Bench, Johnny

Johnny Bench, in full Johnny Lee Bench, (born December 7, 1947, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.), American professional baseball player who, in 17 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds of the National League, established himself as one of the game’s finest catchers. He won 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards (1968–77) and had an exceptional throwing arm. Bench was a master at blocking home plate from base runners, and he popularized the now-standard style of catching one-handed.

Bench was signed to a contract with the Reds in 1965 and played with its minor league teams until he moved up to the Reds late in the 1967 season. From 1968, when he was chosen National League Rookie of the Year (the first catcher ever so named from either league), he was the team’s regular catcher, though in the early 1980s he caught less and finally switched to playing third base. Bench led the league in runs batted in (1970, 1972, and 1974) and in home runs (1970 and 1972). Together with Pete Rose and Joe Morgan, he helped lead the Reds to four World Series (1970, 1972, 1975, and 1976), two of which the Reds won (1975 and 1976). Bench’s greatest performance was in the 1976 series, in which he batted .533. At his retirement in 1983, he held the record for the most home runs by a catcher, 327, a mark subsequently broken by Carlton Fisk. (Bench’s career total for home runs is 389, but only 327 of those runs were hit while he was catching.) Bench was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

After retiring from professional play, Bench worked as a radio and television announcer. He also competed in several senior golf events. Bench cowrote the autobiography Catch You Later (1979; with William Brashler) and Catch Every Ball: How to Handle Life’s Pitches (2008; with Paul Daugherty).