Our final look at the career of Andy Benes starts with his appearance in the 1993 MLB All-Star Game and takes us to today, where he enjoying life in the St. Louis area and continues to make a lasting impact in the sport that he loves - baseball.

---

Being the top draft pick brings about a certain amount of pressure, but Andy Benes never let that get to him.  He used that as a motivating factor.  That is what enable him to have a successful 14-year career in the Majors.  One of those highlights came in 1993 when he was named to the All-Star Team where he would represent the National League in Baltimore.

"The All-Star game is about pitching well in the first half, for most of my career, I usually pitched better in the second half.  That year (1993) was an exception, I threw really well and was leading the league in ERA and I got picked.  I remember Bruce Bochy came in and said obviously Tony Gwynn is going to Baltimore, but I wanted you to know that you are going with him and good luck, we're excited for you," Benes said about the experience.  "To be there, I tell people, I faced eight guys, six were Hall of Famers and
the other two were really, really good – Joe Carter and John Olerud – they were the 3 and 4 hitters for the Toronto Blue Jays when they won back-to-back World Series." 

---

Part 1: Making his name in Evansville  -  Part 2: Taking it to the next level

---

"I faced Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Ken Griffey Jr., Kirby Puckett, Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken Jr.  It was the first time that I had been in that environment.  I remember jogging in and Tommy Lasorda was on the mound waiting for me in the third inning.  He said "OK big boy, have some fun". 

It was an interesting experience as he came towards Lasorda.  Lasorda was the legendary manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were in the same division as the Padres.  On that day, those who were normally foes, were together on two teams – the American and National League.  It was even bigger in that time as interleague play was not introduced until the 1990's.

"Lasorda said he was rooting for me and wanted me to have fun.  Probably the best thing that could have happened for me was Robbie Alomar hitting a 2-1 pitch for a home run – he was the first batter I faced," Benes referenced.  "After that I was able to take a deep breath and said, OK, do your thing and I struck out Griffey and Ripken.  It was just a great experience.  My family was able to be there – my wife, parents, in-laws, son Drew and it was a nice way to celebrate a good first half."

Benes explained that his numbers that year could have been even better with more run support.  He chuckled when he said that over the span of six years in the 90's, he received the lowest run support in the league.  In his All-Star season, he went 15-15 with an ERA in the 3's.  That is an impressive stat!  In 1994, he led the league in strikeouts and losses.  He is one of just two in MLB history who have that distinction.  The other – Nolan Ryan.

From 1988 until 1995, Benes was with just one team – the Padres.  That changed during the 1995 season as he was traded to the Seattle Mariners.  He went from a team that was out of the playoff hunt to a squad that was in the midst of a pennant race.  The 1995 Mariners team could still go out and compete today, in 2018.

"I played on a team with A-Rod, Griffey, Edgar Martinez, Tino Martines, Jay Buhner, Randy Johnson.  That was a fun, close knit team.  Vince Coleman got traded over there," Benes said.  "We beat the Yankees in an epic series.  Mattingly homered off me in game two to tie the game, he had to leave game five with back trouble, so he got his last hit off me.  We ended up beating the Yankees before losing to Cleveland in the ALCS." 

"After that, I was free to sign wherever and St. Louis – with Tony LaRussa coming in with Dave Duncan as his pitching coach – was one of my top choices; it came down to  St. Louis or Chicago (Cub).  I ended up signing with the Cardinals and it was very exciting, was like coming home."

Things did not start the way Benes would have liked in 1996 as he went 1-7 through the first two months of play, but his fortunes changed and he won 18 games and helped his team get within one game of the World Series. 

"The things that I learned through six years helped me, I finished the year 17-3 and was on a playoff team and had great teammates," he said of his first year with the Cardinals.  "This was home for me, it is still home today and will probably always be home for me and my family.  I grew up rooting for the Cardinals and to come here and play with Ozzie Smith and Willie McGee, great Cardinal legends, was really cool for me."

Following the 1997 campaign, Benes was a free agent once again.  He had originally agreed to a 5-year deal to remain in St. Louis, but a miscommunication caused his contract to miss a deadline by just five minutes.  MLB ruled that he was free to sign with any team in the league, except St. Louis.  He remained a free agent into early 1998 when he got an unlikely call.

"It was the end of January and I was on a mission trip with a baseball ministry in Costa Rica.  I still did not have a team and I called home and my wife said we have a new team.  I said where are we going and she said Arizona.  I'm like, I did not even know they had a team, but got started there with Jay Bell, Matt Williams and Devon White.  We were the four veteran guys." 

Upon signing with the Diamondbacks, Benes received another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – he was the starting pitcher for the first game in franchise history on March 31, 1998 against the Colorado Rockies.  Earlier in 2018, Benes was invited back to Phoenix to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the moment.

"I got to throw the first game on 3/31 – this year was the 20^th reunion of the first game, I went out and threw ceremonial first pitch," he said.  "Mike Lansing, who was the hitter for the Rockies, was there as he now coaches for the D-Backs, it was a great celebration and was a first.  I probably would not have chosen that initially, but those two years in Phoenix were really good for my family, met some lifelong friends there and to be part of something new and fresh was super fun."

After two years in Phoenix, Benes was a free agent once again and he and his family had one goal in mind – to come back home to St. Louis.  In a career that saw Andy enjoy so many one-of-a-kind types of moments, it was his wife who had one of her own with his agent – Scott Boras.

"The Cardinals called and said we're talking to your agent - Scott Boras.  The Cards team president (Mark Lamping) called me; my son and his son were good buddies.  He said "I'm not calling you as the team president, I'm calling you as a friend saying do you guys want to come back."  My wife and I said if you make us an offer, we're coming home," Benes exclaimed. 

"We were on the phone with Scott after that and said that we talked to Mark and he was like, "well Detroit is offering you five years, New York would sign you" and my wife said here is the deal – she said Scott – get us the best deal you can in St. Louis, we're moving home or you're fired," Benes said with a laugh.  "She said that and hung the phone up and I'm like wow." 

Benes signed with the Cardinals the next day and has not left St. Louis since.

"We wanted to come home, we kept our home.  My in-laws were still in Evansville, we had a lot of family in Midwest, we wanted to be here for our kids and family.  My wife is probably the only one who has ever told Scott Boras to get us a deal or you're fired," Benes pointed out.  "It was great to be able to come home.  To this day, I am glad that the team president asked what I was thinking.  I did not care how they paid us, they could defer, we wanted it good for them and good for us."

In his return to St. Louis, Benes won 12 games in 2000.  He endured a rough patch in 2001, but continued to chip away and developed a splitter that helped him make a full transformation.  He led the majors in ERA in the second half of the season and went on to finish the 2002 season with a 2.78 ERA.

"I finished on a major high and was able to walk away with no regrets.  I was having some knee trouble and knew the end was coming.  The last batter I faced at Busch Stadium in the regular season, I struck him out, Mike Matheny threw him out at second, it was my 2000^th major league strikeout, was the last day of the season, and we were trying to win home field for playoffs," Benes said of the day.  "I came out and pitched great.  I was a Cardinal fan my entire life.  To be able to stand on the field with 45,000 Cardinals fans standing and clapping for me was a great way for me to finish my career.  I pitched in the playoffs and threw well, but that moment was amazing.  The fans here are so supportive and they appreciate you, if you show them that you care, they are behind you 100%."

Upon his retirement, Benes never got too far away from the game of baseball.  While it was tough to make the transition from professional baseball player to an ordinary guy, he is 100% happy and would not have things any other way.

"I got done and it's a tough transition, you are not thinking about what is next.  I did a lot of community stuff, which I really enjoy.  I did some broadcasting, pre and postgame stuff.  The club had talked to me about doing some on air stuff during the games and at one point, I was like I could maybe do home games, but I do not want to travel," he explained.  "I worked with Fox Sports Midwest and did that for 14 years.  I really enjoyed it, but in the last couple years, I took over a youth baseball organization with my son Drew.  It was the original baseball club in the city.  I just said I want to get away from MLB stuff, even though I love the Cardinals.  I wanted to try to have an impact in a different way.  We have about 600-700 kids and I get to work with them and watch them chase their dream from our high school program to playing college somewhere."

Benes and wife Jennifer enjoy a strong bond that has seen them make a worldwide impact.  They have four biological children and have adopted two children from Russia and are in the process of adopting a third from the Ukraine.

"Life is great, we are looking forward to completing our family at seven children.  We have been able to pick and choose what we want to do; we are adoptive parents, we've been foster parents, we are involved in our church," Benes said.  We love the community.  Baseball has given me the opportunity to choose what is next, initially, my wife said when we got done with our careers, you have this whiteboard and you can paint whatever picture you want of your future."

The impact Benes has had on the University of Evansville is everlasting.  The 1988 National Player of the Year had his #30 retired by the Purple Aces in 2010.  Making the moment even more special is that the Aces were playing Arkansas State – the team that his son Drew played for at the time.  Benes is one of just two in UE baseball history to receive the honor of having their number retired.  The other, quite appropriately, is the person who helped Benes get everything started – the #6 of Jim Brownlee.