Johnny Bench | Baseball Prospectus

Biographical

Johnny Bench 3BReds

Reds Player Cards | Reds Team Audit | Reds Depth Chart

Career Summary

Years	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	TAv	WARP
17	8669	.267	.342	.476	.297	69.3

Birth Date	12-7-1947
Height	6' 1"
Weight	208 lbs

Bats	R
Throws	R

WARP Summary

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YEAR	TEAM	AGE	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	TB	BB	SO	HBP	SF	SH	RBI	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	TAv	VORP	FRAA	WARP
1967	CIN	19	26	93	86	7	14	3	1	1	22	5	19	0	1	1	6	0	1	.163	.207	.256	.184	-1.6	0.4	-0.1
1968	CIN	20	154	607	564	67	155	40	2	15	244	31	96	2	8	2	82	1	5	.275	.311	.433	.285	35.7	0.2	4.5
1969	CIN	21	148	592	532	83	156	23	1	26	259	49	86	4	7	0	90	6	6	.293	.353	.487	.312	60.9	1.5	6.9
1970	CIN	22	158	671	605	97	177	35	4	45	355	54	102	0	11	1	148	5	2	.293	.345	.587	.323	73.4	2.3	8.0
1971	CIN	23	149	613	562	80	134	19	2	27	238	49	83	0	2	0	61	2	1	.238	.299	.423	.269	27.9	-0.2	3.2
1972	CIN	24	147	652	538	87	145	22	2	40	291	100	84	2	12	0	125	6	6	.270	.379	.541	.347	73.8	-2.1	8.5
1973	CIN	25	152	651	557	83	141	17	3	25	239	83	83	0	10	1	104	4	1	.253	.345	.429	.271	37.8	-1.7	3.9
1974	CIN	26	160	708	621	108	174	38	2	33	315	80	90	3	4	0	129	5	4	.280	.363	.507	.320	66.3	0.8	7.3
1975	CIN	27	142	605	530	83	150	39	1	28	275	65	108	2	8	0	110	11	0	.283	.359	.519	.311	54.7	-2.5	5.6
1976	CIN	28	135	552	465	62	109	24	1	16	183	81	95	2	4	0	74	13	2	.234	.348	.394	.276	34.2	0.0	3.8
1977	CIN	29	142	560	494	67	136	34	2	31	267	58	95	1	7	0	109	2	4	.275	.348	.540	.298	44.7	-0.8	4.5
1978	CIN	30	120	451	393	52	102	17	1	23	190	50	83	1	6	1	73	4	2	.260	.340	.483	.304	37.0	0.8	4.2
1979	CIN	31	130	538	464	73	128	19	0	22	213	67	73	0	4	3	80	4	2	.276	.364	.459	.296	47.3	-2.3	4.7
1980	CIN	32	114	407	360	52	90	12	0	24	174	41	64	2	4	0	68	4	2	.250	.327	.483	.291	28.0	-3.5	2.6
1981	CIN	33	52	196	178	14	55	8	0	8	87	17	21	0	0	1	25	0	2	.309	.369	.489	.309	10.0	0.2	1.1
1982	CIN	34	119	439	399	44	103	16	0	13	158	37	58	0	2	1	38	1	2	.258	.320	.396	.262	16.9	-18.4	-0.2
1983	CIN	35	110	334	310	32	79	15	2	12	134	24	38	0	0	0	54	0	1	.255	.308	.432	.263	8.5	-1.2	0.8
Career			2158	8669	7658	1091	2048	381	24	389	3644	891	1278	19	90	11	1376	68	43	.267	.342	.476	.297	655.3	-26.5	69.3

Advanced

'opp' stats - quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.

YEAR	Team	Lg	G	PA	TAv	oppAVG	oppOBP	oppSLG	oppTAv	BABIP	BPF	BRAA	repLVL	POS_ADJ	FRAA	BRR	BVORP	BWARP	VORP	WARP
1967	CIN	MLB	26	93	.184	.236	.293	.341	.000	.194	108	-6.2	2.2	1.4	0.4	-0.3	-1.6	-0.1	-1.6	-0.1
1968	CIN	MLB	154	607	.285	.240	.289	.333	.000	.304	98	12.1	13.3	8	0.2	-1.0	35.7	4.5	35.7	4.5
1969	CIN	MLB	148	592	.312	.246	.305	.358	.000	.304	106	29	15.2	9.1	1.5	0.7	60.9	6.9	60.9	6.9
1970	CIN	MLB	158	671	.323	.257	.321	.394	.000	.281	102	42.7	18.2	8.5	2.3	1.3	73.4	8.0	73.4	8.0
1971	CIN	MLB	149	613	.269	.249	.305	.361	.000	.236	97	5.2	15.0	7.9	-0.2	-1.0	27.9	3.2	27.9	3.2
1972	CIN	MLB	147	652	.347	.246	.307	.361	.000	.246	96	49.5	15.3	7.2	-2.1	-0.8	73.8	8.5	73.8	8.5
1973	CIN	MLB	152	651	.271	.249	.310	.366	.000	.253	99	7.1	17.1	7.6	-1.7	1.4	37.8	3.9	37.8	3.9
1974	CIN	MLB	160	708	.320	.251	.317	.358	.000	.281	99	41.4	18.3	9.4	0.8	-3.7	66.3	7.3	66.3	7.3
1975	CIN	MLB	142	605	.311	.254	.315	.364	.000	.303	102	30.6	15.9	7.4	-2.5	-0.7	54.7	5.6	54.7	5.6
1976	CIN	MLB	135	552	.276	.248	.309	.352	.000	.260	103	8.4	13.9	8	0.0	-2.6	34.2	3.8	34.2	3.8
1977	CIN	MLB	142	560	.298	.258	.318	.385	.000	.280	104	22.2	15.6	8.4	-0.8	-2.8	44.7	4.5	44.7	4.5
1978	CIN	MLB	120	451	.304	.248	.308	.361	.000	.270	104	19.2	11.7	5.6	0.8	-1.8	37.0	4.2	37.0	4.2
1979	CIN	MLB	130	538	.296	.255	.313	.378	.000	.284	102	20	15.1	8.8	-2.3	-0.6	47.3	4.7	47.3	4.7
1980	CIN	MLB	114	407	.291	.256	.308	.368	.000	.239	102	12.7	10.9	6.4	-3.5	-0.6	28.0	2.6	28.0	2.6
1981	CIN	MLB	52	196	.309	.250	.307	.346	.000	.315	99	9	5.0	-2.1	0.2	-1.8	10.0	1.1	10.0	1.1
1982	CIN	MLB	119	439	.262	.253	.307	.364	.000	.273	100	0.8	11.8	1.2	-18.4	-0.6	16.9	-0.2	16.9	-0.2
1983	CIN	MLB	110	334	.263	.257	.316	.376	.000	.258	102	1.1	9.1	-1.3	-1.2	-3.8	8.5	0.8	8.5	0.8
Career		MLB		8669	.297	.251	.310	.364	.254	.273	101	304.8	223.6	101.5	-26.5	-18.5	655.3	69.3	655.3	69.3

Statistics For All Levels

Year	Team	Lg	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	TAv	VORP	FRAA	WARP
1967	CIN	MLB	93	7	14	3	1	1	6	5	19	0	1	.163	.207	.256	.093	.184	-1.6	0.4	-0.1
1968	CIN	MLB	607	67	155	40	2	15	82	31	96	1	5	.275	.311	.433	.158	.285	35.7	0.2	4.5
1969	CIN	MLB	592	83	156	23	1	26	90	49	86	6	6	.293	.353	.487	.194	.312	60.9	1.5	6.9
1970	CIN	MLB	671	97	177	35	4	45	148	54	102	5	2	.293	.345	.587	.294	.323	73.4	2.3	8.0
1971	CIN	MLB	613	80	134	19	2	27	61	49	83	2	1	.238	.299	.423	.185	.269	27.9	-0.2	3.2
1972	CIN	MLB	652	87	145	22	2	40	125	100	84	6	6	.270	.379	.541	.271	.347	73.8	-2.1	8.5
1973	CIN	MLB	651	83	141	17	3	25	104	83	83	4	1	.253	.345	.429	.176	.271	37.8	-1.7	3.9
1974	CIN	MLB	708	108	174	38	2	33	129	80	90	5	4	.280	.363	.507	.227	.320	66.3	0.8	7.3
1975	CIN	MLB	605	83	150	39	1	28	110	65	108	11	0	.283	.359	.519	.236	.311	54.7	-2.5	5.6
1976	CIN	MLB	552	62	109	24	1	16	74	81	95	13	2	.234	.348	.394	.159	.276	34.2	0.0	3.8
1977	CIN	MLB	560	67	136	34	2	31	109	58	95	2	4	.275	.348	.540	.265	.298	44.7	-0.8	4.5
1978	CIN	MLB	451	52	102	17	1	23	73	50	83	4	2	.260	.340	.483	.224	.304	37.0	0.8	4.2
1979	CIN	MLB	538	73	128	19	0	22	80	67	73	4	2	.276	.364	.459	.183	.296	47.3	-2.3	4.7
1980	CIN	MLB	407	52	90	12	0	24	68	41	64	4	2	.250	.327	.483	.233	.291	28.0	-3.5	2.6
1981	CIN	MLB	196	14	55	8	0	8	25	17	21	0	2	.309	.369	.489	.180	.309	10.0	0.2	1.1
1982	CIN	MLB	439	44	103	16	0	13	38	37	58	1	2	.258	.320	.396	.138	.262	16.9	-18.4	-0.2
1983	CIN	MLB	334	32	79	15	2	12	54	24	38	0	1	.255	.308	.432	.177	.263	8.5	-1.2	0.8

Injury History beta

Date On	Date Off	Transaction	Days	Games	Side	Body Part	Injury	Severity	Surgery Date	Reaggravation
1981-05-29	1981-08-26		89	26	Left	Ankle	Fracture		-	-

Compensation

Year	Team	Salary

Service Time	Agent	Contract Status

Details

BP Annual Player Comments

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BP Articles

Johnny Bench is referenced in the following articles.

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Title	Author	Date
The BP Wayback Machine: How the Indians Were Built	Kevin Goldstein	2013-05-24
Prospectus Q&A: The College of Coaches on Catcher Framing	Ben Lindbergh	2013-05-20
Painting the Black: Extraordinary Joe	R.J. Anderson	2013-04-23
Perfect Game Presents: 2013 Rookie of the Year Candidates	David Rawnsley	2013-03-29
Top Tools: Glove	BP Prospect Staff	2013-03-13
On the Beat: Spring Headliners	John Perrotto	2013-02-07
Western Front: Pass the Bonds, Please	Geoff Young	2013-01-29
Baseball ProGUESTus: Pete Rose, Perpetual Pitchman	Michael Clair	2013-01-29
Resident Fantasy Genius: The Voting Travesty	Derek Carty	2013-01-10
Wezen-Ball: Through the Years: Craig Biggio	Larry Granillo	2013-01-08
The BP Wayback Machine: Firing Up the Wayback Machine	Kevin Goldstein	2012-12-28
In A Pickle: The Four-Tool Teams	Jason Wojciechowski	2012-12-20
The Week In Quotes: November 12-18	Hudson Belinsky	2012-11-19
The Week In Quotes: November 12-18	Andrew Koo	2012-11-19
The Week In Quotes: November 12-18	Jonah Birenbaum	2012-11-19
The Week In Quotes: November 12-18	Matthew Rocco	2012-11-19
The Lineup Card: Eight Playoff Heroes and Goats	Baseball Prospectus	2012-10-10
In A Pickle: Carlos Santana, and the Choice of a Generation	Jason Wojciechowski	2012-08-30
Pebble Hunting: Buster Posey and the Things Vin Scully Says	Sam Miller	2012-06-25
Prospectus Hit and Run: The Hate List, Part III	Jay Jaffe	2012-06-22
BP Unfiltered: Five Baseball Reenactment Videos Perhaps Worth Watching	Sam Miller	2012-06-11
Pebble Hunting: Jason Heyward and Making Adjustments	Sam Miller	2012-06-11
Inside The Park Blog: Big 3s: The Complete List	Bradford Doolittle	2012-05-24
Inside The Park: About Big Threes in Baseball	Bradford Doolittle	2012-05-24
The Lineup Card: 10 Most Disappointing Career-Ending Injuries	Baseball Prospectus	2012-05-09
Prospectus Hit and Run: Pudge Retires	Jay Jaffe	2012-04-20
The Platoon Advantage: All Done With All-Time Teams	Michael Bates	2012-04-18
Wezen-Ball: "Baseball for Dummies", by Joe Morgan	Larry Granillo	2012-03-12
The Stats Go Marching In: The Hidden Helpers of the Pitching Staff	Max Marchi	2012-03-09
Sobsequy: Do We Care About Characters?	Adam Sobsey	2012-03-07
The BP Broadside: Zimmerman, Rendon, and the Nagging Itch to Scratch a McQuinn	Steven Goldman	2012-02-27
Prospectus Hit and Run: The Greatness of Gary Carter	Jay Jaffe	2012-02-17
Prospectus Hit and Run: Inspecting the Spectrum, Part I: The Cold Corner, Again	Jay Jaffe	2012-02-15
Baseball ProGUESTus: The Advantage of Low Expectations	M.J. Lloyd	2012-01-17
Prospectus Hit and Run: The Keltner All Stars, Part I	Jay Jaffe	2012-01-13
The BP First Take: Curtains for Posada	Daniel Rathman	2012-01-09
The Lineup Card: 10 Pitcher MVPs and Their Worthiness	Baseball Prospectus	2011-11-28
Wezen-Ball: Player Rankings for Type A/B Calculations, 1982-1984	Larry Granillo	2011-11-02
The Lineup Card: 13 Iconic Instances of Facial Hair	Baseball Prospectus	2011-10-19
Baseball ProGUESTus: When 100 Tiles Meets 27 Outs	Diane Firstman	2011-10-14
Doctoring The Numbers: Starting Them Young, Part One	Rany Jazayerli	2011-10-13
Prospectus Hit and Run: Stuck in the Middle with You	Jay Jaffe	2011-07-25
Overthinking It: The Avila Advantage	Ben Lindbergh	2011-07-21
The Lineup Card: Cult Favorites: 18 Non-Star Ballplayers Who Should be Better Remembered	Baseball Prospectus	2011-07-13
Prospects Will Break Your Heart: Positional Primacy: Catchers	Jason Parks	2011-06-16
The Week In Quotes: May 30-June 5	Alex Carnevale	2011-06-06
The BP Broadside: What the Heck is an RBI Whore?	Steven Goldman	2011-05-27
The BP Broadside: The Annotated WARP Leaders II: Did Ernie Banks Write the Book of Love?	Steven Goldman	2011-05-25
On the Beat: No Excuses	John Perrotto	2011-03-30
Purpose Pitches: Who's Got Catching?	Christina Kahrl	2011-03-08
Purpose Pitches: Adaptation and Reaction	Christina Kahrl	2011-02-25
Prospectus Hit and Run: Trevor Hoffman and the Coming Wave	Jay Jaffe	2011-01-13
Transaction Analysis: NL West Roundup	Christina Kahrl	2010-12-30
Prospectus Hit and Run: Class of 2011: No Shortage of Quality Shortstops	Jay Jaffe	2010-12-29
Prospectus Hit and Run: Class of 2011: Alomar's Second Chance	Jay Jaffe	2010-12-28
Future Shock: Milwaukee Brewers Top 11 Prospects	Kevin Goldstein	2010-12-21
One-Hoppers: Gillick Gains Election, Miller Bloc'd Out	Jay Jaffe	2010-12-06
Another Look: Ron Santo	Bob Hertzel	2010-12-06
Prospectus Hit and Run: Billy and George	Jay Jaffe	2010-11-22
Prospectus Hit and Run: Marvin Miller and Pat Gillick	Jay Jaffe	2010-11-16
Prospectus Perspective: The Young-Huff All-Stars, Part I	Steven Goldman	2010-10-28
Another Look: Kirk Gibson's Homer	Bob Hertzel	2010-10-19
Playoff Prospectus: NLCS Game One	John Perrotto	2010-10-17
Another Look: The 1972 World Series	Bob Hertzel	2010-10-12
Another Look: Baseball Digest	Bob Hertzel	2010-09-28
Another Look: Lefty's Remarkable Streak	Bob Hertzel	2010-08-24
On the Beat: Monday Update	John Perrotto	2010-07-05
Overthinking It: The Carlos Guillen Club	Ben Lindbergh	2010-06-17
Prospectus Hit List: NL: Tapping Into the V-Energy	Jay Jaffe	2010-06-10
Another Look: A Six Pack of No-Hitters	Bob Hertzel	2010-06-01
Another Look: Sparky Anderson	Bob Hertzel	2010-05-11
Another Look: Clemente's Last Hit	Bob Hertzel	2010-04-27
Another Look: Remembering Chico Ruiz	Bob Hertzel	2010-04-20
Game Story: Rangers at Yankees	Christina Kahrl	2010-04-18
BP Unfiltered: Five Minutes with The Spaceman	David Laurila	2010-03-31
Prospectus Hit and Run: Mauer and JAWS	Jay Jaffe	2010-03-26
Expanded Horizons: Mauer Present Value	Tommy Bennett	2010-03-23
Prospectus Hit and Run: Tom Glavine	Jay Jaffe	2010-02-17
Expanded Horizons: Catching conundrum	Tommy Bennett	2010-02-09
Prospectus Hit and Run: Hawk, Rock, and a Couple of Shocks	Jay Jaffe	2010-01-07
Baseball Therapy: Will You Be My Mentor?	Russell A. Carleton	2009-12-20
On the Beat: Midweek Update	John Perrotto	2009-09-16
Prospectus Q&A: Matt Wieters	David Laurila	2009-08-09
You Could Look It Up: The Naked Draft	Steven Goldman	2009-06-09
On the Beat: Weekend Roundup	John Perrotto	2009-05-31
On the Beat: Weekend Wrap	John Perrotto	2009-05-24
You Could Look It Up: The Squat Tax?	Steven Goldman	2009-04-30
Transaction Analysis: NL East Roundup	Christina Kahrl	2009-01-30
Future Shock: The Best at Being Young and an Oriole	Kevin Goldstein	2009-01-30
Prospectus Hit and Run: Protracting the Process	Jay Jaffe	2009-01-22
Prospectus Today: The Old You're In, You're Out	Joe Sheehan	2008-12-18
You Could Look It Up: A Guide to the New Veterans Committee Ballot, Part 1	Clay Davenport	2008-08-26
You Could Look It Up: A Guide to the New Veterans Committee Ballot, Part 1	Steven Goldman	2008-08-26
Lies, Damned Lies: The Ultimate Fantasy Draft (Part 2)	Nate Silver	2008-08-22
Transaction Analysis: Dunn Deal and Post-Deadline Detritus	Christina Kahrl	2008-08-11
Doctoring The Numbers: Dodgers and Nationals	Rany Jazayerli	2008-04-05
Prospectus Hit and Run: Unfinished Business	Jay Jaffe	2008-01-31
Prospectus Hit and Run: PEDs and Discontent	Jay Jaffe	2008-01-25
Future Shock: Diamondbacks Top 11 Prospects	Kevin Goldstein	2008-01-11
Prospectus Hit and Run: Dissecting the 2008 Hall of Fame Vote	Jay Jaffe	2008-01-09
Prospectus Q&A: Greg Rhodes	David Laurila	2008-01-07
The Week In Quotes: December 17-30	Alex Carnevale	2007-12-31
Prospectus Q&A: Andy Etchebarren	David Laurila	2007-11-18
Prospectus Matchups: Fighting the Impossible Battle	Jim Baker	2007-10-30
Future Shock: Managers as Failed Prospects	Kevin Goldstein	2007-10-27
Future Shock: How the Indians Were Built	Kevin Goldstein	2007-10-16
Prospectus Matchups: Micah Owings	Jim Baker	2007-08-21
Schrodinger's Bat: The Price of Contentment	Dan Fox	2007-03-29
Prospectus Today: Gold Gloves in February	Joe Sheehan	2007-02-27
The Week In Quotes: October 23-30	Alex Carnevale	2006-10-30
Playoff Prospectus: The Best and Worst of Mets and Cardinals Postseason Pitching	Jim Baker	2006-10-14
Prospectus Matchups: The Quest to Turn Everybody Into Rob Deer	Jim Baker	2006-09-06
Doctoring The Numbers: Building the Best in Motor City, Part Two	Rany Jazayerli	2006-08-08
Future Shock: Firing Up the Wayback Machine	Kevin Goldstein	2006-07-28
Prospectus Matchups: Wildcard Mayhem Edition	Jim Baker	2006-07-21
You Could Look It Up: Specialization Is My Specialty	Steven Goldman	2006-05-15
Schrodinger's Bat: Projecting Wily Mo	Dan Fox	2006-03-30
Prospectus Matchups: 40-40, and 20	Jim Baker	2005-09-13
An Objective Hall of Fame: Part Five, 1947-1950	Clay Davenport	2005-08-23
Under The Knife: The Personal Trainer Problem	Will Carroll	2005-06-01
Prospectus Matchups: Potpourri for $100	Jim Baker	2005-03-22
Prospectus Matchups: Seeking the Perfect Candidate	Jim Baker	2005-01-06
The Class of 2005: The Hitters	Jay Jaffe	2004-12-16
Thanks for the Memories: Expos Fans Share Their Fondest	Jonah Keri	2004-09-30
Teams: A Critical Guide: One Week at a Time, NL Edition	Steven Goldman	2004-07-29
Rogue's Gallery: The Most Efficient Base-Stealing Teams Ever	Jim Baker	2004-07-23
Prospectus Today: All-Star Diary	Joe Sheehan	2004-07-13
Prospectus Matchups: Bescrewed Edition	Jim Baker	2004-07-06
Prospectus Triple Play: Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets	Baseball Prospectus	2004-05-14
Prospectus Triple Play: Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates	Baseball Prospectus	2004-03-01
The Class of 2004: Analyzing the Hitters	Jay Jaffe	2004-01-06
Prospectus Q&A: Dave Van Horne, Part I	Jonah Keri	2003-07-23
Under The Knife: The Piazza Edition	Will Carroll	2003-05-21
Lies, Damned Lies: Randomness: Catch the Fever!	Nate Silver	2003-05-14
Team Health Reports: Team Health Reports: New York Mets	Will Carroll	2003-02-28
Breaking Balls: The Last Commissioner, A Baseball Valentine	Derek Zumsteg	2003-01-09
From The Mailbag: Baseball Prospectus	Baseball Prospectus	2002-09-24

BP Chats

Date	Question	Answer
2010-04-08 14:00:00	Is Bryce Harper the second coming of Johnny Bench or do we just inflate the best prospects every year beyond reason? (Paul from Vegas)	The hype machine plays a role, but Harper is the real deal, and the best prospect in the draft. I would never make a Bench comp however, due to the fact that I'm not so sure he's a catcher in the end. (Kevin Goldstein)
2010-02-02 13:00:00	Any idea on how much longer Mauer will be a catcher? Or where he will be moved? He's athletic enough to play 3rd or Corner outfield, correct? He doesn't have to be moved to 1st (hopefully). (Wendy from Madrid)	We had a discussion about this amongst ourselves -- maybe it will be a roundtable. I know Mauer wants to catch and the Twins have always resisted moving him, even a bit. Maybe he follows a Joe Torre pattern, starting to transition to 1B/3B ... but Mauer is much, much more athletic, not to mention 1B is blocked. Some have mention Johnny Bench, who is a better physical comp (not as tall or athletic, but freakishly strong and huuuuuge hands), but he played all over the place - including CF on occasion! I think it will take a significant injury to move him. One more comp -- athletic, tall (6'3) catcher who stayed behind the plate his entire, long career despite his defense and could hit a little bit? Mike Piazza. (Will Carroll)
2009-10-07 14:30:00	Obviously it's hard to predict because he is just 26, but are we potentially seeing the greatest catcher of all time (maybe excluding Josh Gibson) in Joe Mauer? (ssteadman from St. Louis, MO)	Mauer is great, but best catcher of all time is a tall order even for a three-time batting champion, because Johnny Bench was so incredible on both sides of the ball -- his defense made Jose Molina look like Mike Piazza. (Jay Jaffe)
2009-06-24 13:00:00	With Pudge about to break the record for games caught, I'm wondering why almost all the top 10 leaders (Al Lopez the exception) are from fairly recent times. It's the opposite historical trend from complete games, innings pitched, etc. Are there people grousing (conversely from Bob Feller) about how all those old-time catchers were a bunch of sissies compared to modern iron-men catchers? Why the longevity now? (keef66 from Spartanburg, SC)	The expectations for catchers were different in the past. They weren't usually counted on offensively, which meant they were more interchangeable and could be rested more often, whereas taking Johnny Bench out of the lineup could kill you. The evolution of catching equipment was also slow and there were a lot more injuries, and thus a greater tolerance for vacation time. (Steven Goldman)
2008-09-10 13:00:00	No love for Deacon White? (Eric J from VA)	White's career is all 19th century, and to be honest I'm more than a little uncomfrotable with how high the last JAWS iteration has him - ahead of Johnny Bench et al as the top catcher of all time based on the degree of difficulty and schedule length adjustments. IIRC, I don't think he made Bill James' top 100 in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. But certainly his career merits a closer look given the circumstances. (Jay Jaffe)

BP Roundtables

No BP Roundtables have mentioned this guy.