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Spotlight on the Hall of Fame: The Great Johnny Bench

“I don’t want to embarrass another catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench” -Sparky Anderson

Today is the forty-fifth anniversary (November 7, 1972) of Johnny Bench being named  the National League Most Valuable Player for the second time in three years. That year, he posted a .270/40/125 slash line. Only three other catchers have won the award multiple times. Needless to say, all three are in the Hall of Fame: Mickey Cochrane (1928 A’s, 1934 Tigers), Yogi Berra (1951, ’54, ’55 Yankees), and Roy Campanella (1951, ’53, ’55 Dodgers).

In the featured photo, we see Johnny Bench showing the gnarled fingers of a life-long catcher.

Johnny Bench’s Career Stats

Johnny played seventeen years in the majors from 1967-1983, all with the Reds. Over his career, he hit .267 with 2,048 hits, 389 home runs, 1,376 RBIs, a .342 on-base percentage, and a .476 slugging average. He retired as the career home run leader for catchers, a record which stood until surpassed by Carlton Fisk and the current record holder, Mike Piazza.

Johnny was a key member of The Big Red Machine, which won six division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series championships. Other career highlights include a 14-time All-Star, World Series MVP, ten-time Gold Glove winner, National League Rookie of the Year, two-time National League home run leader, and three-time National League RBI leader. Bench still holds the major league record for the most grand slam home runs by a catcher with 10. In 45 post season games, Johnny hit .266 with ten home runs, 20 RBIs, and a .527 slugging average. 

In career totals for catchers, Johnny currently ranks in the top ten in the following offensive categories: hits (7th), home runs (3rd), RBIs (3rd), slugging (9th), doubles (5th), total bases (5th), and OPS (10th).

Johnny and Defense

Defensively, Johnny was one of the best ever. He led the National League three times in caught stealing percentage and ended his career with a .4347 mark (14th all-time), and a .991 fielding percentage. 

Bench played baseball and basketball and was class valedictorian at Binger High School in Binger, Oklahoma. He was drafted 36th overall by the Reds in the 1965 amateur draft. He played for the minor-league Buffalo Bisons in the 1966 and 1967 seasons before being called up to the Reds in August 1967. He hit only .163, but impressed many with his defense and strong throwing arm.

Ted Williams Was Impressed…

He also impressed Ted Williams who autographed a ball in 1967 for Johnny with the following message after watching him play: “You’re going to be a Hall-of-Famer for sure” Ted Williams knew baseball talent when he saw it.

Johnny’s #5 has been retired by the Reds. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1999, he ranked 16th on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was the highest-ranking catcher. He has won such awards as the Lou Gehrig Award, the Babe Ruth Award, and the Hutch Award.

Today, we gladly shine our baseball spotlight on Johnny Bench. After reviewing his career stats, it’s hard to argue with ESPN’s assessment of him as the greatest catcher in major league history.

Gary Livacari 

Information: Excerpts edited from Johnny Bench Wikipedia page and Baseball Reference.com