Benito James Distefano (born January 23, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in

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), ...

(MLB) with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros in the 1980s and with

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes ( Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It w ...

in the

Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

. He is currently a minor league coach in the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

organization.

Information

Distefano remains the most recent left-handed-throwing player to catch an MLB game, catching in three separate games for the Pirates in 1989.Schwarz, Alan"> Schwarz, Alan
. "Left-Handed and Left Out,"''The New York Times'', Sunday, August 16, 2009. On April 28, 1992, David Cone of the

brought a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Distefano broke it up with an infield hit. In 2010, Distefano was hired by the New York Mets to serve as the hitting coach for the Single A Brooklyn Cyclones.Brooklyn Cyclones coaching staff
/ref> After serving as the hitting coach for the Class A St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League for a few years, Distefano returned to Brooklyn for the 2014 season. Distefano was named as the bench coach for the Syracuse Mets of the

organization for the 2019 season. In 2020-21, Distefano was a roving instructor in the Mets' system.

References

External links

, o
Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
http://www.elemergente.com/2012/07/recuerdan-al-magallanero-benny.html 1962 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Alvin Community College alumni Alvin Dolphins baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American people of Italian descent Baseball coaches from New York (state) Brooklyn Cyclones coaches Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Calgary Cannons players Chunichi Dragons players Greenwood Pirates players Hawaii Islanders players Houston Astros players Lafayette High School (New York City) alumni Lynn Pirates (1983) players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Oklahoma City 89ers players Pittsburgh Pirates players Rochester Red Wings players Sportspeople from Brooklyn Baseball players from New York City Tiburones de La Guaira players Tucson Toros players Vancouver Canadians players {{Texas-bio-stub