William Joseph Benson (born March 5, 1988) is an American former professional baseball

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. 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) for the Minnesota Twins during the 2011 season.

College career

Benson attended

Joliet Catholic Academy Joliet Catholic Academy (Joliet Catholic or JCA) is a coed Catholic high school in Joliet, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet. One of the oldest Catholic high schools in the Chicago area, Joliet Catholic is perhaps bes ...

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362. Hist ...

. Benson played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

at Joliet, and was recruited to play college football for the

Purdue Boilermakers football The Purdue Boilermakers football team represents Purdue University in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. Purdue plays its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. ...

team as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins selected Benson in the second round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. Benson signed with the Twins rather than attend Purdue. Benson participated in spring training for the Twins in 2011, but did not make the opening day roster and was subsequently assigned to the AA affiliate of the Twins, the

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado Rockies for one. They played ...

, where he was given the starting job in

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

. On September 6, 2011, Benson made his major league debut for the Minnesota Twins. He went without a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

a three at-bats, drawing a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

and

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

once. Benson's first major league hit was a single off of Detroit Tigers

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Max Scherzer Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, and L ...

on September 10, 2011. In 2013, Benson competed with

Aaron Hicks Aaron Michael Hicks (born October 2, 1989) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the 2008 MLB draft. He made hi ...

for the starting centerfield position with the Twins. Hicks won the job, and Benson went to the Rochester Red Wings of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League. In May 2013, the Twins put Benson on outright waivers to clear a roster spot for P. J. Walters.

Texas Rangers

On May 25, 2013, Benson was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers. On September 1, 2013, Benson was designated for assignment and he was outrighted on September 3. On November 4, 2013, Benson elected free agency.

Miami Marlins

Benson signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins on January 9, 2014, and spent most of the season with Double–A

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

Atlanta Braves

In January 2015, Benson signed a minor league deal with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. He was released by the Braves in mid June.

New York Mets

Benson signed a minor league deal with 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 ...

on July 11, 2015. He elected free agency on November 6, 2015.

Return to Minnesota

On November 30, 2015 Benson signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins. He was released in March 2016.

Sugar Land Skeeters

Benson signed with the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2017 season. He became a free agent after the 2017 season.

Chicago Dogs

On May 8, 2018, Benson signed with the

Chicago Dogs The Chicago Dogs are an independent professional baseball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. They began play in 2018 and p ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. He was released on April 30, 2019.

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

On June 4, 2019, Benson signed with the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseb ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He became a free agent following the season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Joe 1988 births Living people Baseball players from Illinois People from Hinsdale, Illinois Major League Baseball outfielders Minnesota Twins players Gulf Coast Twins players Beloit Snappers players Fort Myers Miracle players New Britain Rock Cats players Rochester Red Wings players Frisco RoughRiders players Arizona League Rangers players New Orleans Zephyrs players Jacksonville Suns players Peoria Saguaros players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Gwinnett Braves players Sugar Land Skeeters players Chicago Dogs players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players