Benito Malavé

From BR Bullpen

Benito Malave

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 1", Weight 160 lb.

BR Register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Benito Malavé peaked at AA in the US and played was a reliever in the Venezuelan Winter League for 15 seasons from 1980-81 to 1995-96. His brother was major league coach Omar Malavé. [1]

He had a 3.38 ERA for the Cardenales de Lara in 1980-1981. [2] Signing with the Toronto Blue Jays, he was 3-4 with a 3.21 ERA for the 1981 GCL Blue Jays. He was third in the Gulf Coast League with 64 strikeouts, behind Jack Hardy and Bobby Macias, but was also second with 41 walks (three behind Mike Callahan). He walked ten and allowed five earned runs in nine innings for Lara in 1981-1982 and threw one inning without an earned run in the postseason. He split 1982 between the GCL Blue Jays (5-0, 1.17 in 9 G) and Florence Blue Jays (11.57 in 4 G). He tied for 10th in the GCL in victories.

In 1982-1983, he was 0-2 with a 12.00 ERA for Lara. He did not pitch in the summer then was 0-2 with a 3.80 ERA the next winter. Moving to the Seattle Mariners (presumably as a free agent), he was 4-8 with a 3.34 ERA for the 1984 Wausau Timbers. He went 2-2 with a save and a 4.17 ERA for Lara in the winter then allowed two earned runs in 1 1/3 postseason innings. He split 1985 between Wausau (0-1,3.38 in 5 G) and the Salinas Spurs (4-2, 4.40 in 8 G). Back with Wausau in 1986, he was 5-4 with 3 saves and a 4.23 ERA in 40 games. He tied Logan White for 9th in the M's chain in games pitched and missed the Midwest League top ten by one. The Louisville Redbirds took him in the AAA portion of the 1986 Rule V Draft.

Back with Lara for 1986-1987, he was 4-4 with two saves and a 1.93 ERA. He tied Wally Sarmiento for 10th in the Venezuelan League in games pitched. He split 1987 between the St. Petersburg Cardinals (1-1, 15 Sv, 2.03) and Arkansas Travelers (1-4, 4.15 in 28 G). He tied Bob Devlin and Rick Raether for 6th in the Florida State League in saves. Among Cardinals minor leaguers, he tied Bill Earley for fifth with 52 games pitched and was fourth in saves. He did not make the league All-Star team as Brian Meyer and Dana Ridenour were the All-Star relievers. In the winter, he fell to 1-3 with two saves and a 5.25 ERA. He was much better in the postseason (0.82 ERA, 19 K in 11 IP). He was 5-1 with a save and a 4.30 ERA for Arkansas in 1988. He tied Barry Bass for 8th in the Texas League in games pitched and was 8th in the Cards chain. Going from the Cardinals system back to the Cardenales, he was 0-2 with a 7.14 ERA in a rough winter, posting a 1.97 WHIP.

The Cumana native moved to the Navegantes del Magallanes in 1989-1990 and was resurgent at 3-1, 3.34 with 11 saves. He had a save in the postseason and did not allow an earned run in 6 2/3 IP. He was second in saves, one behind Julio Machado, and was fourth with 27 games pitched. He went 3-2 with five saves and a 4.30 ERA in 25 games in 1990-1991, and had a 1-0, 4.32 postseason record. He tied Brian Drahman for sixth in pitching appearances and tied Alan Mills for sixth in saves. He pitched in the Mexican League that summer, going 3-2 with 7 saves and a 3.83 ERA for the Charros de Jalisco. [3]

In 1991-1992, he was 5-2 with 14 saves and a 1.40 ERA for the Navegantes though he had a rougher postseason (5 ER in 6 IP). He led the LVBP in saves (one ahead of John Wetteland) and games pitched (35, 2 ahead of Jose Villa) and toed for ninth in wins. He won Closer of the Year, the second Magallanes pitcher to win, following Jim Winn. [4] He was 2-0 with a save and a 4.34 ERA for the '92 Acereros de Monclova. [5] In 1992-1993, he was 1-3 with a 4.21 ERA, losing his closing role to Al Osuna and Todd Jones. He had a 3.18 ERA in the postseason. He slid further to 0-1, 5.40 in 1993-1994. He pitched two postseason innings, allowing no earned runs and getting a win. He moved to the Petroleros de Cabimas for 1994-1995 and had a 0-3, 3.32 record, then was 1-3 with a 2.87 ERA for the 1995-1996 Pastora de Occidente club to end his career.

In the LVBP regular season, he had won 20 games and lost 31, with a 3.87 ERA and 35 saves for his career. He was 2-1 with a save and a 3.09 ERA in the postseason. In the US minors, he was 28-25 with 19 saves and a 3.61 ERA in 214 games. He was 5-2 with a save and a 3.99 ERA in Mexico. [6]

Notable Achievements[edit]

1991-92 Venezuelan Winter League Closer of the Year

Sources[edit]

  1. ↑ Septima Entrada
  2. ↑ Benito Malave at the Registro Historico Estadistico Del Beisbol Profesional Venezolano (this is the source for all LVBP stats cited)
  3. ↑ The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros
  4. ↑ El Diario
  5. ↑ The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics
  6. ↑ ibid.
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