Johnny Bench ranks among baseball's greatest catchers. As of 2000, he is second among catchers in lifetime HR's ( 389 ) and second in RBI's 1376. Even with his great hitting, it was his outstanding defensive skills; his rapid, accurate throws to second base which put Johnny Bench into the Hall of Fame. 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 Minor League Player of the Year.

For 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 a 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. baseballhistorian.com archives