The great catcher for the Cincinnati Reds Johnny Bench turns 65 today.

Ten Notes On Johnny Bench.

1. Johnny Bench broke into the Major Leagues with the Cincinnati Reds in late 1967, he was the Rookie of the Year in 1968.  1968 was the first baseball season I followed from the beginning of the season. In all the years I’ve watched baseball I’d have to rank Johnny Bench as the greatest all around catcher that I’ve ever seen. As far as baseball history goes I would rank Johnny Bench as the 3rd greatest catcher of all times behind Josh Gibson and Yogi Berra.

2. Johnny Bench played 17 seasons for the Cincinnati Reds. He hit 389 home runs in his career, 1376 rbi’s and an average of .267. He won 10 Golden Glove Awards, 2 MVP Awards, He was a major key to the Cincinnati Reds Big Red Machine of the 1980’s. The Reds would win 6 Division Championships, 4 National League Pennants and 2 World Series Championships.

3. I hated the Cincinnati Reds, I still do but that Big Red Machine team was great. Greatest hitting team I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine what they would have done in the 1990’s or 2000’s a real hitters era. Bench was a key player on that team. I would rank him second behind Joe Morgan in greatness. He hit #5 in the line up, his number was #5.

4. In the winter of 1972 Johnny Bench had a growth removed from his lung. He was never the same power hitter after that.

5.  Johnny Bench was a 14 time All-Star as a catcher. He played from 1967-until 1983. Late in his career they tried to move him to third base to prolong his career. He wasn’t a very good third baseman. Like when the White Sox moved Pudge Fisk to left field, he just seemed out of place. Johnny Bench was one of those rare players who played his entire career with one team. He is the only great player from the Big Red Machine who played his entire career with them.

6. Ted Williams who knew a player when he saw one signed a baseball for Bench while Bench was still in the minor leagues, he signed it  predicting he would be ‘a hall of famer for sure” In 1989 Johnny Bench was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

7. A great story from Bench’s rookie year. In spring training veteran pitcher Jim Maloney kept shaking off Bench’s pitch selection. Bench kept calling for a braking ball and Maloney wanted to throw his fastball. At a meeting on the mound Bench told Maloney “Your fastball’s not popping” Maloney swore at Bench. Bench calls for a fastball and when Maloney throws it Bench slides off his glove and catches it easily with his barehand-proving to Maloney that his fastball wasn’t popping. Johnny Bench was 20 years old his rookie year.

8. Johnny Bench’s best year was in 1970 at the age of 22. 45 home runs, 148 rbi’s and a .293 average.

9. Johnny Bench wasn’t a fast runner but he was a smart runner. In 1975 he stole 11 bases in 11 attempts. In 1976 he stole safely 13 out of 15 attempts. He was a smart player, like a coach on the field. He always seemed to know what he was doing out there. I hated to see him come to the plate against my Pirates with runners on.

10. Johnny Bench broke my heart in 1972. In the deciding Game 5 of the NLCS my Pirates went into the 9th with a lead. 3 outs away the Pirates up by a run. Leading off the bottom of the 9th Bench hit an opposite field home run to tie it 3 to 3. The Pirates would lose the game on a Bob Moose wild pitch. The most heartbroken I have ever been after a sports defeat. I was eleven years old and I went to my room and cried and cried. I still believe that was the best Pittsburgh Pirate team I’ve ever seen, even better than the 71 and 79 championship teams.