Johnny Bench Marquee Hall of Fame 1989

b. December 7, 1947 · Cincinnati Reds 1967–1983

Cincinnati brought him up at nineteen and he was Rookie of the Year the next season. He caught 1,743 games, hit 389 home runs, drove in 1,376 runs and collected 2,048 hits. He led the National League in home runs in 1970 and 1972, and in runs batted in three times, with 148 in 1970.

He caught one-handed, keeping his throwing hand behind his back where foul tips could not break it, and used a hinged mitt that made it possible. Catchers before him had taken the ball in two hands. The position copied him within a few years. His ten Gold Gloves came in a row, from 1968 through 1977.

He won the Most Valuable Player award in 1970 and 1972, and was an All-Star in fourteen seasons. The Big Red Machine around him won the World Series in 1975 and 1976. Years of catching moved him to third base at the end. His 389 home runs are still the most by any Cincinnati player, and the writers elected him in 1989 with 431 votes of 447.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	14	1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983
Gold Glove	10	1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977
The Sporting News All-Star	7	1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
Player of the Week	3	1974, 1976, 1983
Most Valuable Player	2	1970, 1972
Babe Ruth Award	1	1976
Bob Feller Act of Valor Award - HOF Player	1	2018
Hutch Award	1	1981
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award	1	1975
Rookie of the Year	1	1968
The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year	1	1970
The Sporting News Player of the Year	1	1970
The Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year	1	1968
World Series MVP	1	1976

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1967	CIN	26	86	7	14	3	1	1	6	5	19	0	.163
1968	CIN	154	564	67	155	40	2	15	82	31	96	1	.275
1969	CIN	148	532	83	156	23	1	26	90	49	86	6	.293
1970	CIN	158	605	97	177	35	4	45	148	54	102	5	.293
1971	CIN	149	562	80	134	19	2	27	61	49	83	2	.238
1972	CIN	147	538	87	145	22	2	40	125	100	84	6	.270
1973	CIN	152	557	83	141	17	3	25	104	83	83	4	.253
1974	CIN	160	621	108	174	38	2	33	129	80	90	5	.280
1975	CIN	142	530	83	150	39	1	28	110	65	108	11	.283
1976	CIN	135	465	62	109	24	1	16	74	81	95	13	.234
1977	CIN	142	494	67	136	34	2	31	109	58	95	2	.275
1978	CIN	120	393	52	102	17	1	23	73	50	83	4	.260
1979	CIN	130	464	73	128	19	0	22	80	67	73	4	.276
1980	CIN	114	360	52	90	12	0	24	68	41	64	4	.250
1981	CIN	52	178	14	55	8	0	8	25	17	21	0	.309
1982	CIN	119	399	44	103	16	0	13	38	37	58	1	.258
1983	CIN	110	310	32	79	15	2	12	54	24	38	0	.255
Career	—	2158	7658	1091	2048	381	24	389	1376	891	1278	68	.267

On this day & linked events

1947

Born December 7, 1947

Oklahoma City, OK, USA

1967

Major-league debut: Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench made a major-league debut on August 28, 1967.

1970

Final major-league game: Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench played a final major-league game on September 29, 1983.

Image: Rafael Amado Deras, CC BY 2.0