PB Central’s Scott Benedict Retires After More Than 25 Years

Palm Beach Central Manager Scott Benedict retired from high school baseball this past week after over 25 years in the dugouts as a skipper.

When I first met Scott Benedict, I remember the feeling of intimidation that came over me. This was a coach that I had heard stories of during his days of having championship teams at Wellington when I was a young coach in Broward County. A coach that commanded respect.

So what was it going to be like, years later, conducting an interview for an online high school baseball website startup, with a coach that had no reason to give this writer the time of day?

What is was like was pure joy. Benedict was witty, insightful, and not intimidating in the least. On the contrary, he was a grounded, passionate, baseball lifer, with a flair for delivering some of the most entertaining stories about his career in an eloquent manner.

In the days, months, and years after that interview, Benedict became a friend and an ardent supporter of not only myself, but of the High School Baseball Network. While other coaches were skeptical, Benedict immediately saw that PalmBeachHighSchoolBaseball.com, and HSBN, had good intentions, and were out to promote high school baseball here in Palm Beach County.

The coach that has been around for over two decades gave credence, without judgement, to the new outfit in town. That is what Coach Benedict was about.

Historically, there have been few in the state of Florida that have made as big of an impact on his players than Benedict. When we posted about Benedict’s retirement on Facebook, the comments started rolling in from former players. Currently, the post is the most shared and liked post in the history of HSBN, and this quote from one of Benedict’s former players sums up why.

“The man’s a legend. The best baseball coach in the game. He taught me more than I realized while playing for him, not just about baseball but life. He has done so much for our community and mentored young athletes into responsible young men and gave them the discipline and mentality to succeed on and off the field,” said Kory Kiper.

Others chose to honor Benedict with their memories of his motivational speeches.

“How about the tearjerker? The story of the football player whose blind father dies,” wrote Michael Madden. “He always went to his son’s games. The day before the last game of the season, the boy’s father gets sick and dies. The coach was expecting him to not to play and to be home with his family mourning the death of his father. Surprisingly he asked the coach to allow him to start the game, even though he was not very good. Feeling bad the coach allowed him to start and he played his best game ever. He even made the winning touchdown. The coach was so amazed he asked how did you play so well after losing your father, you have never played like that before. The boy stares right at him and says this was the first time my father has ever seen me play.”

This is the legacy that Benedict has left over 25+ years.

Through his career, Benedict has coached at Wellington and Forest Hill, and started his career at his alma mater, North Shore High. Before he came back to start the Palm Beach Central program, he coached with Dusty Rhodes at North Florida. He has over 500 career wins, a state title in 1999, and several trips to the state Final Four.

In his years, Benedict not only affected the players and families he managed, but also, his biggest rivals.

“Scotty has been great for high school baseball,” said Flanagan Manager Ray Evans. “He has such a great baseball mind, and shares as much as he can with his players. It was always fun facing his teams year in and year out. You always knew it would be a tough match-up. Through the years we had some great regional final games that went down to the wire. I’m going to miss the talks we would have before and after the games.”

Another former rival agrees.

“Scotty was one of the most competitive coaches I ever had the pleasure to coach against,” said all-time wins and state champion manager in Florida, Rich Hofman. “He was always well prepared. We had some epic battles when I was at Westminster Christian and Westminster Academy. We probably ended up about 50/50 when we were both in the national rankings. I wish him the best and am thankful for the memories.”

Another coach who knows Benedict well is the one who took over at Wellington when Benedict left, Scott Riddle. The current Wolverines manager has nothing but respect for Benedict.

“The thing that made his teams hard to beat was that every team was prepared for every game,” said Riddle. “If your teams were equal talent-wise, he was winning. His teams made good teams look unprepared. I can speak only for myself, but I’m sure plenty of my peers will agree that he raised the level of play in the county for decades. Wellington Baseball will always have credibility around the state because of all the work he did out here.”

While his rivals saw him as a competitor, those closest to him saw a different side.

“I first met Coach when I helped out at Wellington in 1994, and then when he took over at PB Central I became his scoreboard operator. Little did I know that 13 years later he would consider me part of his staff,” said Lauren Thompson. “He is always appreciative of all the work that others do to help him out, and the different points of view they can offer him. He lets them know how grateful he is for them often. I am glad that 22 years later, I can call him a friend. He’s the only varsity baseball coach I’ve ever known as a student and a teacher, and it will be weird to be at a game and he not be on the field.”

So as the high school game here in South Florida says goodbye to one of the best that has ever stepped foot in a dugout, HSBN, and me, in particular, would like to congratulate “Benny” on his retirement.

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