Benton played both football & baseball at Godby High School in Tallahassee, Florida. He declined a football scholarship to the University of Florida when the Mets drafted Benton in the first round of the 1975 amateur draft. After four seasons in their farm system, in which he batted .275 with 22 home runs & 189 runs batted in, he made the jump from double A to the major leagues at age 21 in 1978 when he joined the Mets as a September call-up.\n', '

He made his major league debut on September 14, pinch-hitting for Roy Lee Jackson. Facing the Montreal Expos\' Dan Schatzeder, Benton flew out to center field. He wouldn\'t break the lineup again until September 29 at Wrigley Field, when he was hit by a Mike Krukow pitch as a pinch hitter. Benton scored his only run as a Met pinch running for Ed Kranepool the next day.\n', '

On October 1, the last day of the season, Benton saw his first opportunity to play in the field. Again facing the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley, Benton\'s first major league hit was an RBI single off Lynn McGlothen. He also singled off Dave Geisel in the ninth, driving in the fifth run of the Mets\' 5-3 victory. Benton was the sixth-youngest player to appear in the National League in 1978.\n', '

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