Benes was born in
Evansville, Indiana, where he attended
Evansville Lutheran School and
Evansville Central High School, as did his brother
Alan Benes. He played
college baseball in his hometown for the
University of Evansville Purple Aces. He also played college football and basketball at Evansville before focusing solely on baseball in 1987. In 1988, he was named
Player of the Year by
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and an All-American by
Baseball America and the
ABCA. He had a 16–3
record with 188
strikeouts, including 21 strikeouts in a game against
UNC-Wilmington. He was the
first player selected in the
1988 Major League Baseball draft by the Padres. Before signing with the Padres, Benes pitched for the
United States in the
1988 Summer Olympics. He pitched
innings, allowed two runs and struck out and
walked four batters in a 12–2 win over Australia that clinched the Americans' advance to the medal round. The Americans eventually won their first baseball Olympic gold medal. He also played in the
1988 Baseball World Cup, where the U.S. lost to Cuba in the title game. before making his MLB debut on August 11. After losing his first two games, he earned his first
win over the Philadelphia Phillies on August 23. He finished the season with a 6–3 record. He went 7–2 with the Mariners, albeit with a high 5.82 ERA. Both he and the franchise made their first appearance in the
MLB postseason in 1995. Benes pitched poorly in the playoffs, going 0–1 and allowing 13 runs in 14 innings. After the season, Benes became a
free agent. Benes was primarily a starting pitcher but on May 29, 1996, he picked up his only major league save. He recorded the final out of a 6–5 Cardinals victory over the
Colorado Rockies to close out the game for the Cardinals. After the 1997 season, Benes agreed to a five-year, $30 million contract to return to the Cardinals. Unfortunately, the contract was signed 90 minutes after a deadline to re-sign players. Instead, Benes became one of the first players in Diamondbacks history when he signed a three-year, $18 million contract prior to the team's inaugural season. He threw the first pitch, a ball, and earned the first loss in Diamondbacks history, as the team fell on
Opening Day to the Rockies. He led the team with 14 wins, 34 starts, and 164 strikeouts in its first season. Benes returned to the Cardinals in 2000. He ended his career with 2,000 strikeouts, which is in the top 100 in MLB history. His final regular season MLB pitch struck out
Ryan Christenson on September 29, 2002. He ended his career in the
NL Championship Series, earning a loss in Game 4 to the
San Francisco Giants.
Honors Benes was inducted into the Purple Aces Hall of Fame in 1994, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2020, The University of Evansville retired his number in 2010. He received the Padres
Clyde McCullough Pitcher of the Year Award in 1991 and 1993 and was named the
NL Player of the Week for the week of August 1, 1993. == Personal life ==