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Kris Benson

Baltimore Orioles — No. 34
Starting Pitcher
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
April 9, 1999 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Selected MLB statistics (through August 31, 2006)
Record	68-71
ERA	4.32
Strikeouts	771
Former teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1999-2004) New York Mets (2004-2005) Baltimore Orioles (2006-Present)

Kristin James Benson (born November 7, 1974 in Superior, Wisconsin) is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who plays for the Baltimore Orioles. Benson pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1997 to 2004 and for the New York Mets from 2004 to 2005. Benson graduated in 1993 from Sprayberry High in Marietta, Georgia.

Contents 1 College career 2 Professional career 3 Career Major League statistics 3.1 Pitching 3.2 Batting 4 Personal life 5 External links

Olympic medal record
Men's Baseball
Bronze	Atlanta 1996	Team Competition

Benson attended Clemson University from 1993 to 1996. He won the Rotary Smith Award in 1996 and still holds many school pitching records. His teammates included fellow future major-leaguers Billy Koch and Matthew LeCroy both of whom played with him in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, USA where they won the bronze medal. He also was honored as the ACC Male Athlete of the Year in 1996.

Benson was the first pick of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. His best season came in 2000 with Pittsburgh when he posted career bests in earned run average, strikeouts, innings pitched, and games pitched as well as his only double-digit strikeout games and his career-best three-hit complete game despite the fact that he is a groundball pitcher. After 2000, he needed Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2001 season. The New York Mets infamously acquired him near the trading deadline of the 2004 season. On January 21, 2006, Benson was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for pitchers Jorge Julio and John Maine. Benson will miss the entire 2007 season with a torn rotator cuff. [1] The Baltimore Sun reported that the Orioles have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Steve Trachsel, who will replace Benson in their starting rotation. [2]

Through the 2005 season:

• Games started: 165
• Win-Loss: 57-61
• Complete games: 5
• Shutouts: 2
• Earned run average: 4.25
• WHIP: 1.37
• Strikeouts: 699
• Strikeouts per nine innings: 6.14

• Batting average: 40 hits in 307 at-bats (.130 average)
• Runs: 22
• Doubles: 7
• Triples: 0
• Home runs: 1 (Off Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez)
• RBI: 20
• Walks: 15
• Strikeouts: 123
• Stolen bases: never attempted

Kris is married to Anna Benson, who was a mildly controversial figure during Benson's New York years due to her public statements [3]. The Bensons have 3 children and have founded the non-profit organization, Benson's Battalion.

• MLB.com Profile
• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
• Official Website

Preceded by Darin Erstad

First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 1996

Succeeded by Matt Anderson