Johnny Bench: set the standard for catching in the majors: when he broke in with the Reds in the late 1960s, his defensive, offensive and leadership skills were unmatched in the big leagues

Baseball Digest, Sept, 2008 by Randy Schultz

IN 1969, BOSTON RED SOX HALL OF Famer Ted Williams autographed a baseball for Johnny Bench. On it, the great hitter simply inscribed, "To a Hall of Famer for sure."

No truer words could have ever been written about a player who, at the time, was just in his second full-season in major league baseball. Williams was certainly a good judge of talent.

Ironically, 20 years after the Red Sox great inscribed his words of wisdom on the ball, Bench was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. For all of parts of 17 seasons (1967-83) Bench played for the Cincinnati Reds.

He is widely regarded as one of the greatest catchers in major league history. That legacy was reinforced in 1999 when Bench was selected to the All-Century Team.

Interestingly enough, Bench had earned the honor of being one of the games greatest catchers by the age of 22. By the time he had reached 30, Bench was being considered the "best catcher ever."

Not bad for a guy who hailed from Binger, Oklahoma.

"It was a town so small that folks driving down the highway miss it if they sneeze," joked Bench. "And if some one asks how to get to Binger, I'd tell them it's about two miles beyond the resume speed sign."

When it comes to catching, Bench's name ranks up there with the likes of other Hall of Fame greats including Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Roy Campanella, Gabby Hartnett and Mickey Cochrane, among others.

"It's quite an honor to be known as one of the greatest," recalled Bench, who threw and batted fight-handed. "I worked hard all my life to try and be the best.

"Everything I ever did to accomplish this paid off. Of course, being the best meant that my performance had to be good day in and day out.

"If not, I always felt that I had let myself down as well as my team."

During his career, Bench very rarely let his team down. He did everything a catcher had to do, and did it better than most.

He hit with explosive power, fielded bunts and grounders with grace and quickness. He knew how to handle pitchers and made long throws from behind home plate to second base that cut down would-be base-stealers with ease.

Experts were calling Bench a star while he was still playing in the minors. One of his stops up his short ladder to the majors was when he played in Buffalo, New York in 1967.

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Bench played in 98 games with the Buffalo Bisons that year, but hit .259 with 23 home runs and 68 runs batted in. For all of that, the young backstop was voted Minor League Player of the Year.

Bench remembers the year as if it were yesterday.

"We were forced into playing in two different stadiums that year," recalled Bench, who won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1970 and 1972. "It was a tough time in Buffalo, just like it was around the rest of the country, with riots and demonstrations going on regarding race and the Vietnam War.

"It was quite a deal converting from War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo to Hyde Park Stadium in nearby Niagara Falls. I remember all the football lines going through the field in Niagara Falls.

"It was quite an adjustment to make, but we made the best of it. They were two entirely different baseball fields.

"The Bisons had a lot of older players on the team that year and that worked to my advantage.

"I was a young catcher who needed experience and they helped me quite a bit. I remember pitcher Dom Zanni took a special interest in me.

"We would go out early on the field together and Dom would throw breaking balls to me. Bisons manager Don Zimmer and another veteran player, Duke Carmel, also pointed out quite a few things that would help me later in my career."

Zimmer, who would go on to manage in the majors with the Red Sox, San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs, remembered the year he spent with Bench.

"Johnny had all the talent for being a major leaguer," remembered Zimmer.

"He didn't need a hell of a lot of help.

"The Reds were just getting him ready for the big leagues. I knew he was going to be a superstar.

"I don't know if I really helped him or not because with all of his talent Johnny didn't really need a hell of a lot of help from anybody.

"I went home that winter (1967) and predicted he would be with the Reds and would win Rookie of the Year honors."

Which is exactly what Bench went out and did. He gave Reds fans a glimpse of what to expect when he was called up by the parent Cincinnati club in late 1967.

Although he hit just .163 in 26 game, Bench impressed many around him with his defensive prowess and strong throwing arm. He had joined a Reds team that already had two catchers in Don Pavletich and Johnny Edwards.

"But when the '68 season began, there was only one catcher on the Reds and that was Johnny Bench," commented Pete Rose, a long-time teammate of Bench and in his sixth season with the Reds when Bench took over. "He had all the tools and already was showing he was ready to take over the team's catching duties in 1968.

"And once he took over, he basically never gave it up until he retired."

That rookie season with the Reds saw Bench catch 154 games, a major league record for rookie catchers, slam 15 homers, 40 doubles, drive in 82 runs and hit .275. Not only that, but the Oklahoma native led National League catchers in putouts and assists while fielding at a .991 clip to win the Gold Glove award.