Juan Beniquez

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Juan Beniquez

Born:	May 13, 1950
Birthplace:	San Sebastian, Puerto Rico
Hometown:
Height:	5' 11"
Weight:	165 lbs
Bats:	Right
Throws:	Right
Drafted:	1968: Undrafted Free Agent by the Boston Red Sox
College:
High School:
Other Teams:	Texas Rangers 1976-78 New York Yankees 1979 Seattle Mariners 1980 California Angels 1981-85 Baltimore Orioles 1986 Kansas City Royals 1987 Toronto Blue Jays 1987-88
Years with Boston:	1971-1975

Juan Jose (Torres) Beniquez (born May 13, 1950 in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico) was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 4, 1971, with the Boston Red Sox.

1 Overall Career
2 Beniquez's Moment in the Sun
3 Awards
4 Trivia
5 Transactions
6 External Links

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Overall Career

Beniquez set a modern ML record with six errors at SS in two consecutive games for Boston in 1972, prompting the Red Sox to convert him to an outfielder. On November 17, 1975, Beniquez was traded by the Red Sox along with Craig Skok and Steve Barr to the Texas Rangers for Fergie Jenkins.

On January 22, 1988, an arbitrator awarded Juan and six other major leaguers free agency following a collusion lawsuit filed by the players' union against Major League Baseball. Joining Beniquez were Kirk Gibson‚ Carlton Fisk‚ Donnie Moore‚ Joe Niekro‚ Butch Wynegar‚ and Tom Brookens. Despite his newfound freedom, Juan decided to re-sign with Toronto.

Beniquez played a total of 1500 games, with a lifetime average of .274, 79 HRs and 476 RBI. His career ended on May 31, 1988 when the Toronto Blue Jays released him.

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Beniquez's Moment in the Sun

On June 12, 1986, as a member of the Baltimore Orioles, Beniquez hits three home runs in one game against the New York Yankees.

On September 26, 1987 with Toronto, Beniquez' pinch-hit bases-loaded triple in the bottom of the 9th inning led the Blue Jays to a 10-9 win over first-place Detroit. The victory gave Toronto a 3.5 game lead over the Tigers in the AL East, and it seemed Juan would make his third trip to the post-season. However the Blue Jays would soon blow that lead, losing their final 7 games of the season while Detroit won 6 of its last 8 to take the division by 2 games.

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Awards

1977 American League Gold Glove Winner.

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Trivia

Beniquez played for eight different AL clubs, an all-time record.
Juan finished 25th in voting for the 1984 American League Most Valuable Player award with 2 votes. His career-best .336 batting average would have been good enough for 3rd place behind Dave Winfield (.340) and champion Don Mattingly (.343), but Beniquez only made 382 trips to the place -- far short of the minimum 502 needed to qualify for the title.
While Beniquez was with Kansas City at the start of the 1987 season, his son, Juan Jr., signed with the Royals. An outfielder, Juan Jr. played 58 games over three seasons in the minors, hitting .205 at the rookie and Class A levels.
In 1989, Beniquez hit .359 playing for the St. Lucie Legends in the Senior Professional Baseball Association. Beniquez also pitched 3 scoreless innings in one game for St. Lucie, giving up one walk and no hits.

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Transactions

Beniquez' clutch game-winning hit for the Blue Jays was front- page news in Toronto in 1987.

October 1, 1968: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent.
November 17, 1975: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Craig Skok (PTBNL) and Steve Barr to the Texas Rangers for Fergie Jenkins.
November 10, 1978: Traded by the Texas Rangers with Greg Jemison (minors), Mike Griffin, Paul Mirabella, and Dave Righetti to the New York Yankees for Domingo Ramos, Mike Heath, Sparky Lyle, Larry McCall, Dave Rajsich, and cash.
November 1, 1979: Traded by the New York Yankees with Rick Anderson, Jim Beattie, and Jerry Narron to the Seattle Mariners for Ruppert Jones and Jim Lewis.
October 24, 1980: Granted Free Agency.
December 29, 1980: Signed as a Free Agent with the California Angels.
November 12, 1985: Granted Free Agency.
January 28, 1986: Signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles.
December 17, 1986: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Kansas City Royals for Jimmy Daniels (minors) and Joe Jarrell (minors).
July 14, 1987: Traded by the Kansas City Royals to the Toronto Blue Jays for Luis Aquino.
January 22, 1988: Granted Free Agency.
January 25, 1988: Signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays.
May 31, 1988: Released by the Toronto Blue Jays.