Butch Benton

Butch Benton
Catcher
Born:(1957-08-24)August 24, 1957 Tampa, Florida,U.S.
Batted:Right Threw:Right
MLB debut
September 14, 1978, for the New York Mets
Last MLB appearance
June 15, 1985, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Batting average	.162
Home runs	0
Runs batted in	10
Teams
New York Mets(1978,1980) Chicago Cubs(1982) Cleveland Indians(1985)

Alfred Lee"Butch"Benton(born August 24, 1957) is an American formerMajor League Baseballright-handedcatcher.He was selected sixth overall in the1975 Major League Baseball Draftby theNew York Mets.

Early years

Benton played bothfootballandbaseballatGodby High SchoolinTallahassee, Florida.He declined a football scholarship to theUniversity of Floridawhen the Mets drafted him in the first round of the1975amateur draft. After four seasons in theirfarm system,in which he batted.275 with 22home runsand 189runs batted in,he made the jump from double A to the major leagues at age 21 in1978when he joined the Mets as a September call-up.

New York Mets

He made his major league debut on September 14, pinch-hitting forRoy Lee Jackson.Facing theMontreal Expos'Dan Schatzeder,Benton flew out to center field.He did not break into the lineup again until September 29 atWrigley Field,when he was hit by aMike Krukowpitch as apinch hitter.Benton scored his onlyrunas a Metpinch runningforEd Kranepoolthe next day.

On October 1, the last day of the season, Benton saw his first opportunity to play in the field. Again facing theChicago Cubsat Wrigley, his first major leaguehitwas asingleoffLynn McGlothenthat drove in a run. He also singled offDave Geiselin the ninth, driving in the fifth run of the Mets' 5-3 victory.Benton was the sixth-youngest player to appear in theNational Leaguein 1978.

Benton spent the entirety of the1979season with the Mets' triple A affiliate in Tidewater and fared poorly, hitting only.198 with three home runs and 25 runs batted in. As the fourth catcher in the Mets' depth chart, he was called up midway through the1980season when bothJohn StearnsandRon Hodgeswere sidelined with injuries. Batting.263 at the time of his promotion, Benton managed just one hit in 21at batsasAlex Trevino's backup over the remainder of the season in the major leagues.

Chicago Cubs

Before the1981season, the Mets traded him to the Cubs for future considerations.He again spent the balance of the season in the minors, hitting just.202 for the triple AIowa Cubs.The best season of Benton's minor league career came in1982,when he batted.330 with eleven home runs and 57 runs batted in for Iowa. He was called up to the majors that September, and managed one hit in seven at bats over four games; the one hit coming against the Mets.

Cleveland Indians

Benton spent the next few seasons as a minor league journeyman. Before the1983season, the Cubs traded him to the Montreal Expos forinfielderJerry Manuel.Neither player saw any major league experience with his next franchise. Benton's.298batting averageand nine home runs for Montreal's triple A affiliate, theWichita Aeros,earned him a minor league deal and an invitation tospring trainingfrom thePhiladelphia Phillies.However, he failed to make the club, and was released. Shortly afterwards, he signed with theDetroit Tigers,and spent the1984season catching for their triple A team in Evansville.

He then signed with theCleveland Indiansorganization, who decided to go into the1985season with three catchers (Benton,Jerry WillardandChris Bando). On April 27, about six and a half years after his major league debut, Benton garnered his first extra-base hit, adoublethat drove in a run offScott McGregor.Later in the sameinning,Benton got a single and a second run batted in offTippy Martinez.For the month, Benton batted.250 with three runs batted in. Meanwhile, Willard and Bando combined to go 5-for-50 with two runs batted in during April. With Willard out for the entire month of May with an injury, Benton saw his first real opportunity to earn a starting job. However, after going 2-for-3 with a run batted in against theTexas Rangerson May 4,Benton went 5-for-40 over the rest of the month. Shortly after Willard returned, Benton was demoted to triple A, where he remained for the duration of the season. The Indians released him in February1986.

Career statistics

Games	PA	AB	Runs	Hits	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	Avg.	Slg.	Fld%	CS%
51	109	99	6	16	4	0	0	10	5	14	2	.162	.202	.959	28%

Benton played for theSt. Petersburg Pelicansof theSenior Professional Baseball Associationin1990.His team won the championship in the league's only full year of existence,which may have prompted Benton's attempted comeback in1991at age 33 with theToledo Mud Hens.He batted just.133 in nine games with the Tigers affiliate, and was subsequently released, and retired from baseball.

Personal life

Benton's wife is the former Linn Abshier. They married in1996,and reside inOcala, Florida.They have nine children and many grandchildren.

Benton was a member of thePGAfrom2007to2015,and is the general manager at Red Tail Golf Club in Central Florida. He is a member of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association and attends charity events along with other retired major league players.

External links

• Career statistics and player information fromMLB,orESPN,orBaseball Reference,orFangraphs,orBaseball Reference (Minors),orUltimate Mets Database