John Wesley Van Benschoten (born April 14, 1980) is an American former professional
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 ...
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 ...
who played for the
Pittsburgh Pirates of
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).
Personal
He grew up in
Milford, Ohio
Milford is a city in Clermont and Hamilton counties founded in 1796, in the U.S. state of Ohio, along the Little Miami River and its East Fork in the southwestern part of the state. It is a part of the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. The ...
, a suburb of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, where he was a two-sport athlete at
Milford High School. He has an older sister, Caroline, and a younger sister, Lyndsay.
Playing career
College
Van Benschoten was a power-hitting star at
Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...
, leading all of Division I in
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s his junior year with 31. He was named the
Mid-American Conference Player of the Year as a first baseman in 2001 and, , his 31 home runs and 221 total bases stood as single-season conference records.
He also worked as the team's
closer, however, and the
Pittsburgh Pirates thought that he had more potential as a pitcher than as a hitter. They made him the eighth overall selection of the
2001 Major League Baseball Draft, and announced that he would be a pitcher.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Van Benschoten performed well as a prospect. He pitched a scoreless inning in the 2003
All-Star Futures Game while a member of the
Altoona Curve
The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...
, and
Baseball America named him the top prospect in the Pirates system in both 2003 and 2004.
Van Benschoten made his major league debut on August 18, 2004, in a 6-3 loss against the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
. Scheduled starter
Kip Wells
Robert "Kip" Wells (born April 21, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox ...
had complained of elbow pain before the game, so the Pirates called up Van Benschoten to take his place, designating reliever
Willis Roberts
Willis Augusto Roberts (born June 19, 1975) is an American former pitcher in Major League Baseball, born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. He batted and threw right-handed.
Career
Roberts was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free ...
for assignment to create roster space. Van Benschoten went on to pitch in six games for the Pirates, five of them starts. He compiled a 6.91 ERA in 28 innings pitched, winning one game and losing three. He also hit his first major league home run, against
Casey Fossum
Casey Paul Fossum (born January 6, 1978) is a former professional pitcher. Previously, he played for the Boston Red Sox (2001–2003), Arizona Diamondbacks (2004), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2005–2007), Detroit Tigers (2008), and New York Mets (2009) ...
.
The Pirates benched Van Benschoten for medical reasons on September 18, 2004, citing "shoulder fatigue" in his right arm. He did not pitch again that year, and in November, he had surgery to repair tears to the
glenoid labrum and
rotator cuff
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...
of his left arm. Those injuries did not affect his pitching, presenting a problem only as a batter, and Van Benschoten participated in the team's minicamp in January 2005. There, he began experiencing a pinching sensation in the shoulder of his right arm. He ultimately had surgery to repair a tear to the labrum of his right shoulder as well, and missed the entire 2005 season.
Van Benschoten returned to play in August 2006, but made only 5 starts (split between the
Bradenton Pirates,
Altoona Curve
The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...
, and
Indianapolis Indians) before a further arm injury ended his season.
Van Benschoten started the 2007 season at Indianapolis. He made his first start with the Pirates in the
2007 season on June 16 as a starter against the White Sox. Van Benschoten would go back to Indianapolis and be recalled later during the season only to finish the season with no wins and seven losses.
Van Benschoten would likewise start the 2008 season with the
Indianapolis Indians and remain on the inactive roster for the Pirates. After posting a 4-0 record and a 1.88 ERA with the Indians, he was called up by the Pirates on April 27 to be on the active roster. He currently holds the all-time major league record for highest career ERA with at least 75 innings pitched. He became a free agent at the end of the season.
Chicago White Sox
In 2009, Van Benschoten signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox, who assigned him to the Triple-A
Charlotte Knights
The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...
.
New York Yankees
Prior to the 2010 season, Van Benschoten signed a minor league contract with the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
. He pitched for the Double-A
Trenton Thunder
The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...
and Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...
.
San Diego Padres
After beginning the 2011 season playing independent baseball, Van Benschoten signed a minor league contract with the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
on July 20.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Benschoten, John
1980 births
Living people
Major League Baseball pitchers
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Indianapolis Indians players
Baseball players from San Diego
Kent State Golden Flashes baseball players
Nashville Sounds players
Gulf Coast Pirates players
Williamsport Crosscutters players
Hickory Crawdads players
Lynchburg Hillcats players
Altoona Curve players
Charlotte Knights players
Trenton Thunder players
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players
Gulf Coast Yankees players
Tampa Yankees players
York Revolution players
Tucson Padres players
People from Milford, Ohio
All-American college baseball players
Tomateros de Culiacán players
American expatriate baseball players in Mexico