Armando Benítez

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**Armando Benítez**
Major League Baseball debut
San Francisco Giants — No. 49
Relief Pitcher
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
July 28, 1994 for the Baltimore Orioles
Selected MLB statistics (through December 2, 2006)
Saves	280
ERA	2.95
Strikeouts	880
Former teams
Baltimore Orioles (1994-1998) New York Mets (1999-2003) New York Yankees (2003) Seattle Mariners (2003) Florida Marlins (2004) San Francisco Giants (2005-present)

Armando Germán Benítez [beh-NEE-tez] (born November 3, 1972) in Ramón Santana, Dominican Republic), is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants. He is known for his lively fastball, which occasionally reaches 100 MPH, and his crafty splitter. However, as he continues to age, Benítez's fastball has dropped to the mid-90's in velocity, leading to a lower strikeout rate.

Benítez was signed in 1990 by the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent. Coming up through the Orioles' farm system, he made his debut in 1994. While with the Orioles, he initially struggled, collecting a 5.66 ERA in 1995 and faltering in the postseason frequently. [1] Nevertheless, he started to show some of his future potential in 1998, earning a 3.82 ERA and 22 saves in 71 games.

Before the 1999 season, Benítez was traded to the New York Mets for Charles Johnson. During his first four seasons in New York, he became one of the Major Leagues' elite closers, saving 139 games. Unfortunately, his frequent failures in big games became infamous, including blowing his first World Series save opportunity and blowing several key games late in the 2001 season. As a result, Benítez's failures in clutch situations overshadowed most of the success he had in his career in New York. Regardless, several playoff contenders were interested in his services. Midway through 2003, as Benítez labored trying to convert saves through the year, he was traded to the New York Yankees, who intended to use him as a setup man for Mariano Rivera. Benítez had a 1.93 ERA in nine games before being traded again to the Seattle Mariners, where he finished the season.

In 2004, Benítez once again became a closer, taking a pay cut to join the Florida Marlins for one year. His season with the Marlins ended up being his best season to date; he saved 47 games in 51 chances and compiled a 1.29 ERA. In fact, after giving up a solo home run in his first game of the season, he did not allow another earned run until June 5, after an impressive streak of 30 scoreless innings. [2] After the season, Benítez elected to become a free agent, signing a three-year contract with the San Francisco Giants that was worth a reported US$21 million. His tenure with the Giants has since been mired with injuries and a high percentage of blown saves.

On July 27, 2006, Benítez angered the San Francisco fanbase by blaming a blown save against Washington on an error by second baseman Ray Durham, despite the fact that he initially allowed the tying run to reach base by walking Robert Fick. The Giant's closer remarked, "I did my job." [3] Durham accepted responsibility for the loss, but did not comment on Armando's lack of accountability.

Benítez struggled for much of the 2006 season, at one point blowing three consecutive save opportunities. Benítez's season ended prematurely after being placed on the 60-day disabled list with arthritis in both knees [4]. He ended the season with 17 saves in 25 opportunities. In his last outing of 2006 he allowed a run, two hits and a walk before being pulled in favor of Mike Stanton.