Spotlight on the Hall Of Fame: The Great Johnny Bench

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

“Johnny Bench is the greatest catcher in baseball history.” –ESPN’s commentary on Johnny Bench in their ranking of major league catchers.

In the nice photo above, we see a young Johnny Bench in 1968, the year he was named the National League Rookie of the Year.

After looking over Johnny Bench’s stats, it’s hard to argue with ESPN’s assessment of Bench as the greatest catcher in major league history. Johnny played 17 years in the major leagues from 1967 to 1983, all with the Reds. Over his career, he hit .267 with 2,048 hits, 389 home runs and 1,376 RBIs. 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. He 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, two-time National League MVP, World Series MVP, 10-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 career totals for catchers,Johnny Bench 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). Defensively, Johnny Bench was one of the best ever. He led the National League three times in caught stealing percentage and ended his career with a .4347 CS percentage (14th all-time), and a .991 fielding percentage.

Bench played baseball and basketball and was class valedictorian at Binger High School in Binger, Oklahoma and was drafted 36th overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of 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, including Ted Williams (see quote above).

Johnny Bench’s #5 has been retired by the Reds. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Bench ranked 16th on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999, and was the highest-ranking catcher. Johnny was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team as the top vote-receiving catcher. He has also won such awards as the Lou Gehrig Award, the Babe Ruth Award, and the Hutch Award.

-Gary Livacari