Age: 20
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 197
Prior to 1968:
Bench, a native
of Oklahoma, was an All-State performer in both baseball and basketball in high
school and was his class valedictorian as well. He was chosen by the Reds in
the first amateur free agent draft in 1965 and followed up a promising season
with Tampa of the Class A Florida State League by achieving Player of the Year
recognition after batting .294 with 22 home runs with the Peninsula Grays of
the Class A Carolina League in 1966. Following promotion to Class AAA Buffalo,
he suffered a broken thumb that ended his ’66 campaign. Returning to Buffalo in
1967 Bench hit 23 home runs while batting .259 and impressed with his defensive
play behind the plate. He was selected as Minor League Player of the Year by
The Sporting News after the season and was promoted to the Reds for the last
month of the ’67 season, hitting a meager .163 with a home run and 6 RBIs in 26
games.
1968 Season Summary
Appeared in 154
games
C – 152
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 607
At Bats – 564
[20]
Runs – 67
Hits – 155 [17]
Doubles – 40 [3]
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 15
[16, tied with Mike Shannon & Ed Charles]
RBI – 82 [9]
Bases on Balls
– 31
Int. BB – 8
Strikeouts – 96
[12, tied with Orlando Cepeda]
Stolen Bases – 1
Caught Stealing
– 5
Average - .275
OBP - .311
Slugging Pct. -
.433 [14]
Total Bases – 244
[12]
GDP – 14 [17,
tied with Donn Clendenon, Ron Swoboda & Tony Gonzalez]
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 2
Sac Flies – 8
[2, tied with Willie McCovey & Donn Clendenon]
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 7, RBI - 44, AVG - .267, OBP - .300
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 6 AB) at Pittsburgh 7/23 – 12 innings
Longest hitting
streak – 8 games
Most HR, game –
one on 15 occasions
HR at home – 10
HR on road – 5
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at Pittsburgh 5/19
Pinch-hitting –
0 of 4 (.000) with 1 R
Fielding
Chances – 1053
Put Outs – 942
Assists – 102
Errors – 9
DP - 10
Pct. - .991
Awards & Honors:
NL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
All-Star
Gold Glove
16th
in NL MVP voting (11 points, 4% share)
NL ROY Voting:
Johnny Bench,
Cin.: 10.5 of 20 votes, 52.5% share
Jerry Koosman,
NYM.: 9.5 votes, 47.5% share
---
Reds went 83-79
to finish fourth in the NL, 14 games behind the pennant-winning St. Louis
Cardinals while leading the league in batting (.273), runs scored (690), hits
(1573), and slugging percentage (.389).
Aftermath of ‘68:
The first
catcher to receive Rookie of the Year honors, Bench followed up with 26 home
runs, 90 RBIs, and a .293 batting average in 1969, again receiving an All-Star
selection and Gold Glove. He broke out in a big way in 1970, leading the NL in
home runs (45) and RBIs (148) and being chosen as league MVP. The heavy-hitting
Reds won the NL pennant as well. Bench was MVP for a second time in 1972, when
he again topped the league in home runs (40) and RBIs (125) for a
pennant-winning club. With outstanding ability behind the plate that included
an excellent throwing arm, Bench won 10 Gold Gloves and was selected to 14
All-Star Games over the course of a career that lasted until 1983 and included
being part of two World Series-winning Cincinnati squads. Capable of playing at
first base and in the outfield to reduce wear on his body from catching, Bench
ultimately ended up appearing primarily at third and first base in the final
stages of his Hall of Fame career (he was elected in 1989). Overall in a tenure spent entirely with the
Reds, who retired his #5, he hit 389 home runs with 1376 RBIs and a .267
batting average. Bench had another 10 home runs and 20 RBIs in 45 postseason
games and was named MVP of the 1976 World Series.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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