Mike Benjamin

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1989-2002)

Mike Benjamin was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1989 to 2002 for 4 teams, including the San Francisco Giants, a span of 14 seasons. In 818 career games, he hit .229 with 442 hits, 24 home runs, and 169 RBI.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .229
HR 24
RBI 169
H 442
OPS .616
PIV -6,128
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 195 lb
Born
11/22/1965 in Euclid, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1989-07-07
Last Game
2002-09-28

Full name: Michael Paul Benjamin

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Career Batting Statistics

Mike Benjamin — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
818 1,926 227 442 109 15 24 169 44 106 429 .229 .277 .339 .616 -6,128

Career AVG .229 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — 13.1% below league average.

Career OBP .277 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 16.9% below league average.

Career SLG .339 vs. league average .410 across their career seasons — 17.3% below league average.

Career OPS .616 vs. league average .744 across their career seasons — 17.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Mike Benjamin Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1989 SFN NL 14 6 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167 — — — — 0.0
1990 SFN NL 22 56 7 12 3 1 2 3 1 3 10 .214 .257 (-17%) .324 (-22%) .385 (+7%) .710 (-6%) -80.3
1991 SFN NL 54 106 12 13 3 0 2 8 3 7 26 .123 .255 (-52%) .323 (-42%) .384 (-46%) .708 (-44%) -759.7
1992 SFN NL 40 75 4 13 2 1 1 3 1 4 15 .173 .255 (-32%) .322 (-33%) .377 (-29%) .699 (-31%) -375.6
1993 SFN NL 63 146 22 29 7 0 4 16 0 9 23 .199 .265 (-25%) .332 (-21%) .403 (-18%) .735 (-19%) -462.6
1994 SFN NL 38 62 9 16 5 1 1 9 5 5 16 .258 .269 (-4%) .338 (+1%) .424 (-1%) .763 (avg) 5.0
1995 SFN NL 68 186 19 41 6 0 3 12 11 8 51 .220 .266 (-17%) .337 (-24%) .417 (-28%) .755 (-26%) -812.7
1996 PHI NL 35 103 13 23 5 1 4 13 3 12 21 .223 .269 (-17%) .340 (-7%) .426 (-4%) .767 (-6%) -94.7
1997 BOS AL 49 116 12 27 9 1 0 7 2 4 27 .233 .266 (-13%) .336 (-22%) .419 (-22%) .756 (-22%) -454.9
1998 BOS AL 124 349 46 95 23 0 4 39 3 15 73 .272 .266 (+2%) .335 (-7%) .420 (-11%) .755 (-9%) -561.9
1999 PIT NL 110 368 42 91 26 7 1 37 10 20 90 .247 .271 (-9%) .344 (-17%) .433 (-16%) .778 (-16%) -1132.1
2000 PIT NL 93 233 28 63 18 2 2 19 5 12 45 .270 .270 (avg) .344 (-9%) .437 (-11%) .782 (-10%) -432.8
2002 PIT NL 108 120 7 18 2 1 0 3 0 7 31 .150 .261 (-43%) .331 (-39%) .416 (-56%) .747 (-49%) -965.8
Career · 13 seasons 818 1,926 227 442 109 15 24 169 44 106 429 .229 — — — — -6,128

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Pitching Statistics

Mike Benjamin — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.0

Career ERA 0.00 vs. league average 4.39 across their career seasons — 100.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Mike Benjamin — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1997 BOS AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0.00 — 0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Mike Benjamin — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 11 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 .091

Playoff Batting by Year

Mike Benjamin — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1998 ALDS1 BOS 4 11 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 .091

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (819 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Mike Benjamin — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home4029411142201082.234
Away4169851132221487.225

Pitching — Home / Away

Mike Benjamin — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away11.000000.00

Last 10 Games — Batting

Mike Benjamin — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2002-09-28 PITCHCL 311000002
2002-09-25 PITNYNW 000000000
2002-09-22 PITCHCW 000000000
2002-09-20 PITCHCW 010000000
2002-09-19 PITCINL 100000000
2002-09-15 PITPHIL 300000002
2002-09-13 PITPHIW 000000000
2002-09-11 PITCINW 000000000
2002-09-09 PITCINL 000000000
2002-09-07 PITMIAW 000000000

Last 1 Games — Pitching

Mike Benjamin — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1997-06-21 BOSDET — 1.0000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Mike Benjamin — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 16 4 55 11 0 5
2B 184 143 355 413 4 101
3B 199 89 85 273 14 19
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
P 1 0 0 0 0 0
SS 375 264 439 952 28 193

Season-by-Season Fielding

Mike Benjamin — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1989 SFN SS 8 0 4 4 0 0
1990 SFN SS 21 16 29 53 1 10
1991 SFN 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1991 SFN SS 51 34 64 123 3 23
1992 SFN 3B 2 0 0 0 0 0
1992 SFN SS 33 25 34 71 1 13
1993 SFN 2B 23 17 54 54 1 23
1993 SFN 3B 16 14 10 34 3 3
1993 SFN SS 23 9 10 45 1 7
1994 SFN 2B 10 7 18 20 1 3
1994 SFN 3B 5 1 0 5 0 1
1994 SFN SS 18 8 15 45 2 10
1995 SFN 2B 8 4 7 14 0 0
1995 SFN 3B 43 30 29 77 4 3
1995 SFN SS 16 7 15 30 0 6
1996 PHI 2B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1996 PHI SS 31 30 37 87 6 14
1997 BOS 1B 4 0 6 2 0 1
1997 BOS 2B 5 4 14 11 0 6
1997 BOS 3B 19 14 13 39 4 4
1997 BOS P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1997 BOS SS 16 10 17 29 2 4
1998 BOS 1B 10 4 41 9 0 3
1998 BOS 2B 87 73 160 189 2 40
1998 BOS 3B 11 5 6 19 0 0
1998 BOS SS 20 18 26 58 1 11
1999 PIT 2B 12 11 21 31 0 5
1999 PIT 3B 6 1 1 5 0 0
1999 PIT SS 93 81 140 298 8 77
2000 PIT 1B 1 0 4 0 0 0
2000 PIT 2B 27 20 57 71 0 18
2000 PIT 3B 34 19 13 61 2 5
2000 PIT SS 30 15 30 74 2 13
2002 PIT 1B 1 0 4 0 0 1
2002 PIT 2B 11 7 23 23 0 6
2002 PIT 3B 62 5 13 33 1 3
2002 PIT OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
2002 PIT SS 15 11 18 35 1 5

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Mike Benjamin Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
First Base 16
Second Base 184
Third Base 199
Shortstop 375
Right Field 1
Designated Hitter 4

Awards & Honors

Mike Benjamin — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1995 Player of the Week Week of 1995-06-17

Salary History

Mike Benjamin's recorded salaries total $4,870,000 over 12 seasons, 1990 to 2002. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Benjamin's career ran from 1989 to 2002. No salary is recorded for 1989 and 1997.

Mike Benjamin — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2002 PIT NL $925,000
2001 PIT NL $925,000
2000 PIT NL $700,000
1999 PIT NL $700,000
1998 BOS AL $242,500
1996 PHI NL $325,000
1995 SFN NL $320,000
1994 SFN NL $225,000
1993 SFN NL $142,500
1992 SFN NL $150,000
1991 SFN NL $110,000
1990 SFN NL $105,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $4,870,000

College History

Mike Benjamin — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Arizona State University Tempe AZ 1986, 1987
Cerritos College Norwalk CA 1984, 1985

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Mike Benjamin (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    John Kennedy
    .225 avg, 32 HR
  2. 97
    Alexi Amarista
    .231 avg, 21 HR
  3. 96
    Ryan Goins
    .228 avg, 22 HR
  4. 93
    Luis Rivera
    .233 avg, 28 HR
  5. 89
    John McDonald
    .233 avg, 28 HR
  6. 85
    Manny Alexander
    .231 avg, 15 HR

Mike Benjamin: the record in brief

Mike Benjamin played a first major league game on July 7, 1989 and a last one on September 28, 2002. Club by club, the record runs the San Francisco Giants (1989 through 1995), the Philadelphia Phillies (1996), the Boston Red Sox (1997 to 1998), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1999 through 2002). Benjamin is listed as a shortstop at 6 feet, 3 inches and 195 pounds. Benjamin threw and hit right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is November 22, 1965, in Euclid, OH, USA. On the record, Mike Benjamin was born Michael Paul Benjamin.

Benjamin finished with 442 hits from 1,926 at bats in 818 games, which works out to .229; the totals also include 24 home runs, 169 RBI, and 44 stolen bases. Benjamin got on base at a .277 rate and slugged .339 (.616 OPS). Measured against the leagues Benjamin played in, the .229 career average compares with a .264 league average over the same seasons, 13.1% below the league. No season topped the 95 hits of 1998.

Frequently Asked Questions about Mike Benjamin

What years did Mike Benjamin play?
Mike Benjamin played in Major League Baseball from 1989 to 2002.
Was Mike Benjamin a pitcher?
No. Mike Benjamin was a position player (Shortstop), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Mike Benjamin hit?
Mike Benjamin hit 24 career home runs with 442 hits.
What teams did Mike Benjamin play for?
Mike Benjamin played for 4 teams: the San Francisco Giants (1989–1995), the Philadelphia Phillies (1996), the Boston Red Sox (1997–1998), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1999–2000, 2002).
What were Mike Benjamin's career stats?
In 818 games, Mike Benjamin had 442 hits, 24 home runs, 169 RBI, 227 runs, and 44 stolen bases, with a .229 batting average.
How much did Mike Benjamin earn in his career?
Mike Benjamin's recorded salaries total $4,870,000 over 12 seasons, 1990 to 2002. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Benjamin's career ran from 1989 to 2002. No salary is recorded for 1989 and 1997.
What was Mike Benjamin's salary?
Mike Benjamin's last recorded salary was $925,000, in 2002. His highest recorded salary was $925,000, in 2001, and his lowest was $105,000, in 1990. The Salary History table lists each season from 1990 to 2002.
What position did Mike Benjamin play?
Mike Benjamin played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Mike Benjamin and how much did he weigh?
Mike Benjamin was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 195 pounds.
How many home runs did Mike Benjamin hit each season?
Mike Benjamin's home runs by season: 0 in 1989, 2 in 1990, 2 in 1991, 1 in 1992, 4 in 1993, 1 in 1994, 3 in 1995, 4 in 1996, 0 in 1997, 4 in 1998, 1 in 1999, 2 in 2000, and 0 in 2002. His most in one season was 4, in 1993, 1996, and 1998.
What was Mike Benjamin's career batting average?
Mike Benjamin batted .229 over his career, with 442 hits in 1,926 at bats.
How many RBI did Mike Benjamin have?
Mike Benjamin drove in 169 runs in his career.
What was Mike Benjamin's career ERA?
Mike Benjamin finished with a 0.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.
Is Mike Benjamin in the Hall of Fame?
No. Mike Benjamin has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.