Benny Agbayani

From SoSH

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Agbayani's Moments in the Sun 3 Trivia 4 Transactions 5 External Links

Overall Career

Benny Peter Agbayani Jr. (born December 28, 1971 in Honolulu, HI), is one of the few Hawaiian born Major leaguers, and is one of only four players in Major League Baseball history from the Philippines, either by birth, citizenship, or heritage. In five Major-League seasons, Agbayani compiled a career batting average of .274 with a career slugging percentage of .445 with 39 home runs and 156 RBI in 383 games. Despite having only limited and occasional success in the bigs, Agbayani was a very popular figure with New York Mets fans, where his successes were often met with "Benny, Benny!" chants. Agbayani was with the Red Sox for 13 games in 2002.

Agbayani's Moments in the Sun

• On August 12, 2000, in the fourth inning of a game against the San Francisco Giants, Agbayani handed the ball to a 7-year-old fan despite there being only two outs. This allowed the Giants to take a 2-1 lead when Jeff Kent and Ellis Burks scored. The Mets eventually won the game, 3-2.
• On March 30, 2000 in Tokyo, Japan, he launched a grand slam in the 11th inning against the Chicago Cubs giving the Mets their first win of the season.
• On October 7, 2000 he hit a game-winning home run in the 13th inning of Game 3 of the NLDS off Aaron Fultz of the Giants.

Trivia

• Agbayani was named MVP of the first Asia Series in 2005 after helping the Chiba Lotte Marines to the title.
• Currently (2006) playing for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan.
• Is barred from membership in the MLB Players Association after serving as a replacement player during the 1994 strike.

Transactions

• June 1, 1992: Drafted by the California Angels in the 25th round of the 1992 amateur draft, but did not sign.

• June 3, 1993: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 30th round of the 1993 amateur draft. Player signed June 15, 1993.

• January 21, 2002: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the New York Mets with Todd Zeile and cash to the Colorado Rockies. The New York Mets sent Lenny Harris and Glendon Rusch to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Colorado Rockies sent Craig House and Ross Gload to the New York Mets. The Colorado Rockies sent Alex Ochoa to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Milwaukee Brewers sent Jeff D'Amico, Jeromy Burnitz, Lou Collier, Mark Sweeney, and cash to the New York Mets.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis