Phillies front office profile: Benny Looper
by Scott Butler 1/2/10
In our look at the Phillies front office, we now turn our attention to Benny Looper, the Phillies Assistant General Manager of Player Personnel.
Benny Looper was born on September 29, 1948, in Granite, Oklahoma, and attended Granite High School. Benny graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma University with a BS in Mathematics and received an MA in counseling from East Central Oklahoma University. He also has a post-master’s certificate in school administration.
Benny Looper played five seasons of minor league baseball. He was picked by the Houston Astros in the 27th round of the 1966 amateur draft but did not sign. Looper was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 1968 secondary draft and debuted with the GCL Cardinals that year.
Benny played for six different teams in his five years of baseball (GCL Cardinals, Lewiston Broncs, Modesto Reds, St. Petersburg Cardinals, Arkansas Travelers, and the Tulsa Oilers) until 1972. He was a head high school baseball coach for 12 years prior to becoming a full-time scout.
After a brief time scouting for the Toronto Blue Jays, Looper spent 22 years in the Seattle Mariners organization. Benny joined the Mariners in March 1987 and worked as a scout until 1991. He advanced to national supervisor and cross checker in 1992 and served as national supervisor & special assignment scout from 1993-1997, before being promoted to director of player development.
With the Mariners, Benny served as vice president of player personnel from 2007-2008, VP of player development & scouting from 2004-2006, and VP of player development from 2002-2003. His main role involved reviewing players throughout Seattle's minor league system and projecting their place on the big league club.
Looper joined the Phillies on November 7, 2008 as assistant GM of player personnel. According to the Phillies Media Guide, he oversees the scouting and player development areas, including minor league staff hirings and both professional and amateur scouting assignments.
Benny resides in Ada in his home state of Oklahoma with his wife Sandra. He has two children, Staci and Aaron, and four grandchildren, Hunter, Carson, Abigail and Calib. His son Aaron was selected by the Mariners in the 1997 June draft, made his Major League debut in July 2003, and is now a full-time scout with the St. Louis Cardinals. Benny’s nephew is veteran major league pitcher Braden Looper, who pitched for the Cardinals, Mets, Marlins, and Brewers, and is currently listed as a free agent.
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