 The
6-foot-1, 208-pound Bench joined the
Reds late in the 1967 season and
became a star in 1968, when he set
records for a catcher by playing in
154 games and hitting 40 doubles. He
was named the league's rookie of the
year...Book
Johnny Bench for Your Event
Johnny Bench won his first most
valuable player award in 1972.
Bench's league-leading 45 home runs
and 148 RBIs helped the Reds to the
division title. He came close to
duplicating those numbers in 1973,
again leading the league with 40
home runs and 125 RBI to win another
MVP award as the Reds won another
division title. They won the pennant
both seasons but lost twice to the
Oakland Athletics in the World
Series.
In
1974, Johnny Bench led the league in
RBI for the third time, with 129.
The Reds finally won the World
Series in 1975 and they repeated the
following year. Bench's offensive
numbers weren't nearly as
spectacular in those seasons, but he
was still clearly the best catcher
in the league. In 1977, he was named
the All-Star starter for the tenth
consecutive year.
Knee problems began to bother Bench
in 1978 and he was limited to just
52 games in 1981, when he played
primarily at first base. He was also
used at third base and in the
outfield at times during his last
two years. He retired after the 1983
season and became a radio
broadcaster.
The winner of ten Gold Glove Awards,
Johnny Bench pioneered the
one-handed style of catching,
keeping his left hand behind his
back to protect it from foul tips
and using a very flexible glove to
snare the ball, a technique now used
by virtually all major league
catchers.
>>>
Book Johnny Bench for Your Event
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