A 3-year Major League baseball veteran, Gary Bennett joined the Valpo Baseball staff prior to the 2027 season as a volunteer assistant coach.
Bennett was a big-league catcher from 1995-2008, spending time with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bennett becomes the second former big-league player on the Valpo coaching staff, joining head coach
Brian Schmack, who broke into the majors with the Detroit Tigers in 2003.
An 11
th-round draft pick of the Phillies in 1990 out of Waukegan East High School in Illinois, Bennett played in Philadelphia's minor-league system until making his big-league debut in 1995. He won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. Bennett had a hot stretch at the plate in August 2006, when he hit four home runs in the span of a week, including a walk-off grand slam against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 27. He played in 587 games in his MLB career, which concluded with the Dodgers in 2008.
Bennett's sons Garrison (Missouri) and Gavin (Illinois and Valpo) both played Division-I baseball.
