Diego Padres 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 peace ...

and led the league in strikeouts in 1994. He also played for the Seattle Mariners, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Arizona Diamondbacks. His brother

Alan Benes Alan Paul Benes (born January 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2003 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers. He stood at and weighed . Amateur car ...

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

Career

Benes was born in Evansville, Indiana where he attended

Evansville Lutheran School Evansville Lutheran School is a private, Lutheran parochial elementary school located in Evansville, Indiana, in the United States. Established in 1971, Evansville Lutheran School is the first parochial Lutheran school. The school is affiliated wi ...

and

Evansville Central High School Evansville Central High School, also known as Central High, is a public high school on the north side of Evansville, Indiana. It is the oldest high school in continuous operation west of the Allegheny Mountains. It was established in 1854 as Evan ...

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. 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

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s with 189 the next season. Benes finished third in the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

balloting in after an 18–10, 3.83 earned run average 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'', pitcher Todd Jones wrote that Benes had a habit of gritting his teeth when preparing to throw a slider, a tell that some hitters exploited.No spying in baseball? Then you aren't paying attention
, Todd Jones, '' The Sporting News'', 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