Joaquín Benoit

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**Joaquín Benoit**
Major League Baseball debut
Texas Rangers — No. 53
Relief pitcher
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
August 8, 2001 for the Texas Rangers
Selected MLB statistics (through the end of the 2006 season)
Wins-Losses	20-20
ERA	5.12
Strikeouts	408

Joaquín Antonio (Peña) Benoit (born July 26, 1977 in Santiago, Dominican Republic) is a middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played for the Texas Rangers since the 2001 season. He bats and throws right handed.

Signing with the Rangers at the age of 16, Benoit has been with the organization for his entire professional career. Excepting rehab assignments after stints on the disabled list, he has been with the Major League club since midway through the 2003 season.

Originally a starter, Benoit was moved to the bullpen part-time in the 2003 season. Since then, he has filled one of the Rangers' long relief roles, making spot starts as necessary. From 2005 on, he has been exclusively a relief pitcher. Through the end of the 2005 season, Benoit has posted a 19-19 record with a 5.17 ERA and one save in 103 games pitched.

[edit] Trivia

Benoit holds the Major League record for having recorded the longest save in history[1]. He relieved Todd Van Poppel at the start of the third inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on September 3, 2002. This the only save ever credited to Benoit.