Shawn, That was because Bench was really good at baseball when he was a teenager. A university degree does not guarantee success for an individual but as a group, the % is much higher for the educated group vs the uneducated one. Besides, Johnny Bench did not become a bum for not going to school. He joined the minor league and had to learn to deal with people. Bench attained his people skills just like all of us did. I am sure he had bad experiences in dealing with some people and Bench probably managed that very well.
No. You can't be the best ever and never hit over 300. in a season. Ivan did it 10 times and don't get me started defensively. JB was good but people always overrate him big time. Ivan is the goat look it up!
If you get any offensive output from your catcher , its a bonus . Hes gotta bat with sore hands half the time , tired knees from squatting , not to mention all the stuff hes gotta sort out in his head during a ballgame .And Bench was the best defensive catcher in the league , by a lot . .And still Johnny bench drove in more runs than any other baseball player in the 1970s. That is amazing . Especially considering that the guy who usually hit right before or after him in the lineup , Tony Perez , was 2nd in the decade of the 70s in total RBIs.
My childhood sports hero. I wanted to be a catcher with my Johnny Bench autographed catcher's mitt, and I loved the Big Red Machine. He came to Riyadh with Bob Hope and did a Christmas show when I was in Desert Shield/Storm. An absolute legend in all respects.
What a great squad those Reds teams were that Bench, Rose, Morgan, Perez, Conception, Foster, and the ton of guys that were role players that could all play.
people that "can't" set thru a live game....don't go! its part of the game...absolutely love knowing and watching MLB live....nothing better...J Bench is the frickin man here in oklahoma...NEVER forgot where he came from....love it!
My start with baseball happened when I was about 4. I grew with and loved the game. One of the most memorable days of my life was box seats at Shea stadium where To Seaver was visiting with what was left of the big red machine. I saw Bench all game. Joe Morgan's elbow pump. Dave Conepcion. And Seaver staring everyone down. No team can replace the pre-free agency era players for the feeling of unity. It took many years to get used to not having the core players. That is something baseball and the fans lost.
I am glad i found this...i liked Bench and followed him throughout his career...and now i am still a baseball fan...an old man...but listening to him talk...you would think some team would have him as an adviser of sorts...he is so knowledgeable...
gdub454 Hey there..check out Buster Onley's "call to a legend"...same topics discussed...much more from your favorite baseball generation. You will like
I think when you have a legend like Bench on your show, yeah, you just kinda let him run your show lol...what a treasure, all those stories from the golden years of baseball...
The one thing missing from the Reggie blast in the retelling is that the wind was blowing out and 20 30 miles per hour that night. RU-vid had a replay of that game and all during the broadcast the announcers noted the wind issue.
I cannot imagine a team with HOF players nowadays asking those players, "Who do you like?" when looking at new players. Amazing that Sparky Anderson did that.
He doesn't want to. He's got a couple young boys and he's a full-time stay-at-home dad. But I agree, when he was on television he was great and I'm sure still would be.
As a kid living near Cincinnati in the mid 70's, I wanted a Johnny Bench baseball card so bad. All I kept getting was Bill Plumber. Plumber did hit around .300, but only about 50 ab's a year.
One of my idiols as a catcher. He and Pudge and Thurman... what's evident in this interview is the passion Johhny still has for the game itself. He made catching look easy. It's not. Great seeing Johnny. I remember long ago Casey Stengel was talking to Sparky Anderson. And basically said you'll never find anyone better than that young kid you've got. The ol professor knew then how great Johnny Bench was. Ted Williams had him pegged as a certain hall of famer.
I think it's the toughest gig in professional sports catchers are underappreciated . playing with tired knees from squatting, trying to hit with your hands banged up . Not to mention all the things you have to sort out in your head. You got to be involved in every single play
Haha I had JB Batter Up...never fully got it to work right...you needed to cement it down to make it really work well...and I didnt have cement as a kid lol!
Johnny your one of the best catchers ever but stand up for pete rose to be in HOF now " hes paid the price and pete needs and desevers to be in " theres players that have cheated and used steroids and are in , to me thats worse the gambling after you have played.
rich 60 some odd genders eisen watch the interview with reggie jackson and when jackson says there are 60 some odd genders rich eisen says uh uh doesn't even flinch wtf
MLB needs to get rid of that stupid rule that a relief pitcher has to face at least 3 batters, it takes away the chess game between managers and makes the starters outing much shorter.
Smart fella that Johnny, but a bit too much of that "back in my day, we walked two miles to school uphill both ways in snowstorms and with a fifty pound backpack, and we didn't complain" attitude. As for the segment discussing the Buster Posey Rule, Pete Rose and Ray Fosse... after getting banged up terribly in a home plate collision, Carlton Fisk developed a "sideways sweep" technique that proved to be much safer and very efficient at least for him, so what happened to it, not used anymore?
That's why I can't sit through a live baseball game. Because they take way too long to throw the next pitch. I think if they cut that back the game would have a better pace to it. My solution is I record the games so I can fast forward through the bs.
Always taking the first pitch. Moving closer to third base in the later innings to avoid the extra base hit (because extra base hits in the early innings don't count). Bunting. Not caring if pitchers can't hit. All the wonderful nonsense of baseball.
