Armando Germán Benítez was born in San Pedro de Macorís, in the Dominican Republic. His parents, father Francisco and mother Constancia, separated when he was young, so Armando was raised by his mother. She made a living by hand-washing clothes. Armando has two brothers, Francisco, Jr. and Osiri, as well as a sister, Senovia.\n', '

Benítez learned to play baseball when he was 14, when his stature was a lanky 6\'2", 140 pounds. He began to play baseball at a local academy and was originally an outfielder and third baseman.\n', '

Benítez was signed in 1990 by the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent. Coming up through the Orioles\' farm system, he made his debut in 1994. While with the Orioles, he initially struggled, collecting a 5.66 ERA in 1995 and faltering in the postseason frequently. In the 1996 ALCS he yielded the infamous Jeffrey Maier home run, sprinting all the way to right field to confront the umpire, Rich Garcia, who made the call. In 1997 Benítez had a breakout year, as he excelled in the set up role for Orioles\' closer Randy Myers, forming a lethal 1–2 punch at the back end of the Orioles bullpen and propelling them to the AL East pennant. By 1998 he started to show some of his future potential earning a 3.82 ERA and 22 saves in 71 games.\n', '

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