Johnny Bench

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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 Template:Baseball year to Template:Baseball year, with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench led 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.

A fourteen-time All-Star and a two-time National League Most Valuable Player, Bench excelled on offense and defense, twice leading the majors in home runs and three times in runs batted in. At the time of his retirement in 1983, he held the major league record for most home runs hit by a catcher.<ref name="Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame at MLB.com">Template:Cite web</ref> He was also the first catcher to lead the league in home runs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He hit 45 home runs in 1970, the single-season record for catchers until Salvador Perez hit 48 in 2021; Bench still holds the National League record.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His 389 home runs and 1,376 runs batted in are the most in Cincinnati Reds history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On defense, Bench was a ten-time Gold Glove Award winner who skillfully handled pitching staffs and possessed a strong, accurate throwing arm.<ref name="Johnny Bench at the Baseball Hall of Fame">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He caught 100 or more games for 13 consecutive seasons.<ref name="Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame at MLB.com"/> In 1986, Bench was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 in his first year of eligibility. He was named to MLB's All-Time Team in 1997 and All-Century Team in 1999, and ESPN has called him the greatest catcher in baseball history.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Bench is Template:Fraction Choctaw. He played baseball and basketball and was class valedictorian at Binger-Oney High School Template:Nowrap He survived a bus crash that killed two of his baseball teammates in 1965. His father, a truck driver, told him that the fastest route to becoming a major leaguer was as a catcher.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0" />

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

As a 17-year-old, the Cincinnati Reds selected Bench in the second round, with the 36th overall selection of the 1965 Major League Baseball draft. In 1965, he played for the Tampa Tarpons and Reds' Florida Instructional League team. He played for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons in 1966 and 1967.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the 1967 season, he hit a grand slam against fellow future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, who would go on to never allow another grand slam his major league career.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1967–1969: debut and Rookie of the Year

Bench was called up to the Reds in August 1967.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He hit only .163, but impressed many people with his defense and strong throwing arm, among them Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Williams signed a baseball for him and predicted that the young catcher would be a "Hall of Famer for sure!"<ref name="Johnny Bench at The Baseball Library">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Williams' prophecy became fact 22 years later in 1989 when Bench was elected to Cooperstown.

During a 1968 spring training game, Bench was catching right-hander Jim Maloney, an eight-year veteran. Maloney was once a hard thrower, but injuries had dramatically slowed down his fastball. Maloney nevertheless insisted on repeatedly "shaking off" his younger catcher by throwing fastballs instead of the breaking balls that Bench had called for. When an exasperated Bench bluntly told Maloney, "Your fastball's not popping," Maloney replied with an epithet. To prove to Maloney that his fastball was no longer effective, Bench called for a fastball, and after Maloney released the ball, Bench dropped his catcher's mitt and caught the fastball barehanded.<ref name="http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bench was the Reds' catcher on April 30, 1969, when Maloney pitched a no hitter against the Template:Nowrap

In 1968, the 20-year-old Bench impressed many in his first Template:Nowrap he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, batting .275 with 15 home runs and 82 RBIs. This marked the first time that the award had been won by a catcher.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also won the 1968 National League Gold Glove Award for catchers, the first time a rookie had won that award.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="PSACards">Template:Cite web</ref> He made 102 assists in 1968, which was the first time in 23 years that a catcher had more than 100 assists in a season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the Vietnam War, Bench served in the United States Army Reserve as a member of the 478th Engineer Battalion, which was based across the Ohio River from Cincinnati at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. This unit included several of his teammates, including Pete Rose, Bobby Tolan, and Darrel Chaney.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="defense">Sports Heroes Who Served: Star Baseball Catcher Johnny Bench Was a Soldier Template:Webarchive United States Department of Defense. Retrieved August 7, 2022.</ref> In the winter of 1970–1971, Bench was part of Bob Hope's USO Tour of Vietnam.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

1970s: MVPs, World Series

In 1970, Bench had his finest statistical season. At age 22, he became the youngest player to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award. He hit .293, led the majors with 45 home runs and a franchise-record 148 runs batted in as the Reds won the NL West Division.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference"/><ref name="http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com"/><ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> The Reds swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) but lost to the Baltimore Orioles in five games in the World Series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bench had another strong year in 1972, winning the MVP Award for a second time. He once again led the majors in home runs (40) and RBI (125) to help propel the Reds to another NL West Division title and won the NL pennant in the deciding fifth game over the Pittsburgh Pirates.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference" /><ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref> One of his more dramatic home runs<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was likely his ninth-inning, lead off, opposite field home run in that fifth NLCS game.<ref name="Johnny Bench: Number 1 Home Run Hitter of All Catchers">Template:Cite web</ref> The solo shot tied the game at three; the Reds won later in the inning on a wild pitch, 4–3.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Cincinnati Enquirer later called that game one of the best in franchise history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the Reds lost the World Series to the Oakland Athletics in seven games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After the 1972 season, Bench underwent surgery to remove a lesion from his lung, out of concern that it might be cancerous.<ref name="bsgsmo">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bsbrdy">Template:Cite news</ref> The lesion was benign, but Bench stated in an interview that he was never the same player after the surgery. “They cut the ribs, they cut the bones, they cut the nerves, and so I never was the same player afterwards.”<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He remained productive but never again hit 40 home runs in a season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1973, Bench hit 25 home runs and 104 RBI and helped the Reds rally from a 10Template:Frac-game deficit to the Los Angeles Dodgers in early July to lead the majors with 99 wins and claim another NL West crown. In the NLCS, Cincinnati met a New York Mets team that won the NL East with an unimpressive Template:Nowrap record, 16Template:Frac games behind the Reds. The Mets boasted three of the better starting pitchers in the NL, future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Jon Matlack. Bench's bottom of the ninth-inning home run off Seaver in the first game propelled the Reds to victory, but Seaver would get the best of the Reds and Bench in the deciding Game 5, winning Template:Nowrap to put the Mets into the World Series.<ref name="ommrfm">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>1973 National League Team Statistics and Standings Template:Webarchive won the series in five games win advance to the World Series against the Oakland A's.</ref>

In 1974, Bench led the league with 129 RBI and scored 108 runs, becoming only the fourth catcher in major league history with 100 or more runs and RBI in the same season. The Reds won the second-most games in the majors (98) but lost the West Division to the Los Angeles Dodgers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1975, the Reds finally broke through in the postseason. Bench had 28 home runs and 110 RBI during the regular season.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cincinnati swept the Pirates in three games to win the NLCS, and defeated the Boston Red Sox in a memorable seven-game World Series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bench in 1977

Bench struggled with ailing shoulders in 1976<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and had one of his least productive years, with only 16 home runs and 74 RBI. He finished with an excellent postseason, starting with a 4-for-12 performance in the NLCS sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The World Series provided a head-to-head match-up with Yankees' All-Star catcher Thurman Munson. Bench rose to the occasion, hitting .533 with two home runs, while Munson also hit well, with a .529 average.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Reds won in a four-game sweep, and Bench was named the Series MVP.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the post-World Series press conference, Reds manager Sparky Anderson was asked to compare Munson with his catcher. Anderson replied, "I don't want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench."<ref> Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bench bounced back in 1977 to hit 31 home runs and 109 RBI but the Dodgers won two straight NL pennants. The Reds reached the postseason just once more in his career, in 1979, but were swept in three straight in the NLCS by Pittsburgh.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bench circa 1980

1980s: move to infield and retirement

For the last three seasons of his career, Bench moved out from behind the plate, catching only 13 games, while primarily becoming a corner infielder (first or third base). The Reds proclaimed September 17, 1983, "Johnny Bench Night" at Riverfront Stadium, in which he hit his 389th and final home run, a line drive to left in the third inning, before a record crowd.<ref name=obsn83>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He retired at the end of the season at age 35.

MLB career statistics

Template:MLBBioRet Bench had 2,048 hits for a .267 career batting average with 389 home runs and 1,376 RBI during his 17-year Major League career, all spent with the Reds.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference"/> 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.<ref name="Johnny Bench: Number 1 Home Run Hitter of All Catchers"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In his career, Bench won 10 Gold Gloves, was named to the National League All-Star team 14 times, and won two Most Valuable Player awards.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He led the National League three times in caught stealing percentage and ended his career with a .990 fielding percentage at catcher and an overall .987 fielding percentage.<ref name="Johnny Bench career statistics at Baseball Reference"/> He caught 118 shutouts during his career, ranking him 12th all-time among major league catchers Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bench also won the Lou Gehrig Award in 1975 for his philanthropic efforts, the Babe Ruth Award for his postseason performance in 1976, and the Hutch Award in 1981.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bench popularized the hinged catcher's mitt, first introduced by Randy Hundley of the Chicago Cubs.<ref name="Are Catchers Today As Good Defensively As In The Past?">Template:Cite web</ref> He began using the mitt after a stint on the disabled list in 1966 for a thumb injury on his throwing hand. The mitt allowed Bench to tuck his throwing arm safely to the side when receiving the pitch.<ref name="http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com"/> By the turn of the decade, the hinged mitt became standard catchers' equipment. Having huge hands (a famous photograph features him holding seven baseballs in his right hand<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>), Bench also tended to block breaking balls in the dirt by scooping them with one hand instead of the more common way: dropping to both knees and blocking the ball using the chest protector to keep the ball in front.<ref name="Are Catchers Today As Good Defensively As In The Past?"/>

Legacy and post-playing career

Bench was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, alongside Carl Yastrzemski.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was elected in his first year of eligibility, and appeared on 96% of the ballots, the third-highest percentage at that time. Three years earlier, Bench was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and the team retired his uniform No. 5.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1989, he became the first individual baseball player to appear on a Wheaties box, a cereal he ate as a child.<ref name="jbgpowb">Template:Cite news</ref>

Johnny Bench at a 1984 golf tournament, wearing a white hat and being interviewed in front of a TV camera
Bench at a 1984 golf tournament

After turning 50, Bench was a part-time professional golfer and played in several events on the Senior PGA Tour.<ref name="jbatmmst">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="msswg">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="yahspjb">Template:Cite news</ref> He had a home at the Mission Hills-Gary Player Course in Rancho Mirage, California.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1999, Bench ranked 16th on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. He was the highest-ranking catcher.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bench was also elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team as the top vote-receiving catcher.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As part of the Golden Anniversary of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, Bench was selected to the All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

From 2000 until 2018, the best college baseball catcher annually received the Johnny Bench Award. Winners included future MLB players Buster Posey, Kurt Suzuki, Kelly Shoppach, and Mike Zunino. The award was renamed the Buster Posey Award for the 2019 season onwards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A bronze statue of Johnny Bench throwing out a base runner. Statue is in front of Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati
Bench's statue at Great American Ball Park

On September 17, 2011, the Reds unveiled a statue of Bench at the entrance way of the Reds Hall of Fame at Great American Ball Park. The larger-than-life bronze statue by Tom Tsuchiya shows Bench in the act of throwing out a base runner.<ref name="CE">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="NYT">Template:Cite news</ref> Bench called the unveiling of his statue his "greatest moment".<ref name="MLB">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2016, Bench was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was also the Hall of Fame recipient of the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award in 2018, for his service and continued support of the United States military.<ref name="r106">Template:Cite web</ref>

Broadcasting and media career

In 1986, Bench and Don Drysdale did the backup contests for ABC's Sunday afternoon baseball telecasts (Al Michaels and Jim Palmer were the primary commentating crew). Keith Jackson, usually working with Tim McCarver, did the No. 2 Monday night games. Bench took a week off in June (with Steve Busby filling in) and also worked one game with Michaels as the networks switched the announcer pairings. While Drysdale worked the All-Star Game in Houston as an interviewer, Bench did not resurface until the playoffs. Bench ultimately moved to CBS Radio to help Brent Musburger call that year's National League Championship Series. Bench would later serve as color commentator CBS Radio's World Series coverage alongside Jack Buck and later Vin Scully from 1989 to 1993.Template:Citation needed In 1994, Bench served as a field reporter for NBC/The Baseball Network's coverage of the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bench co-hosted a Cincinnati radio show with Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman but quit in 2000 following Brennaman's Hall of Fame speech supporting Pete Rose's induction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bench signs autographs in Houston in May 2014.

Bench wrote several books. During his playing career, he wrote From Behind the Plate, published in 1972,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the instructional book Catching and Power Hitting in 1975,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Catch You Later, an autobiography published in 1979 co-authored with William Brashler.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1999, he wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Baseball.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2008, he co-wrote Catch Every Ball: How to Handle Life's Pitches with Paul Daugherty.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Bench has acted several times, usually related to his baseball career. While still an active player, he made a cameo appearance as a Kings Island Inn poolside waiter in a Season 3 episode of The Partridge Family which first aired on January 26, 1973.<ref>Kiesewetter, John. "The Partridge Family Kings Island Episode Aired In 1973," WVXU-FM 91.7 (Cincinnati, OH), Thursday, January 26, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2024.</ref> Bench hosted the television series The Baseball Bunch from 1982 to 1985. In the show, Bench and other current and retired ballplayers would teach a cast of boys and girls from the Tucson, Arizona area about baseball. The San Diego Chicken provided comic relief, and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda appeared as "The Dugout Wizard."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1985, Bench starred as Joe Boyd/Joe Hardy in a Cincinnati stage production of the musical Damn Yankees, which also included Marge Schott, Jerry Springer, and Marty Brennaman.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2003, Bench guest starred on an episode of Yes, Dear as himself, along with Ernie Banks and Frank Robinson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bench was a Savannah Bananas coach in a 2022 game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bench has also been a spokesperson in advertisements for several decades. In the 1980s, he was a spokesman for Krylon paint, featuring the catchphrases "I'm Johnny Bench, and this is Johnny Bench's bench" and "no runs, no drips, no errors" During his career, he also endorsed Fifth Third Bank and Gillette.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bench received a Stryker Corporation hip implant following his MLB career. He would then go on to become a spokesperson for the company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has also been a spokesperson for pain relief company Blue-Emu.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In an interview during a 2008 Boston Red Sox game with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield on the mound for the Red Sox, Bench related a story that Reds manager Sparky Anderson told him that he was thinking of trading for knuckleballer Phil Niekro. Bench replied that Anderson had better trade for Niekro's catcher, too.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Bench has been married five times. Once hailed as "baseball's most-eligible bachelor," he shed that distinction before the 1975 season when he married Vickie Chesser, a toothpaste model and the 1970 Miss South Carolina USA who had dated Joe Namath. Four days after they met, Bench proposed, and they were married on February 21, 1975.<ref name="wmlamt">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="thgahwl">Template:Cite news</ref> Quickly, the pair realized they were incompatible, especially after Bench suggested that his wife accept Hustler magazine's offer for her to pose nude for $25,000.<ref name="pwppdh">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Post77">Template:Cite news</ref> They broke up at the end of the season (Bench reportedly said to her, "Now I'm done with two things I hate: baseball and you"), divorcing after just 13 months. "I tried. I even hand-squeezed orange juice," Chesser told Phil Donahue in December 1975. "I don't think either of us had any idea what marriage was really like." After returning to Manhattan, Chesser said, "Johnny Bench is a great athlete, a mediocre everything else, and a true tragedy as a person."<ref name="TheArgus">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The_Long_Ball">Template:Cite book</ref>

Before Christmas 1987, Bench married Laura Cwikowski, an Oklahoma City model and aerobics instructor. They had a son, Bobby Binger Bench (named after Bob Hope and Bobby Knight, and Bench's hometown), before divorcing in 1995. They shared custody of their son. "He was, and is, a great dad," according to Bobby, who works in Cincinnati as a production operator on Reds broadcasts. Bench married his third wife, Elizabeth Benton, in 1997. He filed for divorce in 2000 on grounds of marital infidelity. His fourth marriage took place in 2004, to 31-year-old Lauren Baiocchi, the daughter of pro golfer Hugh Baiocchi. After living in Palm Springs with their two sons, Bench wished to return to South Florida, where he lived from 2014 to 2017. However, she would not relocate to Florida, leading to their divorce. As of 2018, Bench has primary custody of their sons.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bench was married for the fifth time in March 2024.<ref name="n945">Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

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References

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