Jeff Bennett

David Jeffrey Bennett

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 206 lb.
• High School Gordonsville (TN) High School
• Debut April 6, 2004
• Final Game October 4, 2009
• Born June 10, 1980 in Donelson, TN USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Jeff Bennett was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 19th round of the 1998 amateur draft and made his pro debut that summer with the GCL Pirates. He split the next year between the GCL Pirates and the Hickory Crawdads, going 5-6 with a 4.97 ERA in 16 games between the two clubs (8 appearances coming with each team). He spent the entire 2000 campaign with the Crawdads, posting a 10-13 record and a 4.40 ERA in 27 starts. In 2001 he was with the Lynchburg Hillcats the majority of the year, leading the club with 11 wins and 98 strikeouts, before being promoted to the Altoona Curve to make one late season start. Bennett returned to Lynchburg in 2002, going 10-6 with a 3.62 ERA in 24 appearances as the team won the Carolina League title. He was back with Altoona the following year, posting a 4-4 record and a 2.72 ERA and recording a save while primarily pitching out of the pen. Late in the season, he was promoted to the Triple A Nashville Sounds and made five playoff appearances for the club.

Following the 2003 campaign, Bennett was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2003 Rule V Draft. He remained in the majors with Milwaukee for the entire 2004 campaign, going 1-5 with a 4.79 ERA in 60 appearances, all in relief. He was back with Nashville, now the Brewers Triple A squad, in 2005, and went 2-3 with a 3.03 ERA and 13 saves in 49 outings. He suffered an injury the following spring and missed all of 2006 following Tommy John surgery. He became a free agent after that lost campaign and signed with the Atlanta Braves. After making six appearances for the Mississippi Braves in April, he was promoted to the Richmond Braves for whom he was 3-5 with a 3.35 ERA in 36 games. He was called up by Atlanta in September and played in three big league games (starting a pair) and going 2-1 with a 3.46 ERA. In 2008, he was a member of the Atlanta bullpen and made a handful of spot starts as well. He logged his final big league time with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009, posting a bowling shoe ugly 9.95 ERA in 11 games.