Wednesday, April 14, 2010

2002 Bowman, Benito Baez



#425 Benito Baez

Here is the 2002 Bowman card that has been coming up for about a week now. It is another Atlantic League signature, coutesy of Paul. When I first got this card from him last year, I didn't realize that Benito pitched in eight Major League games. I just figured that out ten minutes ago. I figured that, like most Bowman cards of players that you never heard of, Benito ended up spending his entire career in the minors. Obviously, that is not the case here.

Benito made his Major League debut in August of 2001, his seventh season in pro ball. In his eight games, he threw 9.1 innings with a 13.50 ERA. He gave up 14 runs on 22 hits and 6 walks. But, on a positive note, he did strikeout 14 batters.

He must have blown out his arm during his cup of coffee. The next season, he only made five appearances with the Marlins GCL team. The season after that, he made three appearances with their Florida State League team. He ended up pitching for the Atlantic League's Road Warrior team the next two seasons and spent his final season pitching for the Newark Bears in 2008.

If you want to see a crazy-looking card, click on the Baseball Almanac link at the top (Benito's name) and look at the autograph that BA has on record from him.

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