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| Johnny Bench | |
|---|---|
 Bench c. 1972 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: December 7, 1947 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 28, 1967, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 1983, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .267 |
| Hits | 2,048 |
| Home runs | 389 |
| Runs batted in | 1,376 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1989 |
| Vote | 96.4% (first ballot) |
Johnny Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from 1967 to 1983, with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher.[1][2][3] Bench was the leader of the Reds team known as the Big Red Machine that dominated the National League in the mid-1970s, winning six division titles, four National League pennants and two World Series championships.[4][5][6]
A fourteen-time All-Star and a two-time National League Most Valuable Player, Bench excelled on offense as well as on defense, twice leading the National League in home runs and three times in runs batted in.[7] At the time of his retirement in 1983, he held the major league record for most home runs hit by a catcher.[4] He was also the first catcher in history to lead the league in home runs.[8] He hit 45 home runs in 1970, which was a single-season record for catchers until Salvador Perez hit 48 in 2021.[9] His 389 home runs and 1,376 runs batted in remain the most in Cincinnati Reds history.[10]
On defense, Bench was a ten-time Gold Glove Award winner who skillfully handled pitching staffs and possessed a strong, accurate throwing arm.[7][11] He caught 100 or more games for 13 consecutive seasons.[4] In 1986, Bench was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.[4] He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 in his first year of eligibility.[7] ESPN has called him the greatest catcher in baseball history.[12]
- ^ "Johnny Bench Statistics and History". Baseball Reference. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ "Johnny Bench Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ "Johnny Bench Baseball Statistics [1965–1983]". Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame at MLB.com". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ Johnny Bench How Stuff Works.
- ^ "Johnny Bench". Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Johnny Bench at the Baseball Hall of Fame". Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ "Johnny Bench and the Triple Crown". Red Leg Nation. June 14, 2009. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ "Most home runs by a catcher in a season". Major League Baseball. September 29, 2021. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- ^ "Cincinnati Reds Top 10 Career Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ Gregory, Jerry. "The Best Fielders of the 1970s". Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
- ^ "ESPN Classic – Baseball's greatest catcher". Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.