| Andy Benes | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: (1967-08-20)August 20, 1967 (age 58) Evansville, Indiana, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||||||||
| August 11, 1989, for the San Diego Padres | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||
| September 29, 2002, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 155–139 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 3.97 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 2,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Andrew Charles Benes (born August 20, 1967) is an American former professionalbaseballpitcher who played 14 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB), most prominently as a member of theSan Diego Padres, who selected Benes as thefirst overall pick in the1988 MLB draft. With the Padres, he was named to theNational League (NL)All-Star team in1993 and led the league in strikeouts in 1994. He also played for theSeattle Mariners,St. Louis Cardinals, andArizona Diamondbacks.
Benes was born inEvansville, Indiana, where he attendedEvansville Lutheran School andEvansville Central High School, as did his brotherAlan Benes.
He playedcollege baseball in his hometown for theUniversity of Evansville Purple Aces.[1] He also played college football and basketball at Evansville before focusing solely on baseball in 1987. In 1988, he was namedPlayer of the Year byCollegiate Baseball Newspaper and an All-American byBaseball America and theABCA.[2] He had a 16–3record with 188strikeouts, including 21 strikeouts in a game againstUNC-Wilmington.[3]
He was thefirst player selected in the1988 Major League Baseball draft by the Padres. Before signing with the Padres, Benes pitched for theUnited States in the1988 Summer Olympics. He pitched6+2⁄3innings, allowed two runs and struck out andwalked four batters in a 12–2 win over Australia that clinched the Americans' advance to the medal round.[4] The Americans eventually won their first baseball Olympic gold medal. He also played in the1988 Baseball World Cup, where the U.S. lost to Cuba in the title game.[3]
Benes signed a contract with the Padres that included a $230,000 signing bonus.[3] He made 21 starts inMinor League Baseball (MiLB), 16 for theDouble-AWichita Wranglers and five with theLas Vegas Stars,[5] before making his MLB debut on August 11. After losing his first two games, he earned his firstwin over the Philadelphia Phillies on August 23. He finished the season with a 6–3 record.[6][3] He was namedThe Sporting News National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year.[1]
Benes was anAll-Star in1993[1] during a 15–15 season with the Padres and led MLB with 189 strikeouts and 14 losses the next season.
On July 31, 1995, Benes was traded with aplayer to be named later (Greg Keagle) to the Mariners forMarc Newfield andRon Villone.[7] He went 7–2 with the Mariners, albeit with a high 5.82 ERA. Both he and the franchise made their first appearance in theMLB postseason in 1995.[8] Benes pitched poorly in the playoffs, going 0–1 and allowing 13 runs in 14 innings.[9] After the season, Benes became afree agent.[3]
Benes signed with the Cardinals before the1996 season. He finished third in theCy Young Award balloting in1996, after an 18–10, 3.83earned run average season.[10] 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 theColorado Rockies to close out the game for the Cardinals.[11]
After the 1997 season, Benes agreed to a five-year, $30 million contract to return to the Cardinals. Unfortunately, the contract was signed 90 minutes after a deadline to re-sign players.[12][13]
Instead, Benes became one of the first players in Diamondbacks history when he signed a three-year, $18 million contract prior to the team's inaugural1998 season.[12][14] He threw the first pitch, a ball,[15] and earned the first loss in Diamondbacks history, as the team fell onOpening Day to the Rockies.[1][16] He led the team with 14 wins, 34 starts, and 164 strikeouts in its first season.[17]
Benes returned to the Cardinals in 2000. He ended his career with 2,000 strikeouts, which is in the top 100 in MLB history.[18] His final regular season MLB pitch struck outRyan Christenson on September 29, 2002.[19] He ended his career in theNL Championship Series, earning a loss in Game 4 to theSan Francisco Giants.[9]
Relief pitcherTodd Jones wrote inThe Sporting News in 2004 that Benes had a habit of gritting his teeth when preparing to throw aslider, atell that hitters could exploit.[20]
Benes was inducted into the Purple Aces Hall of Fame in 1994,[21] the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2020,[22] and theMissouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 2023.[23] The University of Evansville retired his number in 2010.[3][21] He received theSouthern Indiana Athletic Conference Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.[24]
He received the PadresClyde McCullough Pitcher of the Year Award in 1991 and 1993 and was named theNL Player of the Week for the week of August 1, 1993.[25]
Benes and his younger brotherAlan Benes were teammates on the Cardinals in 1996–97 and 2000–01. Another younger brother Adam Benes was drafted by the Cardinals in1995 and pitched in the minors until 2000.[3][26]
Benes and his wife Jennifer married in 1987. They have seven children and live nearSt. Louis.[22] Their first child Drew Benes was drafted by the Cardinals in2010 and pitched in the Cardinals organization from 2010 to 2012.[27] Their fourth child Shane Benes played for theState College Spikes in the Cardinals system in 2019.[28] Benes is a Christian.[29][23][14]
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