Marvin Larry Benard (born January 20, 1970) is a Nicaraguan former
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
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 cat ...
. 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
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
.
Personal life
Benard moved to Los Angeles with his mother and father when he was 12. After a stellar prep career at
Bell High School, he attended El Camino College (Torrance, CA) freshman year. After his Head Coach Tom Hicks stepped down, Benard transferred to L.A. Harbor Junior College in Wilmington, Calif., then
Lewis-Clark State College in
Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's north central region. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene, and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is ...
. His cousin,
Maurice Benard
Maurice Benard (born March 1, 1963) is an American actor. In 1993, he was cast as Sonny Corinthos on the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital''.
Early life and career
Benard was born Mauricio José Morales in Martinez, California, the son of Martha ...
, is a soap opera actor.
His son, Isaac, was drafted by the
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...
in the 23rd round of the
2016 Amateur Draft and was a member of the
Princeton Rays
The Princeton Rays were a Minor League Baseball team in Princeton, West Virginia, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with several Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, primarily the Tam ...
in the
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...
, where he hit .255 with 3 home runs and 3 stolen bases in 110 at-bats.
Major League career
Benard played with the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
from 1995 to 2003. He was a starter from 1999–2001, and played most of the 1996 season due to an injury to
Glenallen Hill
Glenallen Hill (born March 22, 1965) is an American former 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 t ...
. He won the 1999
Willie Mac Award
The Willie Mac Award is named in honor of Willie McCovey. It has been presented annually since 1980 to the most inspirational player on the San Francisco Giants, as voted upon by Giants players, coaches, training staff, and more recently, Giants ...
for his spirit and leadership. Despite a disappointing postseason performance in 2000, Marvin had one of the most memorable hits of series, driving in
Ellis Burks
Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis.
Surname
A
*Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series ''St ...
with an RBI single in Game 3 of the
2000 National League Division Series
The 2000 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2000 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Sunday, October 8, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—p ...
.
Benard had above-average power for a leadoff hitter. A notorious first-pitch hitter prone to striking out, Benard had good bat speed and could
steal bases, though he was caught stealing 29% of the time over the course of his career. He played all three outfield positions, mostly as a
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 ...
. As a
pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...
, he had a career .267
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
. Benard hit the final San Francisco Giants home run in the history of
Candlestick Park
Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...
, which came in the first inning of the Giants' eventual 9-4 loss to the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
.
After becoming a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
after the 2003 season, Benard agreed to a minor-league contract with the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
but was released before the season began and signed with the
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 ...
. He was released after one season with the Triple-A
Syracuse Chiefs
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
**North Syracuse, New York
*Syracuse, Indiana
* Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, Miss ...
, hitting .211 with four homers and 18 RBI in 33 games.
Post-retirement
On April 11, 2010, Benard admitted to using steroids during the 2002 season in which the Giants reached the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
.
Benard was employed as a hitting coach for 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 penna ...
' short-season Class A
Northwest League
The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...
affiliate, the
Tri-City Dust Devils
The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels. Tri-City plays their home gam ...
, for the 2015 season. In 2016 he managed the
Nicaragua national baseball team
The Nicaragua national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Nicaragua'') is the national baseball team of Nicaragua. Considered the best in Central America along with Panama, it represents Nicaragua in international tournaments. Nic ...
. He is currently employed as a
color commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...
for the Giants' Spanish-language radio broadcasts, working road games alongside Erwin Higueros.
See also
*
References
External links
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benard, Marvin
1970 births
Living people
Atlantic City Surf players
Clinton Giants players
Everett Giants players
Fresno Grizzlies players
Lewis–Clark State Warriors baseball players
Los Angeles Harbor Seahawks baseball players
Major League Baseball broadcasters
Major League Baseball outfielders
Major League Baseball players from Nicaragua
Minor league baseball coaches
Navegantes del Magallanes players
Nicaraguan expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Nicaraguan emigrants to the United States
People from Bluefields
Phoenix Firebirds players
San Francisco Giants announcers
San Francisco Giants players
San Jose Giants players
Shreveport Captains players
Baseball players from Los Angeles
Syracuse SkyChiefs players
Tiburones de La Guaira players
Baseball coaches from California
Mat-Su Miners players