View source for Ben McDonald

{{short description|American baseball player (born 1967)}}
{{for|the American basketball player|Ben McDonald (basketball)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Ben McDonald
|image=Ben McDonald.jpg
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1967|11|24}}
|birth_place=[[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 6
|debutyear=1989
|debutteam=Baltimore Orioles
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=July 16
|finalyear=1997
|finalteam=Milwaukee Brewers
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=78–70
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=3.91
|stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat3value=894
|teams=
* [[Baltimore Orioles]] ({{mlby|1989}}–{{mlby|1995}})
* [[Milwaukee Brewers]] ({{mlby|1996}}–{{mlby|1997}})
|highlights=
*[[Golden Spikes Award]] (1989)
|hoflink=College Baseball Hall of Fame
|hoftype=College
|hofdate=2008
|medaltemplates=
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Baseball]]}}
{{MedalCountry | {{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[Baseball at the 1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul]] | [[United States national baseball team|Team]]}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Baseball World Cup]]}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1988 Baseball World Cup|1988 Rome]] | [[United States national baseball team|Team]]}}
}}
'''Larry Benard''' "'''Ben'''" '''McDonald''' (born November 24, 1967) is an American former [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) pitcher. The first overall pick in the [[1989 MLB Draft]], he played for the [[Baltimore Orioles]] and [[Milwaukee Brewers]] from 1989 through 1997.

==Baseball career==
===Amateur===
After graduating from [[Denham Springs High School]],<ref>[https://lsusports.net/sports/mb/roster/player/ben-mcdonald/ Ben McDonald (profile) &ndash; Louisiana State University (LSU) Athletics.] Retrieved October 12, 2023.</ref> McDonald was the 670th selection in the 27th round by the [[Atlanta Braves]] in the [[1986 Major League Baseball draft|1986 MLB draft]]. He elected not to sign despite the Braves' $75,000 offer ($218,350 in 2025) which at the time was given to second-round draftees. He felt he was not ready for professional baseball and that he wanted to matriculate at [[Louisiana State University]] (LSU) instead.<ref>[https://www.prosportstransactions.com/baseball/DraftTrades/1986-21-30.htm 1986 MLB Draft Pick Transactions, June 2 (Rounds 21&ndash;30) &ndash; Pro Sports Transactions.] Retrieved October 12, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/keeping-it-simple-with-ben-mcdonald/ Sayers, Tessa. "Keeping It Simple with Ben McDonald," MLB.com, Tuesday, December 7, 2021.] Retrieved October 12, 2023.</ref>

The 6'7" McDonald played two sports at LSU. He was a reserve forward with the [[Dale Brown (basketball)|Dale Brown]]-coached [[LSU Tigers men's basketball|Tigers]] basketball team, appearing in 32 games with five starts as a [[freshman]] before his playing time diminished to six games exclusively off the bench during his [[sophomore]] year.<ref>[https://static.lsusports.net/assets/docs/mb/pdf/23guide.pdf?_gl=1*czdqq2*_gcl_au*NDEyNTI5MjMyLjE2OTcxNDU2NDk.*_ga*MTI0NDg5Mjc5Mi4xNjk3MTQ1NjQ5*_ga_H5J0WQLH9X*MTY5NzE0NTY0OS4xLjEuMTY5NzE0ODE1My4yMy4wLjA.&_ga=2.47014503.1100159045.1697145649-1244892792.1697145649 LSU Men's Basketball 2022&ndash;23 Record Book &ndash; Louisiana State University Athletics.] Retrieved October 12, 2023.</ref>

He led the 1988 [[Baseball at the 1988 Summer Olympics|US Olympic Team]] to a [[gold medal]] for baseball, winning complete games against host [[South Korea]] and [[Puerto Rico]]. During his three-year college career at LSU, McDonald twice helped his team reach the [[College World Series]]. He gave up a walk-off grand slam to Stanford's Paul Carey in the 1987 series.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F50r4pYDiQo |title=Paul Carey walk off grand slam |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2016-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524065253/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F50r4pYDiQo&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=2012-05-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His best collegiate season came in 1989, which he finished with a 14&ndash;4 record, a 3.49 [[Earned run average|ERA]], and a then-[[Southeastern Conference]] record 202 [[strikeout]]s. That year, he was selected as a member of the [[All-America]] team, and won the [[Golden Spikes Award]]. In 1989, he played [[collegiate summer baseball]] with the [[Orleans Cardinals]] of the [[Cape Cod Baseball League]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://capecodbaseball.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/2012website/archives/Current%20Year/All_Time_MLB_CCBL_Alumni.pdf |title=Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League |publisher=capecodbaseball.org |access-date=September 25, 2019}}</ref> recording one start.<ref>{{cite news |title=McDonald Leaves Cape Cod League |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-26-sp-245-story.html |access-date=December 6, 2019 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=July 26, 1989}}</ref>

===Minor leagues===
The [[Baltimore Orioles]] made McDonald the [[List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks|first overall selection]] in the [[1989 Major League Baseball draft|1989 June draft]]. He is the first of two LSU Tigers to have been drafted number one, joined by Paul Skenes in 2023.<ref name="nola.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2015/06/lsu_star_alex_bregman_2015_mlb.html|title=LSU star Alex Bregman goes to the Astros with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 MLB Draft|work=The Times-Picayune|date=June 8, 2015|author=Randy Rosetta}}</ref><ref name="njjewishnews.com">{{cite news |url=http://njjewishnews.com/kaplanskorner/2015/06/09/the-next-big-jml-thing/ |title=The next big JML thing? |work=[[New Jersey Jewish News]] |first=Ron |last=Kaplan |date=June 9, 2015}}{{Dead link |date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

He signed with the Orioles on August 19, and on September 6, he made his major league debut. McDonald was the second member of his draft class to reach the majors, coming up three days after his Olympic teammate [[John Olerud]].

===Baltimore Orioles===
In the finale of the [[1989 Baltimore Orioles season|1989 season]], McDonald tossed one scoreless inning of relief versus the American League East champion Toronto Blue Jays, logging his first career win.<ref>100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.207</ref> Of note, he would become the sixth player to make the majors in the same season that he was selected as the number one overall pick in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.<ref>100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.208</ref>

McDonald joined the Orioles' starting rotation in 1990, and in his first major league start on July 21, he threw a complete-game shutout against the [[Chicago White Sox]]. At the end of the season, he finished eighth in [[MLB Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year]] voting, with the award going to catcher [[Sandy Alomar Jr.]] McDonald would go on to spend seven seasons with the Orioles, before leaving as a free agent in 1996 to join the [[Milwaukee Brewers]]. He never led his league in a major category, but ranked among the top 10 at various times in categories such as complete games, wins, ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts. McDonald was the first #1 draft pick to win his first three starts in Major League history, a feat which has been equalled by [[Gerrit Cole]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Cole wins his first three starts|url=http://espn.go.com/espn/elias?date=20130622|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105081259/http://espn.go.com/espn/elias?date=20130622|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2013|work=[[ESPN]]|access-date=24 June 2013}}</ref>

===Milwaukee Brewers===
While with the Brewers, McDonald began to encounter shoulder problems, missing part of the 1997 season. He was traded to the [[Cleveland Indians]] that offseason, in a deal that brought [[Marquis Grissom]] and [[Jeff Juden]] to Milwaukee in exchange for him, [[Mike Fetters]], and [[Ron Villone]]. McDonald would never pitch for the Indians, though, as an operation to repair his [[rotator cuff]] on February 26, 1998 proved unsuccessful. He was ultimately forced to retire, and the Brewers sent [[Mark Watson (baseball)|Mark Watson]] to Cleveland to resolve their obligation in the matter.

McDonald ended his career with a 78&ndash;70 record, 894 strikeouts, and a 3.91 ERA in 1,291{{fraction|1|3}} [[innings pitched]]. He never pitched in the postseason.

In 2008, McDonald was elected to the [[College Baseball Hall of Fame]].<ref>[http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=1405665&DB_OEM_ID=5200 McDonald Elected to College Baseball HOF]</ref>

==Post-baseball career==
[[File:Orioles Opening Day (54424035084).jpg|thumb|McDonald (center right) with Maryland Governor [[Wes Moore]] and fellow sportscasters [[Jim Palmer]] and [[Kevin Brown (sportscaster)|Kevin Brown]], 2025]]
McDonald is a color commentator for Orioles telecasts on [[MASN]] and on the radio for the Orioles Radio Network. He served as an assistant coach for the [[Denham Springs High School]] softball team in [[Denham Springs, Louisiana]]. He also is a color analyst for the NCAA Baseball Tournament on ESPN. McDonald and his wife Nicole have a son and a daughter. His son, Jase McDonald, pitched for LSU-Eunice.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|mlb=118648 |espn=2253 |br=m/mcdonbe01|fangraphs=1008454 |brm=mcdona001lar |retro=M/Pmcdob001}}

{{Baltimore Orioles first-round draft picks}}
{{MLB Number One Draft Picks}}
{{Golden Spikes Award}}
{{Rotary Smith Award}}
{{Baseball America CollegePOY}}
{{Collegiate Baseball POY}}
{{National College Baseball Hall of Fame}}
{{1988 College Baseball All-Americans}}
{{1989 College Baseball All-Americans}}
{{1989 MLB Draft}}
{{Milwaukee Brewers Opening Day starting pitchers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Ben}}
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Denham Springs High School alumni]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles players]]
[[Category:Milwaukee Brewers players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Baseball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]
[[Category:LSU Tigers baseball players]]
[[Category:LSU Tigers men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Orleans Firebirds players]]
[[Category:Golden Spikes Award winners]]
[[Category:Frederick Keys players]]
[[Category:Hagerstown Suns players]]
[[Category:Rochester Red Wings players]]
[[Category:National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball]]
[[Category:All-American college baseball players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball broadcasters]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles announcers]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Anchorage Glacier Pilots players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:ESPN people]]