Bench was a Phenom in the minor leagues, winning Player of the Year in 1966 even after missing half the season with a broken thumb. In 1967 at Buffalo, Bench was so outstanding that even though he was sent to the Reds in mid-August, he was voted 'The Sporting News Player of the Year.

With the Cincinnati Reds, he was named NL Rookie of the Year as he set records for catchers, with 40 doubles, and played the entire season, 154 games, a rookie record for a catcher.

Johnny Bench's fielding made headline news throughout the 1970s; he was an innovator with his one-handed style of catching. Reds' manager Dave Bristol said, 'John has a quicker release than Joe Namath'.

In 1970, Bench was the NL Most Valuable Player as he slugged 45 HRs and drove in 148 runs and batted .293. Bench won his second MVP Award in 1972, as he continued his torrid hitting with his league leading 40 HR's and 125 RBI's. He played the whole season without any passed balls.

Johnny Bench was a main part of the 'Big Red Machine' as they rolled into the World Series in 1975 & 1976. He hit .533, slugged 2 HR's, had 6 RBI's in the 1976 World Series.

Johnny Bench won ten consecutive Gold Glove Awards and was named to 13 consecutive All-Star games. He set the NL records for most career putouts and chances for a catcher.

Johnny Bench finished with his career .267 batting average, .476 slugging pct, played in 2158 games and hit 381 doubles. Johnny Bench with his clutch hitting, great fielding ranks as the best catcher in the last 50 years, no other catcher comes close.

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In his first full season,1975, Rice hit 22 HR's, 102 RBI's , batted .309 and was second in the Rookie of the Year voting. His heavy hitting helped the Red Sox win the pennant but he was hit by a pitch in September, suffered a broken hand and missed the World Series, in which the Red Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games.

In 1977, Jim Rice led the AL with 39 HR's and a slugging pct of .593. He batted .320 with 114 RBI's.

The following year, Rice was the AL's MVP with his .315 batting, he led the league in each, 46 HR's, 139 RBI's, 213 hits, 15 T's and a .600-slugging pct. In 1979, it was more of the same, he pounded 39 HR's, 130 RBI's and batted .325.

Rice never possessed speed and set a major league record by grounding into 36 double plays in 1984. He also led the league in that dubious honor from 1982-85. His 315 life time DP's are the third highest in baseball's history.

He played his whole career with the Boston Red Sox and helped them win the pennant in 1986 with his 110 RBI's.

Jim Rice career: .298 BA, 2452 hits, 373 D's, 382 HR's, 1451 RBI's, .356 on-base-pct and a .502 slugging pct.

In 1978, he led all American League pitchers with 40 starts and 10 complete games. In 1979, Mike Flanagan went 13-3 with 10 complete games in the last months of the season, on way to a career-best 23-9, He led the league in wins, shutouts with 5, and had a career high 190 strike outs (Ks) and was voted the winner of the Cy Young Award.

His outstanding pitching helped the Orioles win the AL pennant in 1979 and again in 1982.

In 1984, Flanagan topped 200 innings for the sixth time in eight years, during that time he pitched more starts than any AL pitcher. Winning 122 games, a figure that ranked second in all of baseball. Mike Flanagan career: 167-143, .539 pct, 3.90 ERA, 526 G, 404 GS, 101 GC, 19 shutouts, 2770 innings, 1491 K's, 890 W's.

As a hitter, Kenny Boyer hit 23 or more home runs and knocked in at least 90 runs for seven straight years. In 1956, his second year with the Cardinals, Boyer hit .306, 30 doubles, 26 home runs, scored 91 runs, 98 RBI's and made his first All-Star appearance. In 1959, he collected a 29 game hitting streak and the following year hit a career high 32 HR's.

In 1961, Boyer batted .329, 3rd highest in the NL, and was among the leaders in hits, triples and runs scored. As the Cardinals' team captain, he led the team to their first World Championship in two decades. He led the league with 119 RBI's and was voted the NL's 1964 Most Valuable Player. He was a star in the World Series with two home runs including a grand slam.

In 1965, he developed back problems and the next season was traded to the Mets. After he quit playing, Boyer managed the Cardinals in 1978-1980. The Cardinals retired his number 14 uniform in 1984. Ken Boyer's career: .287 BA, 2143 hits, 2034 games, 7455 at bats, 318 D's, 68 T's, 282 HR's, 1104 R's, 1141 RBI's and a .462 slg/pct.

Jim Kaat won 18 games for the Minnesota Twins in 1962 and was 17-11, 3.22 in 1964.

His best year with the Twins was 1966 when he led the AL with 25 wins, in complete games with 19 and in innings with 304.7 and was named the AL's Pitcher of the Year.

Jim Kaat was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1974, went 21-13, 2.92 ERA and 1975 was 20-14.

Only Nolan Ryan pitched longer than Jim Kaat's 25 seasons. Jim Kaat's career: 283-237, 3.45 ERA, 31 shutouts, 2461 K's In 4530 innings.