Johnny Bench Stats

Johnny Bench was born on Sunday, December 7, 1947, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Bench was 19 years old when he broke into the big leagues on August 28, 1967, with the Cincinnati Reds. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Johnny Bench baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Trained by his father Ted (Bench) to throw 254 feet — twice the distance from home plate to second base — from a crouch, (Johnny) Bench boasted that he could, 'throw out any runner alive.'" - Acocella, Nick. ESPN Classic. Baseball's greatest catcher. 25 October 2004.[Johnny Bench Quotes]

Johnny Bench

Johnny 'The Little General' Bench Autograph on a 1983 Topps Baseball Card (#60 | <a href='../baseball_cards/baseball_cards_oneset.php?s=1983top03' title='1983 Topps Baseball Card Checklist'>Checklist</a>)

Johnny 'The Little General' Bench Autograph on a 1983 Topps Baseball Card (#60 | Checklist)

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Birth Name:   Johnny Lee Bench (Twitter: @JohnnyBench_5)
Nickname:   JB or The Little General
Born On:   12-07-1947  (Sagittarius)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Year of Death Data Died On:   Still Living (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Still Living
Cemetery:   n/a
High School:   Anadarko High School (Binger, OK)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-01   Player Weight Chart Weight:   208
First Game:   08-28-1967 (Age 19)
Last Game:   09-29-1983
Draft:   1965 : 2nd Round (36th) / Signing Bonus = $6,000 & College Tuition

Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench Pitching Stats

- - Did Not Pitch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench Hitting Stats

1967 20 Reds 26 86 7 14 3 1 1 0 6 5 0 19 1 1 0 4 .163 .207 .256
1968 21 Reds 154 564 67 155 40 2 15 0 82 31 8 96 2 8 2 14 .275 .311 .433
1969 22 Reds 148 532 83 156 23 1 26 1 90 49 7 86 0 7 4 7 .293 .353 .487
1970 23 Reds 158 605 97 177 35 4 45 0 148 54 9 102 1 11 0 12 .293 .345 .587
1971 24 Reds 149 562 80 134 19 2 27 0 61 49 7 83 0 2 0 20 .238 .299 .423
1972 25 Reds 147 538 87 145 22 2 40 1 125 100 23 84 0 12 2 18 .270 .379 .541
1973 26 Reds 152 557 83 141 17 3 25 0 104 83 14 83 1 10 0 22 .253 .345 .429
1974 27 Reds 160 621 108 174 38 2 33 2 129 80 15 90 0 4 3 13 .280 .363 .507
1975 28 Reds 142 530 83 150 39 1 28 2 110 65 12 108 0 8 2 12 .283 .359 .519
1976 29 Reds 135 465 62 109 24 1 16 0 74 81 6 95 0 4 2 9 .234 .348 .394
1977 30 Reds 142 494 67 136 34 2 31 2 109 58 8 95 0 7 1 10 .275 .348 .540
1978 31 Reds 120 393 52 102 17 1 23 1 73 50 10 83 1 6 1 9 .260 .340 .483
1979 32 Reds 130 464 73 128 19 0 22 0 80 67 8 73 3 4 0 11 .276 .364 .459
1980 33 Reds 114 360 52 90 12 0 24 2 68 41 2 64 0 4 2 9 .250 .327 .483
1981 34 Reds 52 178 14 55 8 0 8 0 25 17 3 21 1 0 0 4 .309 .369 .489
1982 35 Reds 119 399 44 103 16 0 13 0 38 37 2 58 1 2 0 14 .258 .320 .396
1983 36 Reds 110 310 32 79 15 2 12 0 54 24 1 38 0 0 0 13 .255 .308 .432
17 Years 2,158 7,658 1,091 2,048 381 24 389 11 1,376 891 135 1,278 11 90 19 201 .267 .342 .476

Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench Fielding Stats

1967 Reds C 26 26 699 192 7.4 191 175 16 1 0 2 5 5 .995 7.38
1968 Reds C 154 139 3,903 1,053 6.8 1,044 942 102 9 10 18 49 44 .991 7.22
1969 Reds C 147 135 3,747 876 6.0 869 793 76 7 10 14 30 40 .992 6.26
1970 Reds 1B 12 5 162 79 6.6 78 74 4 1 7 n/a n/a n/a .987 13.00
1970 Reds 3B 1 0 3 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 9.00
1970 Reds C 139 130 3,474 840 6.0 828 755 73 12 12 9 32 30 .986 6.44
1970 Reds CF 2 2 45 3 1.5 3 3 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.80
1970 Reds LF 15 8 234 16 1.1 15 14 1 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .938 1.73
1970 Reds RF 7 7 174 9 1.3 8 8 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .889 1.24
1971 Reds 1B 12 1 99 36 3.0 35 34 1 1 7 n/a n/a n/a .972 9.55
1971 Reds 3B 3 3 57 8 2.7 8 2 6 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 3.79
1971 Reds C 141 133 3,509 755 5.4 746 687 59 9 9 6 37 26 .988 5.74
1971 Reds LF 10 8 189 10 1.0 10 9 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.43
1971 Reds RF 3 2 48 2 0.7 2 2 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.13
1972 Reds 1B 7 2 84 25 3.6 24 24 0 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .960 7.71
1972 Reds 3B 4 4 99 10 2.5 9 2 7 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .900 2.45
1972 Reds C 129 124 3,419 797 6.2 791 735 56 6 9 2 24 31 .992 6.25
1972 Reds RF 17 17 414 32 1.9 30 30 0 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .938 1.96
1973 Reds 1B 4 3 78 29 7.3 29 29 0 0 3 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 10.04
1973 Reds 3B 1 1 21 2 2.0 2 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.57
1973 Reds C 134 124 3,345 758 5.7 754 693 61 4 7 8 28 27 .995 6.09
1973 Reds RF 23 22 543 35 1.5 33 33 0 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .943 1.64
1974 Reds 1B 5 0 39 15 3.0 15 15 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 10.38
1974 Reds 3B 36 30 789 80 2.2 77 22 55 3 2 n/a n/a n/a .963 2.63
1974 Reds C 137 129 3,400 831 6.1 825 757 68 6 16 3 37 35 .993 6.55
1975 Reds 1B 9 3 112 46 5.1 45 45 0 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .978 10.85
1975 Reds C 121 115 3,008 626 5.2 619 568 51 7 9 0 32 27 .989 5.56
1975 Reds LF 16 15 387 28 1.8 28 28 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.95
1975 Reds RF 3 3 72 6 2.0 6 5 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.25
1976 Reds 1B 1 0 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1976 Reds C 128 120 3,213 713 5.6 711 651 60 2 11 5 57 42 .997 5.97
1976 Reds LF 5 3 84 6 1.2 4 4 0 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .667 1.29
1977 Reds 1B 4 2 63 24 6.0 23 21 2 1 3 n/a n/a n/a .958 9.86
1977 Reds 3B 1 0 15 2 2.0 1 0 1 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .500 1.80
1977 Reds C 135 125 3,197 781 5.8 771 705 66 10 10 3 64 42 .987 6.51
1977 Reds LF 7 6 132 9 1.3 9 9 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.84
1977 Reds RF 1 1 24 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1978 Reds 1B 11 9 225 82 7.5 80 75 5 2 7 n/a n/a n/a .976 9.60
1978 Reds C 107 96 2,508 660 6.2 653 605 48 7 6 12 49 35 .989 7.03
1978 Reds LF 1 1 32 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1978 Reds RF 1 1 15 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1979 Reds 1B 2 2 42 14 7.0 14 13 1 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 9.00
1979 Reds C 126 123 3,250 697 5.5 687 619 68 10 11 5 70 45 .986 5.71
1980 Reds C 105 98 2,541 549 5.2 544 505 39 5 7 6 83 34 .991 5.78
1981 Reds 1B 38 37 966 363 9.6 357 334 23 6 35 n/a n/a n/a .983 9.98
1981 Reds C 7 7 180 47 6.7 46 41 5 1 0 1 9 4 .979 6.90
1982 Reds 1B 8 5 137 57 7.1 57 53 4 0 7 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 11.23
1982 Reds 3B 107 103 2,576 228 2.1 209 54 155 19 10 n/a n/a n/a .917 2.19
1982 Reds C 1 0 3 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 9.00
1983 Reds 1B 32 29 753 266 8.3 263 249 14 3 21 n/a n/a n/a .989 9.43
1983 Reds 3B 42 41 958 90 2.1 84 26 58 6 5 n/a n/a n/a .933 2.37
1983 Reds C 5 3 69 20 4.0 19 17 2 1 0 0 4 2 .950 7.43
1983 Reds LF 1 0 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
C Totals 1,742 1,627 43,465 10,196 5.9 10,099 9,249 850 97 127 94 610 469 .990 6.27
3B Totals 195 182 4,518 421 2.2 391 107 284 30 17 n/a n/a n/a .929 2.34
1B Totals 145 98 2,763 1,036 7.1 1,020 966 54 16 94 n/a n/a n/a .985 9.97
LF Totals 55 41 1,060 69 1.3 66 64 2 3 0 n/a n/a n/a .957 1.68
RF Totals 55 53 1,290 84 1.5 79 78 1 5 0 n/a n/a n/a .940 1.65
CF Totals 2 2 45 3 1.5 3 3 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.80
17 Years 2,194 2,003 53,141 11,809 5.4 11,658 10,467 1,191 151 238 94 610 469 .987 5.92

Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench Miscellaneous Stats

1967 Reds 0 1 .000 0 0 n/a 86.0 4.5 14.3 - - -
1968 Reds 1 5 .167 7 0 n/a 37.6 5.9 6.9 - - -
1969 Reds 6 6 .500 11 0 n/a 20.5 6.2 5.9 - - -
1970 Reds 5 2 .714 5 0 n/a 13.4 5.9 4.1 - - -
1971 Reds 2 1 .667 2 0 n/a 20.8 6.8 9.2 - - -
1972 Reds 6 6 .500 0 0 n/a 13.5 6.4 4.3 - - -
1973 Reds 4 1 .800 2 0 n/a 22.3 6.7 5.4 - - -
1974 Reds 5 4 .556 1 0 n/a 18.8 6.9 4.8 - - -
1975 Reds 11 0 1.000 6 0 n/a 18.9 4.9 4.8 - - -
1976 Reds 13 2 .867 9 0 n/a 29.1 4.9 6.3 - - -
1977 Reds 2 4 .333 6 0 n/a 15.9 5.2 4.5 - - -
1978 Reds 4 2 .667 12 0 n/a 17.1 4.7 5.4 - - -
1979 Reds 4 2 .667 5 0 n/a 21.1 6.4 5.8 - - -
1980 Reds 4 2 .667 15 0 n/a 15.0 5.6 5.3 - - -
1981 Reds 0 2 .000 8 0 n/a 22.3 8.5 7.1 - - -
1982 Reds 1 2 .333 10 0 n/a 30.7 6.9 10.5 - - -
1983 Reds 0 1 .000 34 0 n/a 25.8 8.2 5.7 - - -
17 Years 68 43 .613 133 0 n/a 19.7 6.0 5.6 - - -

Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1967 Cincinnati Reds 5 $5,500.00 - -
1968 Cincinnati Reds 5 $11,000.00 Stats -
1969 Cincinnati Reds 5 $23,500.00 Stats -
1970 Cincinnati Reds 5 $40,000.00 Stats Stats
1971 Cincinnati Reds 5 $90,000.00 Stats -
1972 Cincinnati Reds 5 $105,000.00 Stats Stats
1973 Cincinnati Reds 5 $115,000.00 Stats -
1974 Cincinnati Reds 5 $115,000.00 Stats -
1975 Cincinnati Reds 5 $175,000.00 Stats Stats
1976 Cincinnati Reds 5 $200,000.00 Stats Stats
1977 Cincinnati Reds 5 $235,000.00 Stats -
1978 Cincinnati Reds 5 $400,000.00 Stats -
1979 Cincinnati Reds 5 $400,000.00 Stats -
1980 Cincinnati Reds 5 $400,000.00 Stats -
1981 Cincinnati Reds 5 $400,000.00 - -
1982 Cincinnati Reds 5 $400,000.00 - -
1983 Cincinnati Reds 5 $450,000.00 Stats -

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Johnny Lee Bench was a Major League Baseball player who spent his entire seventeen year career with the Cincinnati Reds (1967-1983). Author Roger Kahn once said, "I remember I said to Red Smith, 'I've seen Campy and Berra, this fellow's better than that. And Red said to me, 'I've seen Dickey and Mickey Cochrane, and this fellow is better than them also. Ergo, Johnny Bench is the best catcher who ever lived." Join Baseball Almanac as we take a closer look at that comment:

JOHNNY BENCH ROOKIE CARD

Johnny Bench Rookie Card | 1968 Topps Baseball Card (#247 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Collection

Johnny Bench won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1968, batting .275 with 15 home runs and 82 RBIs, the first time the award had been won by a catcher. Manager Herman Franks said after his first full season in The Spokesman Review (07/23/1968, 'Rookie Catcher Praised', Page 6), "With more experience, he could be the best the league ever had." Manager Dave Bristol said in that same article, "One of the finest catchers in the league of all time. He has ability that is not noticed at times. He is strong, he has quick release of the ball, agile, and he has great body balance." Johnny Bench, when those comments were made, had one full season of experience at the time and was five months shy of his 21st birthday.

Johnny Bench was the youngest man (22) to ever win the National League Most Valuable Player Award when he won in 1970. He hit .293, led the National League with 45 home runs (Home Run Champions), set a team-record with 148 RBI (RBI Champions), and helped the Reds win the National League West Division. Two years later, Bench led the National League in home runs again, led the league in RBI again (snapping-up two legs of the Triple Crown each time), and won his second MVP Award - the first player in team history with two MVPs.

Johnny Bench was the second catcher (Roy Campanella was the first, in 1953) in National League history with a 100+ RBI / 100 runs scored season in league history. It was 1974, it was Bench's only 100 runs scored season, it was his third of six 100 RBI season, and his 73 extra base hits were the most in the league as well. Through this date, less than ten backstops have joined this unique hitting club.

Johnny Bench was the first individual baseball player to appear on the front of a Wheaties cereal box (image below). In an AP Wire article, July 6, 1989, Johnny Bench gets his picture on Wheaties box, the press reported, "Retired Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench has become the first baseball player to be chosen to have his picture placed on boxes of Wheaties cereal... 'This is a great honor for me,' said Bench, who retired after the 1983 season and will be inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame on July 23 in Cooperstown, N.Y. Bench, now a Reds television broadcaster, said he ate the cereal as a child and recalls seeing a picture of Olympic pole vaulter Bob Richards on the box."

Johnny Bench Wheaties Box

Johnny Bench | Wheaties Cereal Box (1989 | Checklist) | Baseball Almanac Collection

In 1954, Ted Kluszewski set a new team record for Runs Batted In (RBI) when he drove in 141 runs — the first Cincinnati Reds player to reach the 140+ RBI plateau. Sixteen years later, Johnny Bench broke the team record with 148 RBI, a mark that stood for only seven years as George Foster had 149 RBI in 1977, but those three sluggers remain the only Reds — through today — to ever have a 140+ RBI season.

JOHNNY BENCH HALL OF FAME PLAQUE

Johnny Bench | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1989 (HOF)

The 1968 National League Gold Glove Award for catchers went to Johnny Bench, who caught 154 games and committed only nine errors, marking the first time the Gold Glove had been won by a rookie. That year was the first of thirteen consecutive years (1968 through 1980) that Bench caught 100+ games, a National League record, and the Gold Glove Award for catchers was his first of ten, all won consecutively as well (1968 through 1977).