Benny Distefano
First baseman / Right Fielder / Catcher
Born: (1962-01-23) January 23, 1962
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
May 18, 1984, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
August 5, 1992, for the Houston Astros
MLB statistics
Batting average.228
Home runs5
Runs batted in28
Teams

Benito James Distefano (born January 23, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros in the 1980s and with Navegantes del Magallanes in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional. He is currently a minor league coach in the New York Mets organization.

Information

Distefano remains the most recent left-handed-throwing player to catch an MLB game, catching in three separate games for the Pirates in 1989.[1]

On April 28, 1992, David Cone of the New York Mets brought a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Distefano broke it up with an infield hit.[2]

In 2010, Distefano was hired by the New York Mets to serve as the hitting coach for the Single A Brooklyn Cyclones.[3] After serving as the hitting coach for the Class A St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League for a few years, Distefano returned to Brooklyn for the 2014 season.

Distefano was named as the bench coach for the Syracuse Mets of the New York Mets organization for the 2019 season. In 2020-21, Distefano was a roving instructor in the Mets' system.

References

  1. Schwarz, Alan (August 15, 2009). "Left-Handed and Left Out". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2023 via NYTimes.com.
  2. "Cone hurls 2-hit shutout".
  3. "Brooklyn Cyclones". MiLB.com.
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