Johnny Bench
Hall of Fame catcher for the Cincinnati Reds.
Last updated
When his playing days ended in 1983, Bench had the most home runs ever hit by a catcher in the major leagues.[1]
Life and work
He survived a 1965 bus crash that killed two of his baseball teammates.[2] Bench was named the World Series MVP in 1976 after the Reds swept the New York Yankees.[3] Bench, who is one-eighth Choctaw, was born and grew up in Oklahoma.[2] In 1968, Bench was selected as the National League's top rookie, marking the first instance a catcher received that honor.[4]
Bench earned a second MVP Award in 1972, a season where he topped all of Major League Baseball in home runs and runs batted in.[5][6] Following the 1972 campaign, Bench had surgery to take out a growth from his lung; the growth turned out to be non-cancerous.[7] Bench ended his playing career after the 1983 season, when he was 35 years old.[8]
What the cited sources add
The same article quotes Bench saying, "If I can be considered a Hall of Fame dad, then, well, that's more important than anything else I may have achieved"[9] The Society for American Baseball Research notes that one-handed catching became possible with the hinged mitt, popularized by Johnny Bench and Randy Hundley in the late 1960s.[10] A CBS News report from 2000 states that Bench quit a daily radio show after a dispute with Marty Brennaman over Pete Rose.[11] The same report notes that Bench opposes Rose's reinstatement to baseball and election to the Hall of Fame.[11]
The National Baseball Hall of Fame account states that Bench's ninth-inning home run in Game 5 of the 1972 National League Championship Series, which tied the game, paved the way for the Reds to move on to the World Series.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Johnny Bench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame at MLB.com", Major League Baseball; "Johnny Bench and the Triple Crown", Red Leg Nation, June 14, 2009; "Most home runs by a catcher in a season", MLB.com; "Cincinnati Reds Top 10 Career Batting Leaders", Baseball-Reference.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Johnny Bench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bench shares a life-changing moment that shaped his life, career", MLB.com, November 11, 2024; Acocella, "Baseball's greatest catcher", ESPN Classic (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Johnny Bench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Johnny Bench Statistics and History", Baseball Reference; "Thurman Munson Statistics and History", Baseball Reference; "Johnny Bench Statistics and History", Baseball Reference; "1976 World Series - Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees (4-0)", Baseball Reference; "MLB Postseason World Series MVP Awards & All-Star Game MVP Award Winners", Baseball Reference (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Johnny Bench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Johnny Bench Statistics and History", Baseball Reference; "1968 Awards Voting", Baseball Reference; "Johnny Bench Statistics and History", Baseball Reference; "MLB National League Gold Glove Award Winners", Baseball Reference; "Reds Rookies (Johnny Bench/Ron Tompkins) – 1968 Topps", PSA; "Progressive Leaders & Records for Assists as C", Baseball Reference (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Johnny Bench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Johnny Bench Statistics and History", Baseball Reference; "1972 Awards Voting", Baseball Reference; "League Championship Series Overview | Major League Baseball: History", Major League Baseball, May 24, 2013; "Bench's homer helps push Reds into 1972 World Series", National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum; "October 11, 1972 National League Championship Series (NLCS) Game 5, Pirates at Reds", Baseball Reference; "'72 NLCS, Gm 5 PIT@CIN: Reds win after Bench's shot 10/11/1972", MLB.com; Schmetzer, "Top games in Cincinnati Reds history en.wikipedia.org
- "Bench's homer helps push Reds into 1972 World Series", National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. facts only, no text reused. baseballhall.org
- Wikipedia, "Johnny Bench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bench surgery goes smoothly", The Bulletin, December 11, 1972, p. 12; "Bench should be ready", Toledo Blade, December 12, 1972, p. 41 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Johnny Bench" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "On Bench's special night, Houston spoils finish 4–3", Eugene Register-Guard, September 18, 1983, p. 7C; "September 17, 1983 Houston Astros at Cincinnati Reds Box Score and Play by Play", Baseball Reference (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wertheim, "Johnny Bench Is Already a Hall-of-Famer, But He's Looking For a New Distinction", July 2, 2018. facts only, no text reused. si.com
- "The Evolution of Catcher's Equipment", Society for American Baseball Research, 2010. facts only, no text reused. sabr.org
- "Not For Pete's Sake: Bench Quits", CBS News, 2000-07-27. facts only, no text reused. cbsnews.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Johnny Bench (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Career statistics and honours
Career statistics
| Season | Team | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | CIN | 26 | 86 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 19 | .163 | .207 | .256 | .462 |
| 1968 | CIN | 154 | 564 | 155 | 15 | 82 | 31 | 96 | .275 | .311 | .433 | .743 |
| 1969 | CIN | 148 | 532 | 156 | 26 | 90 | 49 | 86 | .293 | .353 | .487 | .840 |
| 1970 | CIN | 158 | 605 | 177 | 45 | 148 | 54 | 102 | .293 | .345 | .587 | .932 |
| 1971 | CIN | 149 | 562 | 134 | 27 | 61 | 49 | 83 | .238 | .299 | .423 | .722 |
| 1972 | CIN | 147 | 538 | 145 | 40 | 125 | 100 | 84 | .270 | .379 | .541 | .920 |
| 1973 | CIN | 152 | 557 | 141 | 25 | 104 | 83 | 83 | .253 | .345 | .429 | .774 |
| 1974 | CIN | 160 | 621 | 174 | 33 | 129 | 80 | 90 | .280 | .363 | .507 | .870 |
| 1975 | CIN | 142 | 530 | 150 | 28 | 110 | 65 | 108 | .283 | .359 | .519 | .878 |
| 1976 | CIN | 135 | 465 | 109 | 16 | 74 | 81 | 95 | .234 | .348 | .394 | .741 |
| 1977 | CIN | 142 | 494 | 136 | 31 | 109 | 58 | 95 | .275 | .348 | .540 | .889 |
| 1978 | CIN | 120 | 393 | 102 | 23 | 73 | 50 | 83 | .260 | .340 | .483 | .823 |
| 1979 | CIN | 130 | 464 | 128 | 22 | 80 | 67 | 73 | .276 | .364 | .459 | .824 |
| 1980 | CIN | 114 | 360 | 90 | 24 | 68 | 41 | 64 | .250 | .327 | .483 | .810 |
| 1981 | CIN | 52 | 178 | 55 | 8 | 25 | 17 | 21 | .309 | .369 | .489 | .858 |
| 1982 | CIN | 119 | 399 | 103 | 13 | 38 | 37 | 58 | .258 | .320 | .396 | .716 |
| 1983 | CIN | 110 | 310 | 79 | 12 | 54 | 24 | 38 | .255 | .308 | .432 | .741 |
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Johnny Bench (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
More in Baseball & Softball
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Johnny Bench (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
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