Dominican baseball player (born 1977)
In this
Spanish name
, the first or paternal
surname
is
Benoit
and the second or maternal family name is
Pena
.
Baseball player
Joaquin Antonio Benoit Pena
(born July 26, 1977) is a
Dominican
former
professional baseball
pitcher
. He played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for the
Texas Rangers
,
Tampa Bay Rays
,
Detroit Tigers
,
San Diego Padres
,
Seattle Mariners
,
Toronto Blue Jays
,
Philadelphia Phillies
,
Pittsburgh Pirates
, and
Washington Nationals
.
Professional career
[
edit
]
Texas Rangers
[
edit
]
Signing with the Rangers at the age of 18, Benoit was with the Rangers' organization until 2009. Except rehab assignments after stints on the
disabled list
, he was with the Major League club full-time since midway through the 2003 season. Benoit's seven years with the Texas Rangers made him the second-longest tenured member of the team after
Michael Young
.
Originally a
starter
, Benoit was moved to the
bullpen
part-time in the 2003 season. Since then, he had served in various relief roles, making spot starts as necessary.
Benoit holds the Major League record for having recorded the longest
save
, seven innings, since it became an official statistic in 1969.
[1]
[a]
He relieved
Todd Van Poppel
at the start of the third inning against the
Baltimore Orioles
on September 3, 2002, and nearly completed a combined
no-hitter
, as Baltimore's only hit in the game came leading off the ninth inning. The
official scorer
credited the
win
to Van Poppel and not Benoit, a decision that was also supported by Texas manager
Jerry Narron
.
[4]
In 2006, Benoit ranked in the top-10
American League
relievers in
strikeouts
, innings pitched, and percentage of inherited runners who scored.
[5]
On January 27, 2009, Benoit underwent surgery to fix a torn
rotator cuff
, and missed the 2009 season.
[6]
Tampa Bay Rays
[
edit
]
Benoit was signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to
spring training
by the
Tampa Bay Rays
for the 2010 season. He was called up to the Rays and debuted with the team April 29, 2010. He put together an incredible campaign and established himself as one of the game's premier setup men.
[7]
Benoit finished with a 1.34 ERA and 0.68 WHIP, allowing just 30 hits, 11 walks and nine earned runs in
60
+
1
⁄
3
innings while fanning 75 batters.
[8]
His strong season resulted in his winning the
Tony Conigliaro Award
.
[9]
Detroit Tigers
[
edit
]
On November 19, 2010, Benoit signed a three-year contract with the
Detroit Tigers
.
[10]
The deal was worth $16.5 million with performance bonuses up to $1 million annually.
[11]
Benoit didn't quite replicate his outstanding 2010 season but had a solid year nonetheless, finishing with a 4?3 record, 2.95 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. He struck out 63 hitters in 61 innings, allowing just 47 hits and 20 earned runs.
[12]
Benoit came on in relief in the decisive Game 5 of the American League Divisional Series against New York and recorded five crucial outs. He tight-roped out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam, giving up just one run thanks to key strikeouts of
Alex Rodriguez
and
Nick Swisher
.
[13]
Joaquin had a moderately successful 2012 campaign as the Tigers primary setup man, finishing with a 3.68 ERA while striking out 84 batters in 71 innings.
[14]
In 2013, Benoit became the
closer
for the Detroit Tigers. He replaced
Jose Valverde
, who accepted an assignment to the
Toledo Mud Hens
on June 21, 2013, and was subsequently released. Joaquin successfully converted his first 22 save opportunities of the 2013 season, before blowing saves in two of his final four chances, making him 24-of-26 overall. He finished the regular season with a 2.01 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP.
[14]
In the
ALCS
against the
Boston Red Sox
, Benoit gave up a game-tying grand slam home run to
David Ortiz
, which tied the game at 5. The Red Sox would go on to win the game 6?5, and eventually the series 4?2.
San Diego Padres
[
edit
]
In December 2013, Benoit and the
San Diego Padres
agreed to a two-year contract worth $15.5 million.
[15]
Benoit served as the set up man for the first half of the 2014 season, but was moved into the closer role after
Huston Street
was traded to the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
. Benoit returned to the setup man role in the 2015 season, after the Padres acquired
Craig Kimbrel
from the
Atlanta Braves
in a blockbuster trade that was completed on the day before opening day of the upcoming season.
Seattle Mariners
[
edit
]
On November 12, 2015, the Padres traded Benoit to the
Seattle Mariners
for
Enyel De Los Santos
and Nelson Ward.
[16]
Toronto Blue Jays
[
edit
]
On July 26, 2016, the Mariners traded Benoit to the
Toronto Blue Jays
for pitcher
Drew Storen
and cash.
[17]
Benoit struck out
Evan Longoria
to record his 1,000th career strikeout in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on September 4.
[18]
On September 26, Benoit suffered a torn left calf while rushing out of the bullpen during a
bench-clearing brawl
against the
New York Yankees
, and was declared out for the remainder of the regular season.
[19]
He made 25 appearances for the Blue Jays in 2016, and posted a 0.38 ERA through 23
2
⁄
3
innings pitched.
[14]
Philadelphia Phillies
[
edit
]
Benoit signed a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the
Philadelphia Phillies
on December 6, 2016.
[20]
On April 10, 2017, Benoit was named the team's closer to replace
Jeanmar Gomez
.
[21]
Pittsburgh Pirates
[
edit
]
On July 31, 2017, the Phillies traded Benoit to the
Pittsburgh Pirates
in exchange for Seth McGarry.
[22]
Washington Nationals
[
edit
]
On February 21, 2018, the
Washington Nationals
signed Benoit to a one-year deal.
[23]
He elected free agency on October 29.
Pitching style
[
edit
]
Benoit features three pitches. He throws a mid-90s
fastball
, a mid-80s
slider
, and a low-80s
changeup
that he will throw at any time in the count. Benoit owes much of his success to his ability to limit
batting average on balls in play
and maintain a high strand rate.
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Beck, Jason (April 6, 2013).
"Smyly's long save has nothing on Benoit"
.
MLB.com
.
Archived
from the original on December 8, 2015
. Retrieved
April 25,
2013
.
- ^
"AL roundup: Benoit gets 7-inning save against O's"
.
Deseret News
. Associated Press. September 4, 2002.
Archived
from the original on May 6, 2015.
- ^
"From 1916 to 2013, Recorded Save, (requiring IPouts>=21), sorted by smallest IP"
.
baseball-reference.com
. Retrieved
April 25,
2013
.
(subscription required)
- ^
"Rangers MLBeat: Narron pleased"
.
mlb.com
. Archived from
the original
on June 9, 2003
. Retrieved
April 15,
2007
.
- ^
"Joaquin Benoit ? Player File"
.
mlb.com
. Retrieved
April 15,
2007
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
T.R. Sullivan
(January 28, 2009).
"Benoit may be lost for season"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
January 28,
2009
.
- ^
"Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joaquin Benoit continues to dominate"
. St. Petersburg Times. July 26, 2010
. Retrieved
October 9,
2011
.
- ^
"Joaquin Benoit Stats ? Detroit Tigers"
. Espn.go.com. July 26, 1977
. Retrieved
October 9,
2011
.
- ^
"Benoit receives Conigliaro Award for comeback"
. Detroit.tigers.mlb.com
. Retrieved
October 9,
2011
.
- ^
Tigers agree to terms with Joaquin Benoit
Detroit Tigers Press Release November 19, 2010
- ^
"Cot's Baseball Contracts: Detroit Tigers"
. Mlbcontracts.blogspot.com. November 5, 2008
. Retrieved
October 9,
2011
.
- ^
"Joaquin Benoit Stats, News, Pictures, Bio, Videos"
. Espn.go.com. August 8, 2001
. Retrieved
October 9,
2011
.
- ^
Lisa Olson.
"Tigers flexed, Yanks vexed in a game that left many perplexed"
. sportingnews.com. Archived from
the original
on October 9, 2011
. Retrieved
October 9,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Joaquin Benoit at Baseball Reference"
. baseball-reference.com
. Retrieved
February 6,
2014
.
- ^
"Padres, Joaquin Benoit have two-year contract agreement"
.
CBSSports.com
. Retrieved
November 12,
2015
.
- ^
"Mariners acquire Joaquin Benoit from Padres for two minor leaguers"
.
Yahoo Sports
. November 12, 2015
. Retrieved
November 12,
2015
.
- ^
Davidi, Shi (July 26, 2016).
"Blue Jays trade Drew Storen to Mariners for RHP Joaquin Benoit"
.
Sportsnet
. Retrieved
July 26,
2016
.
- ^
Kennedy, Brendan (September 4, 2016).
"Blue Jays' Joaquin Benoit reaches 1,000 K milestone"
.
thestar.com
. Retrieved
September 4,
2016
.
- ^
"Blue Jays' Benoit tears calf, Travis injures shoulder in melee with Yankees"
.
Sportsnet
. September 27, 2016
. Retrieved
September 27,
2016
.
- ^
"Joaquin Benoit, Phillies agree to $7.5M, 1-year deal"
.
espn.com
. December 6, 2016
. Retrieved
December 6,
2016
.
- ^
Zolecki, Todd.
"Joaquin Benoit named Phillies closer"
. MLB
. Retrieved
April 10,
2017
.
- ^
"Phillies trade reliever Benoit to Pirates"
. July 31, 2017.
- ^
"Nationals agree to terms with right-hander Joaquin Benoit"
. MASN Sports. February 21, 2018
. Retrieved
February 21,
2018
.
External links
[
edit
]