Andy Benes

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Andy Benes

|image=Andy Benes (crop).jpg

|position=Pitcher

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1967|8|20}}

|birth_place=Evansville, Indiana, U.S.

|death_date=

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=August 11

|debutyear=1989

|debutteam=San Diego Padres

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 29

|finalyear=2002

|finalteam=St. Louis Cardinals

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=155–139

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=3.97

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=2,000

|teams=

San Diego Padres ({{mlby|1989}}–{{mlby|1995}})
Seattle Mariners ({{mlby|1995}})
St. Louis Cardinals ({{mlby|1996}}–{{mlby|1997}})
Arizona Diamondbacks ({{mlby|1998}}–{{mlby|1999}})
St. Louis Cardinals ({{mlby|2000}}–{{mlby|2002}})

|highlights=

All-Star (1993)
NL strikeout leader (1994)

|medaltemplates=

{{MedalCountry | {{flagu|United States}} }}

}}

Andrew Charles Benes (born August 20, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most prominently as a member of the San Diego Padres, who selected Benes as the first overall pick in the 1988 MLB draft. With the Padres, he was named to the National League (NL) All-Star team in 1993 and led the league in strikeouts in 1994. He also played for the Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Career

Benes was born in Evansville, Indiana, where he attended Evansville Lutheran School and Evansville Central High School, as did his brother Alan Benes.

He played college baseball in his hometown for the University of Evansville Purple Aces.{{Cite book |author=David Pietrusza |url=https://archive.org/details/baseballbiograph00matt/page/80 |title=Baseball : the biographical encyclopedia |publisher=Total/Sports Illustrated |year=2000 |isbn=1-892129-34-5 |location=Kingston, New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/baseballbiograph00matt/page/80 80] |url-access=registration}} He also played college football and basketball at Evansville before focusing solely on baseball in 1987. In 1988, he was named Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and an All-American by Baseball America and the ABCA.{{Cite web |title=Andy Benes (2023) - Hall of Fame |url=https://mvc-sports.com/hof.aspx?hof=144 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=mvc-sports.com |language=en}} He had a 16–3 record with 188 strikeouts, including 21 strikeouts in a game against UNC-Wilmington.{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Alan |date=May 1, 2019 |title=Andy Benes – Society for American Baseball Research |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/andy-benes/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Society for American Baseball Research |language=en-US}}

He was the first player selected in the 1988 Major League Baseball draft by the Padres. Before signing with the Padres, Benes pitched for the United States in the 1988 Summer Olympics. He pitched {{fraction|6|2|3}} innings, allowed two runs and struck out and walked four batters in a 12–2 win over Australia that clinched the Americans' advance to the medal round.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Ron |date=1988-09-21 |title=Andy Benes - Sept. 21, 1988 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-york-dispatch-andy-benes-sept-21/63555976/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |work=The York Dispatch |pages=36 |agency=Scripps Howard News Service}} The Americans eventually won their first baseball Olympic gold medal. He also played in the 1988 Baseball World Cup, where the U.S. lost to Cuba in the title game.

Benes signed a contract with the Padres that included a $230,000 signing bonus. He made 21 starts in Minor League Baseball (MiLB), 16 for the Double-A Wichita Wranglers and five with the Las Vegas Stars,{{Cite web |title=Andy Benes Minor Leagues Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=benes-001and |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} before making his MLB debut on August 11. After losing his first two games, he earned his first win over the Philadelphia Phillies on August 23. He finished the season with a 6–3 record.{{Cite web |title=Andy Benes 1989 Pitching Game Logs |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=benesan01&t=p&year=1989 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} He was named The Sporting News National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year.

Benes was an All-Star in {{mlby|1993}} 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 a player to be named later (Greg Keagle) to the Mariners for Marc Newfield and Ron Villone.{{Cite web |title=Andy Benes Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/benesan01.shtml#all_transactions_other |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} He went 7–2 with the Mariners, albeit with a high 5.82 ERA. Both he and the franchise made their first appearance in the MLB postseason in 1995.{{Cite web |title=1995 Seattle Mariners Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SEA/1995.shtml |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} Benes pitched poorly in the playoffs, going 0–1 and allowing 13 runs in 14 innings.{{Cite web |title=Andy Benes Postseason Pitching Game Logs |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=benesan01&t=p&post=1#pitching_gamelogs_post |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} After the season, Benes became a free agent.

Benes signed with the Cardinals before the 1996 season. He finished third in the Cy Young Award balloting in {{mlby|1996}}, after an 18–10, 3.83 earned run average season.{{Cite web |title=1996 Awards Voting |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1996.shtml |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} 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 Colorado Rockies to close out the game for the Cardinals.{{Cite web |title=Colorado Rockies at St. Louis Cardinals Box Score, May 29, 1996 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN199605290.shtml}}

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.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/04/sports/plus-baseball-arizona-benes-agrees-to-3-year-contract.html | work=The New York Times | title=PLUS: BASEBALL -- ARIZONA; Benes Agrees To 3-Year Contract | date=February 4, 1998}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1998-02-04 |title=Diamondbacks Land Benes for Three Years, $18 Million |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-feb-04-sp-15376-story.html |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=}}

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 inaugural {{mlby|1998}} season.{{Cite web |date=April 16, 1998 |title=Benes Renews His Feud With Cardinal Coach -- Marks His Return To St. Louis With Heated Verbal Exchange |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19980416&slug=2745453 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=The Seattle Times |agency=Seattle Times News Services}} He threw the first pitch, a ball,{{Cite web |title=D-backs' first game {{!}} 03/31/1998 |url=https://www.mlb.com/video/d-backs-first-game-c20048171?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=MLB.com |language=en}} and earned the first loss in Diamondbacks history, as the team fell on Opening Day to the Rockies.{{Cite web |title=Colorado Rockies vs Arizona Diamondbacks Box Score: March 31, 1998 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ARI/ARI199803310.shtml |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} He led the team with 14 wins, 34 starts, and 164 strikeouts in its first season.{{Cite web |title=1998 Arizona Diamondbacks Pitching Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ARI/1998-pitching.shtml |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

Benes returned to the Cardinals in 2000. He ended his career with 2,000 strikeouts, which is in the top 100 in MLB history.{{Cite web |title=Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SO_p_career.shtml |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} His final regular season MLB pitch struck out Ryan Christenson on September 29, 2002.{{Cite web |title=Milwaukee Brewers vs St. Louis Cardinals Box Score: September 29, 2002 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200209290.shtml |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} He ended his career in the NL Championship Series, earning a loss in Game 4 to the San Francisco Giants.

Relief pitcher Todd Jones wrote in The Sporting News in 2004 that Benes had a habit of gritting his teeth when preparing to throw a slider, a tell that hitters could exploit.{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Todd |author-link= |date=August 23, 2004 |title=No spying in baseball? Then you aren't paying attention |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_34_228/ai_n6165497 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718045514/http://www.findarticles.com:80/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_34_228/ai_n6165497 |archive-date=July 18, 2006 |access-date=2024-08-16 }}

= Honors =

Benes was inducted into the Purple Aces Hall of Fame in 1994,{{Cite web |title=Andy Benes {{!}} Purple Aces Hall of Fame |url=http://aceshof.com/person/248/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |language=en-US}} the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2020, and the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 2023.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-28 |title=Andy Benes named to MVC Hall of Fame Class of 2023 |url=https://gopurpleaces.com/news/2022/12/13/baseball-andy-benes-named-to-mvc-hall-of-fame-class-of-2023.aspx |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=University of Evansville Athletics |language=en}} The University of Evansville retired his number in 2010. He received the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.{{Cite web |last=Engelhardt |first=Gordon |date=July 30, 2016 |title=Benes humbled by SIAC Lifetime Achievement Award |url=https://archive.courierpress.com/sports/high-school/benes-humbled-by-siac-lifetime-achievement-award-388054c0-b5c8-2916-e053-0100007ffae2-388751831.html/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=The Courier and Press |language=en}}

He received the Padres Clyde McCullough Pitcher of the Year Award in 1991 and 1993 and was named the NL Player of the Week for the week of August 1, 1993.{{Cite web |title=Andy Benes Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News |url=https://www.mlb.com/player/andy-benes-110854 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}

Personal life

Benes and his younger brother Alan Benes were teammates on the Cardinals in 1996–97 and 2000–01. Another younger brother Adam Benes was drafted by the Cardinals in 1995 and pitched in the minors until 2000.{{Cite web |title=Adam Benes Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News |url=https://www.milb.com/player/adam-benes-442128 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=MiLB.com |language=en}}

Benes and his wife Jennifer married in 1987. They have seven children and live near St. Louis.{{Cite web |title=Andy Benes – Missouri Sports Hall of Fame |url=https://mosportshalloffame.com/inductees/andy-benes/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |language=en-US}} Their first child Drew Benes was drafted by the Cardinals in 2010 and pitched in the Cardinals organization from 2010 to 2012.{{Cite web |title=Drew Benes Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News |url=https://www.milb.com/player/drew-benes-518447 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=MiLB.com |language=en}} Their fourth child Shane Benes played for the State College Spikes in the Cardinals system in 2019.{{Cite web |title=Shane Benes Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News |url=https://www.milb.com/player/shane-benes-656227 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=MiLB.com |language=en}} Benes is a Christian.{{Cite web |last=Zurcher |first=Jeff |date=April 1, 2012 |title=Intentional Walk: A renewed heavenly focus altered Andy Bene's earthly relationships |url=https://www.abca.org/magazine/magazine/2012-2-Spring/Intentional_Walk_A_renewed_heavenly_focus_altered_Andy_Benes_earthly_relationships.aspx |website=Inside Pitch Magazine |publisher=American Baseball Coaches Association}}