Juan José Beníquez Torres (born May 13, 1950) is a former

center fielder 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 ...

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), ...

who played for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, Texas Rangers,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in all or parts of 17 seasons spanning 1971–1988. Listed at 5' 11" , 150 lb. , Beníquez batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

San Sebastián, Puerto Rico San Sebastián (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northwestern region of the island, south of Isabela, Quebradillas and Camuy; north of Las Marías; east of Moca and Añasco; and west of Lares. San Sebastián is sp ...

Career

A valuable role player for a long time, Beníquez spent 17 years in the major leagues playing for eight different

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

clubs. He started his career with the Red Sox in 1971, appearing at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

as a backup for

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League (AL) teams, m ...

in part of two seasons, and later was switched to center field. A

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

winner with Texas in , Beníquez posted four consecutive .300 seasons with California and Baltimore from 1983 through 1986, with a career-high .336 in 1984, and also hit three

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 in a game for the Orioles in 1986. He appeared in the postseason three times, including the

1975 World Series The 1975 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1975 season. The 72nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the Natio ...

with the Red Sox. A .274 career hitter, Beníquez hit 79 home runs with 610 runs and 476 RBI in 1,500

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. After his major league career was over, he held the record for having played for eight American League teams. Beníquez hit .359 while playing for the

St. Lucie Legends The St. Lucie Legends was one of the eight original baseball franchises that played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989.Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

in 1989.

Gallery

Estadio Juan Jose Titi Beniquez, Carretera 111, San Sebastián, Puerto Rico.jpg, The municipal stadium in San Sebastián is named Juan José Beníquez.jpg, There is a Juan José Beníquez monument at in

San Sebastián barrio-pueblo San Sebastián barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center ( seat) of San Sebastián, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,424. As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called ' ...

Sources

, o
Retrosheet
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SABR Biography Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beniquez, Juan 1950 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Boston Red Sox players California Angels players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Gold Glove Award winners Kansas City Royals players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball designated hitters Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen New York Yankees players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from San Sebastián, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada Seattle Mariners players St. Lucie Legends players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players Winston-Salem Red Sox players Winter Haven Red Sox players

Career

Gallery

See also

Sources