Kris Benson - Personal Life

Personal Life

Benson lived in Superior, WI until age 6, before he moved with his family to Milledgeville, GA. In 1988, Benson then moved to Kennesaw, GA. He has two younger sisters and one younger brother. In 1998, while playing for the Nashville Sounds in the minor leagues, he met his future wife, Anna Benson while she was working as a dancer in a local strip club. The Bensons were married in October 1999 (her second marriage, his first), the same year he reached the major leagues. The pitcher and model became a well-known baseball couple during Benson's time in the major leagues. After Anna reported that the couple had had sex in the parking lot of Three Rivers Stadium, an experience they wished to replicate at every major league park, concern developed within the Pirates organization that the "wild-eyed brunette was getting in the way of her husband's fastball...." Her husband dismissed the Pirates treatment of his wife as "a lot of jealousy and a lot of pettiness...."' Anna filed for divorce on March 31, 2006, citing an "irretrievably broken" marriage., but later withdrew the petition. They have had three children together (daughter Haylee, and sons P.J. and Devin James) and are also parenting Anna Benson's daughter from her her first marriage (Alyssa Warren).

Benson, who earned over $38,000,000 during his playing career, has supported several charities since beginning his professional career. (In an interview on The Howard Stern Show Anna Benson explained that at least one of her husband's contracts had been structured with charitable contributions so that this income could not be taxed.) In 2001, after 9/11, the couple founded the non-profit organization Benson's Battalion, whose work then-Rep. Melissa Hart praised in a citation to the Congressional Record in 2004. The Battalion raised funds for emergency services in the wake of 9/11. They also made considerable contributions to the Red Cross and United Way for 9/11 relief. In 2005, Benson assisted in a new charity, while with the New York Mets, called Tuesday's Children. The charity helped children who lost a parent during the Twin Tower collapses. In recognition of various community service and charity efforts, Benson has been honored with the Pittsburgh Pirates team Roberto Clemente Award, the Thurman Munson Award, the Joan Payson Award, and the New Jersey Sports Writers Humanitarian of the Year Award.

For years, Benson and his wife Anna were leaders for St. Barnabas and their annual Presents For Patients drive. While in Baltimore, Kris and Benson's Battalion, were recognized by the Baltimore Police Department. There are many more charitable causes that have been impacted by Benson and his family over the years, including a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Army Forces Central Command in Saudi Arabia. Overall, during his career, he and his family have donated roughly three quarters of a million dollars to various charitable causes.

The son of a school teacher and college dean, Benson has been described as studious and methodical in his approach to pitching, personally reserved, and, in comparison to his wife, strait-laced and stoic.

Benson currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.