Johnny Bench

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Johnny Bench
Runs batted in
1,376
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1989
Vote96.4% (first ballot)

John 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

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

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.[4] He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.[7] ESPN has called him the greatest catcher in baseball history.[12]

Early life

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Bench is one-eighth Choctaw; he played baseball and basketball and was class valedictorian at Binger-Oney High School in Binger.[13] His father told him that the fastest route to becoming a major leaguer was as a catcher.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

As a 17-year-old, Bench was selected 36th overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 1965 amateur draft, playing for the minor-league Buffalo Bisons in the 1966 and 1967 seasons. During the 1967 season, he hit a grand slam against Jim Palmer, who would go on to never allow a grand slam in 19 years in the Major Leagues.[14][15]

Cincinnati Reds (1967–1983)

Bench was called up to the Reds in August 1967.[16] 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!"[6][17] Williams' prophecy became fact 22 years later in 1989 when Bench was elected to Cooperstown.

During a

no hitter against the Houston Astros.[19][20][21]

In 1968, the 20-year-old Bench impressed many in his first full season;

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.[1][6][23] He also won the 1968 National League Gold Glove Award for catchers, which was the first time that the award had been won by a rookie.[1][24][25] He made 102 assists in 1968, which marked the first time in 23 years that a catcher had more than 100 assists in a season.[26] 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, among them Pete Rose, Bobby Tolan and Darrel Chaney.[27][28] In the winter of 1970–1971 he was part of Bob Hope's USO Tour of Vietnam.[29]

1970s

In 1970, Bench had his finest

runs batted in as the Reds won the NL West Division.[1][5][30] The Reds swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series, but lost to the Baltimore Orioles in five games in the World Series.[31][32]

Bench in 1977

Bench had another strong year in

opposite field home run in that fifth NLCS game.[35] The solo shot tied the game at three; the Reds won later in the inning on a wild pitch, 4–3.[36][37] It was hailed after the game as "one of the great clutch home runs of all time."[38] However, the Reds lost the World Series to a strong Oakland Athletics team in seven games.[39]

After the 1972 season, Bench underwent surgery to remove a lesion from his lung, out of concern that it might be cancerous.[40][41] The lesion would prove to be benign however, 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.”[42] He remained productive, but never again hit 40 home runs in a season.[43]

In 1973, Bench hit 25 home runs and 104 RBI and helped the Reds rally from a 101⁄2-game deficit to the Los Angeles Dodgers in early July to lead the majors with 99 wins and claim another NL West Division crown. In the NLCS, Cincinnati met a New York Mets team that won the NL East with an unimpressive 82–79 (.509) record, 161⁄2 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 7–2 to put the Mets into the World Series against the Oakland A's.[44][45]

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.[46] In 1975, the Reds finally broke through in the post season. Bench contributed 28 home runs and 110 RBI.[1][47][48] Cincinnati swept the Pirates in three games to win the NLCS, and defeated the Boston Red Sox in a memorable seven-game World Series.[49][50][51]

Bench circa 1980

Bench struggled with ailing shoulders in 1976, [52] 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 (.333) performance in the NLCS sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies.[1][53] The World Series provided a head-to-head match-up with the 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.[1][6][54] The Reds won in a four-game sweep and Bench was named the Series' MVP.[1][55][56] At the post-World Series press conference, Reds manager Sparky Anderson was asked by a journalist to compare Munson with his catcher. Anderson replied, "I don't want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench."[57] 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 the Pittsburgh Pirates.[58]

1980s

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 Cincinnati Reds proclaimed Saturday, September 17,

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.[59][60]
He retired at the end of the season at age 35.

MLB career statistics

Johnny Bench's number 5 was retired by the Cincinnati Reds in 1984.

Bench had 2,048

shutouts during his career, ranking him 12th all-time among major league catchers.[64] Bench also won such awards as the Lou Gehrig Award (1975), the Babe Ruth Award (1976), and the Hutch Award (1981).[65]

Bench popularized the hinged catcher's mitt, first introduced by Randy Hundley of the Chicago Cubs.[6][66][67] 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.[5] 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[68]), Bench also tended to block breaking balls in the dirt by scooping them with one hand instead of the more common and fundamentally proper way: dropping to both knees and blocking the ball using the chest protector to keep the ball in front.[67]

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 who had dated Joe Namath. Four days after they met, Bench proposed, and they were married on February 21, 1975.[69][70] 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.[71][72] 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."[73][74]

Before Christmas 1987, Bench married Laura Cwikowski, an Oklahoma City model and aerobics instructor. They had a son, Bobby Binger Bench (named after

Palm Springs with their two sons, Johnny wished to return to South Florida, where he lived from 2014 to 2017. However, Lauren would not relocate to Florida, leading to their divorce. As of 2018, Bench has primary custody of their sons.[75]

Bench was married for the fifth time in 2024.

Honors and post-career activities

Bench's statue at Great American Ball Park
Bench signs autographs in Houston in May 2014.

Bench was elected to the National

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and his uniform No. 5 was retired by the team.[77][78] He is currently on the board of directors for the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. In 1989, he became the first individual baseball player to appear on a Wheaties box, a cereal he ate as a child.[79]

For a time in the 1980s Bench was a commercial spokesman for

The Chicken provided comic relief and former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda
appeared as "The Dugout Wizard."

In 1986, Bench and Don Drysdale did the backup contests or 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 he did not resurface until the playoffs. Bench simply disappeared, ultimately going 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 1989–1993. In 1994, Bench served as a field reporter for NBC/The Baseball Network's coverage of the All-Star Game from Pittsburgh.

After turning 50, Bench was a part-time professional golfer and played in several events on the

Senior PGA Tour.[81][82][83] He has a home at the Mission Hills-Gary Player Course in Rancho Mirage, California.[84]

In 1999, Bench ranked Number 16 on

All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team.[87]

From the 2000

Cal State Fullerton. The award was renamed the Buster Posey Award for the 2019 season onwards.[88]

In 2003, he guest starred on an episode of Yes, Dear as himself, along with Ernie Banks and Frank Robinson.[89]

In 2008, Bench co-wrote the book Catch Every Ball: How to Handle Life's Pitches with Paul Daugherty, published by

Champions Tour
tournaments.

Bench was interviewed by

New England Sports Network during a September 2008 Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park. While knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was on the mound for the Red Sox, Bench related a story that then-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.[90]

On September 17, 2011, the Cincinnati 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.[91][92] Bench called the unveiling of his statue his "greatest moment."[93]

In 2016, he was inducted into the

United States Military.[95]

See also

References

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  4. ^ a b c d "Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame at MLB.com". Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
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  8. ^ "Johnny Bench and the Triple Crown". Red Leg Nation. June 14, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  9. ^ "Most home runs by a catcher in a season". Major League Baseball. September 29, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
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  12. ^ "ESPN Classic – Baseball's greatest catcher". Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  13. ^ "Video". CNN. March 31, 1969.
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  70. ^ "1,000 guests attend Bench wedding in Hollywood-like setting". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. February 22, 1975. p. 8.
  71. ^ "'Marriage of the century' over; post-wedding Ping Pong didn't help". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). Associated Press. February 2, 1977. p. 15.
  72. ^ Rosen, Ron (February 2, 1977). "Barons and Benches Troubled". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2019. I did have one offer: Hustler magazine offered me $25,000 to pose in Hustler style. I rejected the idea but Johnny said, 'Why not, it's good money.'
  73. ISBN 0316796441
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  80. ^ "Johnny's Bench, Krylon". Archived from the original on December 11, 2021 – via YouTube.
  81. ^ Carter, Ivan (August 12, 1998). "Johnny Bench attempts to make mark on Senior Tour". Catoosa County News. Ringgold, Georgia. Knight-Ridder Newspapers. p. 1B.
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  83. ^ "Golf: Johnny Bench". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
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  93. ^ "Bench calls statue his 'greatest moment'". Major League Baseball. September 17, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  94. ^ Dr. Robert Goldman (March 15, 2016). "2016 International Sports Hall of Fame Inductees". www.sportshof.org. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  95. ^ "Johnny Bench and Sean Doolittle announced as 2018 Bob Feller Act of Valor Award winners". October 6, 2018.[permanent dead link]

External links

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