MVP Profile: Johnny Bench, 1972

Catcher, Cincinnati Reds

Age:  24

5^th season with Reds

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 195 

Prior to 1972:

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. Impressive in his first full season in 1968, Bench was an All-Star for the first time and became the first catcher to receive Rookie of the Year honors after batting .275 with 40 doubles, 15 home runs, and 82 RBIs. He also received a Gold Glove for his play behind the plate. Bench followed up in 1969 with 26 home runs, 90 RBIs, and a .293 batting average, 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. In a lesser season for the Reds in 1971, Bench batted .238 with 27 home runs and 61 RBIs while continuing his Gold Glove play defensively.

1972 Season Summary

Appeared in 147 games

C – 129, RF – 17, 1B – 8, 3B – 4

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 653 [10]

At Bats – 538

Runs – 87 [10, tied with Lee May, Nate Colbert & Ralph Garr]

Hits – 145

Doubles – 22

Triples – 2

Home Runs – 40 [1]

RBI – 125 [1]

Bases on Balls – 100 [3]

Int. BB – 23 [1]

Strikeouts – 84

Stolen Bases – 6

Caught Stealing – 6

Average - .270

OBP - .379 [10]

Slugging Pct. - .541 [3]

Total Bases – 291 [3]

GDP – 18 [3, tied with Ted Simmons, Doug Rader & Tommie Agee]

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 12 [1]

League-leading home runs were +2 ahead of runner-up Nate Colbert

League-leading RBIs were +3 ahead of runner-up Billy Williams

League-leading int. bases on balls drawn were +3 ahead of runner-up Billy Williams

League-leading sac flies were +2 ahead of runner-up Tommy Helms

Midseason snapshot: HR - 24, RBI - 72, AVG - .283, SLG - .556, OBP - .377

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 6 AB) at Montreal 6/11, (in 4 AB) vs. Pittsburgh 7/11

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 5 AB) at Houston 5/30, (in 7 AB) at Philadelphia 6/2 – 17 innings, (in 4 AB) vs. Pittsburgh 7/12, (in 5 AB) vs. Atlanta 9/26

HR at home – 16

HR on road – 24

Multi-HR games – 4

Most RBIs, game – 5 at Atlanta 8/14, at Atlanta 9/12

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding (C )

Chances – 797

Put Outs – 735

Assists – 56

Errors – 6

DP – 9

Pct. - .992

Postseason Batting: 12 G (NLCS vs. Pittsburgh 5 G; World Series vs. Oakland 7 G)

PA – 48, AB – 41, R – 7, H – 12, 2B – 2, 3B – 1, HR – 2, RBI – 3, BB – 6, IBB – 3, SO – 8, SB – 4, CS – 0, AVG - .293, OBP - .375, SLG - .537, TB – 22, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 1

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

Gold Glove

All-Star (Started for NL at C)

 

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Johnny Bench, Cin.: 263 points – 11 of 24 first place votes, 78% share

Billy Williams, ChiC.: 211 points – 5 first place votes, 63% share

Willie Stargell, Pitt.: 201 points – 2 first place votes, 60% share

Joe Morgan, Cin.: 197 points – 5 first place votes, 59% share

Steve Carlton, Phila.: 124 points – 1 first place vote, 37% share

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Reds went 95-59, to finish first in the NL Western Division by 10.5 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers & Houston Astros while leading the league in stolen bases (140), bases on balls drawn (606), and on-base percentage (.330, tied with the Cubs) The Reds started the strike-delayed season slowly but surged in late May and took over first place in the NL West to stay on June 25, boosted by Bench’s home run heroics that included a stretch of 7 homers in a span of five games. Won NLCS over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 games to 2, with Bench tying the decisive 5^th game with a ninth-inning home run followed by OF George Foster scoring on a wild pitch to win the game and series. Lost World Series to the Oakland Athletics, 4 games to 3.

Aftermath of ‘72:

Bench followed up with another solid, if less spectacular, season with the division-winning Reds in 1973, batting .253 with 25 home runs and 104 RBIs. He placed tenth in league MVP voting. 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.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.