Joaquín Antonio Benoit Peña (born July 26, 1977) is a Dominican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers,

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners 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 ...

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) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

Professional career

Texas Rangers

Signing with the Rangers at the age of 18, Benoit was with the Rangers' organization until 2009. Except rehab assignments after stints on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

, he was with the Major League club full-time since midway through the 2003 season. Benoit's seven years with the Texas Rangers made him the second-longest tenured member of the team after Michael Young. Originally a starter, Benoit was moved to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

part-time in the 2003 season. Since then, he had served in various relief roles, making spot starts as necessary. Benoit holds the Major League record for having recorded the longest save, seven innings, since it became an official statistic in 1969. He relieved Todd Van Poppel at the start of the third inning against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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) East Division. As one of the America ...

on September 3, 2002, and nearly completed a combined

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

, as Baltimore's only hit in the game came leading off the ninth inning. The

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credited the win to Van Poppel and not Benoit, a decision that was also supported by Texas manager Jerry Narron. In 2006, Benoit ranked in the top-10

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

relievers in

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s, innings pitched, and percentage of inherited runners who scored. On January 27, 2009, Benoit underwent surgery to fix a torn

rotator cuff The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) 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 a ...

, and missed the 2009 season. He became a free agent following the season.

Tampa Bay Rays

On March 4, 2010, Benoit signed a minor league contract with an invitation to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with the

. He was called up to the Rays and debuted with the team April 29, 2010. He put together an incredible campaign and established himself as one of the game's premier setup men. Benoit finished with a 1.34 ERA and 0.68 WHIP, allowing just 30 hits, 11 walks and nine earned runs in innings while fanning 75 batters. His strong season resulted in his winning the Tony Conigliaro Award. He became a free agent following the season.

Detroit Tigers

On November 19, 2010, Benoit signed a three-year contract with the

. The deal was worth $16.5 million with performance bonuses up to $1 million annually. Benoit didn't quite replicate his outstanding 2010 season but had a solid year nonetheless, finishing with a 4–3 record, 2.95 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. He struck out 63 hitters in 61 innings, allowing just 47 hits and 20 earned runs. Benoit came on in relief in the decisive Game 5 of the American League Divisional Series against New York and recorded five crucial outs. He tight-roped out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam, giving up just one run thanks to key strikeouts of

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...

and

Nick Swisher Nicholas Thompson Swisher (born November 25, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a switch hitter who threw left-handed, and played for the Oakland Athletics, Chica ...

. Joaquín had a moderately successful 2012 campaign as the Tigers primary setup man, finishing with a 3.68 ERA while striking out 84 batters in 71 innings. In 2013, Benoit became the closer for the Detroit Tigers. He replaced

José Valverde José Rafael Valverde (born March 24, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. He is nickname ...

, who accepted an assignment to the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

on June 21, 2013, and was subsequently released. Joaquín successfully converted his first 22 save opportunities of the 2013 season, before blowing saves in two of his final four chances, making him 24-of-26 overall. He finished the regular season with a 2.01 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. In the ALCS against 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, Benoit gave up a game-tying grand slam home run to

David Ortiz David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican Americans, Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1997 ...

, which tied the game at 5. The Red Sox would go on to win the game 6–5, and eventually the series 4–2. He became a free agent following the season.

San Diego Padres

On December 28, 2013, Benoit and the

agreed to a two-year contract worth $15.5 million. Benoit served as the set up man for the first half of the 2014 season, but was moved into the closer role after Huston Street was traded to the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. Benoit returned to the setup man role in the 2015 season, after the Padres acquired Craig Kimbrel from 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

in a blockbuster trade that was completed on the day before opening day of the upcoming season.

Seattle Mariners

On November 12, 2015, the Padres traded Benoit to the

for Enyel De Los Santos and Nelson Ward.

Toronto Blue Jays

On July 26, 2016, the Mariners traded Benoit to the

for pitcher Drew Storen and cash. Benoit struck out

Evan Longoria Evan Michael Longoria (born October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Longo", is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, San Francisco Giants, and Arizona Diamondbac ...

to record his 1,000th career strikeout in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on September 4. On September 26, Benoit suffered a torn left calf while rushing out of the bullpen during a

bench-clearing brawl A bench-clearing brawl is a form of fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, where most or all players on both teams leave their Dugout (baseball), dugouts, bullpens, or benches, and charge onto the playing area in or ...

against the

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) Am ...

, and was declared out for the remainder of the regular season. He made 25 appearances for the Blue Jays in 2016, and posted a 0.38 ERA through 23 innings pitched. He became a free agent following the season.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 6, 2016, Benoit signed a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the

. On April 10, 2017, Benoit was named the team's closer to replace Jeanmar Gómez.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 31, 2017, the Phillies traded Benoit to the

in exchange for Seth McGarry. He became a free agent following the season.

Washington Nationals

On February 21, 2018, the

signed Benoit to a one-year deal. He elected free agency on October 29.

Pitching style

Benoit features three pitches. He throws a mid-90s

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

, a mid-80s slider, and a low-80s

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

that he will throw at any time in the count. Benoit owes much of his success to his ability to limit batting average on balls in play and maintain a high strand rate.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benoit, Joaquin 1977 births Living people Arizona League Rangers players Baseball players from Santiago de los Caballeros Charlotte Rangers players Detroit Tigers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Durham Bulls players Frisco RoughRiders players Gulf Coast Rangers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Oklahoma RedHawks players Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players San Diego Padres players Savannah Sand Gnats players Seattle Mariners players Tampa Bay Rays players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players Tulsa Drillers players