Johnny
Bench
 
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6' 1''
Weight: 223
 
Born: December 7, 1947 in Usa, OK, OKLAHOMA CITY
 
Awards & Accomplishments
World Championships Won 1974   
Gold Glove 1968    1971    1972    1973    1974    1975    1978    1979    1980   
All-Star Selections 1974    1976    1977    1978    1979    1980    1981   
Ratings - Batting     Help
                                             
  Contact Power Gap Eye Ks
Year Age Tm Lg Salary   vL vR OA vL vR OA vL vR OA vL vR OA vL vR OA
1967 19 PIT NL $ 300,000   5 5 6 8 7 7 8 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6
1968 20 PIT NL $ 300,000   6 6 6 8 7 7 8 7 7 7 6 6 7 6 6
1969 21 PIT NL $ 300,000   5 5 6 8 7 7 8 7 7 6 5 6 6 5 5
1970 22 PIT NL $ 2,150,000   5 5 6 8 8 8 8 7 7 6 5 6 6 5 5
1971 23 PIT NL $ 2,750,000   5 5 6 8 8 8 8 7 8 7 6 6 6 5 5
1972 24 PIT NL $ 2,750,000   5 5 6 9 8 8 8 7 7 6 5 6 6 5 6
1973 25 PIT NL $ 3,200,000   7 7 7 10 9 9 8 7 8 6 5 6 7 6 6
1974 26 COL NL $ 3,200,000   7 7 7 10 10 10 8 7 7 6 5 6 7 6 7
1975 27 COL NL $ 3,200,000   7 7 7 10 10 10 8 7 8 6 5 6 7 6 6
1976 28 COL NL $ 3,200,000   7 7 8 10 10 10 8 8 8 6 5 6 7 6 6
1977 29 COL NL $ 6,400,000   7 7 8 10 10 10 9 8 8 7 6 6 7 7 7
1978 30 COL NL $ 6,400,000   7 7 7 10 10 10 8 7 8 7 6 6 7 7 7
1979 31 COL NL $ 6,400,000   6 6 6 10 10 10 8 7 8 7 6 6 7 6 6
1980 32 KCR AL $ 6,400,000   6 6 6 10 10 10 8 8 8 7 6 6 7 6 6
1981 33 KCR AL $ 6,400,000   5 5 6 9 9 9 8 7 8 6 5 6 6 5 5
1982 34 KCR AL $ 6,400,000   5 5 6 8 8 8 8 7 8 6 5 5 6 5 5
1983 35 KCR AL $ 6,400,000   5 5 5 7 6 7 6 6 6 4 3 3 5 4 5
1984 36 SDP NL $ 1,250,000   4 4 4 7 6 6 6 6 6 4 3 3 4 4 4
OOTP6 Min Ratings $ 300,000   4 4 4 7 6 6 6 6 6 4 3 3 4 4 4
OOTP6 Max Ratings $ 6,400,000   7 7 8 10 10 10 9 8 8 7 6 6 7 7 7
Batting Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Silver Slugger or Bronze Rookie.
Year Age Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS XR OWS
1967 19 PIT NL 129 302 36 71 12 2 15 37 0 0 28 71 .235 .298 .437 .735 37.7 4.7
1968 20 PIT NL 151 518 61 123 34 2 16 60 0 0 55 110 .237 .311 .403 .715 59.9 7.7
1969 21 PIT NL 151 517 62 111 25 2 18 58 1 0 40 119 .215 .272 .375 .647 51.0 4.5
1970 22 PIT NL 143 473 56 110 25 1 20 75 0 1 47 111 .233 .299 .416 .716 58.6 8.8
1971 23 PIT NL 143 512 57 124 33 5 18 77 1 0 55 109 .242 .315 .432 .747 67.8 15.0
1972 24 PIT NL 138 483 55 106 17 3 21 66 1 1 50 108 .219 .291 .398 .689 56.2 7.6
1973 25 PIT NL 145 528 79 142 16 3 30 90 1 0 45 81 .269 .324 .481 .805 81.4 15.4
1974 26 COL NL 149 549 81 162 46 1 33 111 3 3 49 92 .295 .352 .563 .915 95.4 18.2
1975 27 COL NL 145 502 87 135 36 2 26 104 1 0 70 91 .269 .357 .504 .861 85.7 17.2
1976 28 COL NL 149 543 92 147 32 2 35 136 3 1 65 76 .271 .346 .530 .877 95.3 21.1
1977 29 COL NL 147 557 91 153 31 5 33 108 0 0 51 83 .275 .334 .526 .860 88.7 20.5
1978 30 COL NL 153 583 81 140 28 0 32 104 0 0 71 91 .240 .319 .453 .772 84.3 14.5
1979 31 COL NL 143 552 84 134 35 3 24 91 0 0 51 85 .243 .303 .447 .751 74.2 13.8
1980 32 KCR AL 148 546 91 129 20 6 38 106 0 1 72 71 .236 .321 .504 .825 92.3 17.1
1981 33 KCR AL 141 547 75 139 34 0 23 72 0 0 50 113 .254 .315 .442 .758 76.0 13.6
1982 34 KCR AL 143 510 77 120 26 4 30 100 1 0 59 94 .235 .314 .478 .792 76.2 13.9
1983 35 KCR AL 141 503 60 122 20 5 16 59 1 1 48 113 .243 .307 .398 .704 59.4 9.5
1984 36 AAA   127 520 67 126 22 2 30 85 1 0 31 109 .242 .285 .465 .750 70.0  
17 Years Sim 2459 8725 1225 2168 470 46 428 1454 13 8 906 1618 .248 .317 .460 .777 1240.1 223.2
1 Years AAA 127 520 67 126 22 2 30 85 1 0 31 109 .242 .285 .465 .751 70.0  
162 Game Average 574 80 142 30 3 28 95 0 0 59 106 .248 .317 .460 .777 81.7  
Career Highs 153 583 92 162 46 6 38 136 3 3 72 119 .295 .357 .563 .915 95.4  
Career Batting Splits     Help
Click on a Category to view yearly stats.
Category G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS XR
vs RH   5603 774 1324 284 30 282 925 7 4 509 1074 .236 .298 .449 .747 768.0
vs LH   3122 451 844 186 16 146 529 6 4 397 544 .270 .351 .480 .831 524.9
Home 1225 4264 567 1009 239 15 201 694 6 4 439 838 .237 .307 .441 .748 590.7
Away 1234 4461 658 1159 231 31 227 760 7 4 467 780 .260 .328 .478 .806 702.2
RISP   2288 0 560 118 14 110 959 0 0 307 419 .245 .326 .453 .779 355.4
Pinch Hitting   253 36 64 8 1 14 57 0 0 29 52 .253 .329 .458 .787 39.2
Close/Late   1100 137 303 51 12 54 187 0 0 151 187 .275 .361 .491 .852 194.8
Mar/Apr 397 1423 173 340 68 8 59 211 0 3 124 272 .239 .298 .422 .721 182.0
May 427 1535 232 387 86 8 79 250 3 0 166 287 .252 .325 .473 .798 237.8
June 410 1451 219 373 89 8 65 237 1 1 157 236 .257 .328 .464 .792 221.3
July 395 1402 207 340 70 5 84 275 4 2 153 261 .243 .315 .479 .795 217.2
August 424 1528 206 384 87 8 71 252 1 1 158 290 .251 .319 .458 .777 226.0
Sep/Oct 406 1386 188 344 70 9 70 229 4 1 148 272 .248 .318 .463 .781 208.7
Fielding Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Gold Glove.
Year Age Tm Lg Pos G GS IP PO A E DP FPct RF RSA RTO RTO% PB DWS
1967 19 PIT NL C 97 71 681.7 527 37 4 1 .993 7.45 59 19 .322 0 4.7
1968 20 PIT NL C 141 128 1150.7 821 53 2 1 .998 6.84 80 30 .375 0 8.6
1969 21 PIT NL C 144 129 1166.3 884 53 8 1 .992 7.23 83 31 .373 1 5.7
1970 22 PIT NL C 137 121 1110.7 787 43 7 1 .992 6.73 86 26 .302 0 6.9
1971 23 PIT NL C 136 127 1157.7 787 73 7 0 .992 6.69 108 52 .481 0 9.5
    SS 1 1 9.0 3 0 0 0 1.000 3.00 0 0 .000 0 0.0
1972 24 PIT NL C 135 123 1112.3 754 52 6 1 .993 6.52 79 31 .392 1 8.5
1973 25 PIT NL C 138 131 1181.0 744 87 8 1 .990 6.33 93 52 .559 0 8.1
1974 26 COL NL C 144 124 1141.0 810 49 4 2 .995 6.78 68 28 .412 0 9.2
1975 27 COL NL C 139 121 1108.0 757 60 8 1 .990 6.64 84 43 .512 0 9.6
1976 28 COL NL C 99 81 761.7 521 29 4 0 .993 6.50 50 18 .360 0 2.6
1977 29 COL NL C 142 133 1208.0 861 59 8 2 .991 6.85 114 41 .360 0 6.9
1978 30 COL NL C 150 147 1323.0 788 64 5 0 .994 5.80 104 41 .394 1 7.0
1979 31 COL NL C 131 127 1147.7 663 62 2 2 .997 5.69 97 39 .402 0 9.6
1980 32 KCR AL C 143 138 1238.0 704 59 7 1 .991 5.55 101 46 .455 1 8.8
    3B 1 1 8.0 0 2 0 0 1.000 2.25 0 0 .000 0 0.0
    RF 1 0 4.0 0 0 0 0 .000 0.00 0 0 .000 0 0.0
1981 33 KCR AL C 139 135 1217.7 733 67 7 1 .991 5.91 114 48 .421 1 8.1
1982 34 KCR AL C 136 126 1168.3 684 64 6 0 .992 5.76 130 47 .362 0 8.2
1983 35 KCR AL C 139 135 1183.7 631 65 8 1 .989 5.29 126 49 .389 0 7.3
  C 2290 2097 19057.3 12456 976 101 16 .993 6.34 1576 641 .407 5 129.4
  SS 1 1 9.0 3 0 0 0 1.000 3.00 0 0 .000 0 0.0
  3B 1 1 8.0 0 2 0 0 1.000 2.25 0 0 .000 0 0.0
  RF 1 0 4.0 0 0 0 0 .000 0.00 0 0 .000 0 0.0
Career Totals   2293 2099 19078.3 12459 978 101 16 .993 6.34 1576 641 .407 5 129.5
Career Highs   150 147 1323.0 884 87 8 2 .998 7.45 130 52 .559 1  
Post-Season Batting Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Post Season MVP Award.
Year Age Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
1974 26 COL NL 18 74 13 27 6 0 4 21 0 0 7 10 .365 .420 .608 1.028
1975 27 COL NL 11 42 3 10 2 0 1 4 0 1 3 5 .238 .289 .357 .646
1976 28 COL NL 18 75 19 27 5 1 5 20 0 0 9 9 .360 .419 .653 1.072
1977 29 COL NL 18 78 13 18 4 0 4 13 0 0 4 11 .231 .268 .436 .704
1980 32 KCR AL 7 30 6 11 1 0 3 4 0 0 1 3 .367 .387 .700 1.087
1981 33 KCR AL 7 25 3 6 1 0 1 3 0 0 1 7 .240 .296 .400 .696
1982 34 KCR AL 5 18 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 .111 .200 .167 .367
1983 35 KCR AL 5 18 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 .222 .211 .222 .433
Career Post-Season Batting 89 360 60 105 20 1 18 66 0 1 27 53 .292 .340 .503 .843
Batting Leaderboards     Help
Top 10 finishes. Stats are Year-Rank-Value. League leaders are in bold.
(*) indicates hit-less at-bats added to meet minimum plate appearances.
Season Rankings are League Based.
Slugging Pct
1973-8-.481
1974-1-.563
1975-4-.504
1976-3-.530
1977-3-.526
1980-3-.504
1982-5-.478
OPS
1974-3-.915
1975-8-.861
1976-6-.877
1977-5-.860
1980-7-.825
XR
1974-4-95.4
1976-6-95.3
1980-7-92.3
Games
CAR-26-2459
At-Bats
CAR-33-8725
Total Bases
1974-3-309
1976-6-288
1977-4-293
1978-9-264
1980-6-275
CAR-39-4014
Doubles
1968-5-34
1971-7-33
1974-1-46
1975-10-36
1979-6-35
CAR-47-470
Triples
1971-7-5
Homeruns
1973-4-30
1974-3-33
1975-5-26
1976-3-35
1977-4-33
1978-4-32
1980-1-38
1982-3-30
CAR-25-428
RBIs
1974-3-111
1975-6-104
1976-2-136
1977-5-108
1978-6-104
1980-3-106
1982-5-100
CAR-33-1454
Walks
1980-10-72
Strikeouts
1969-10-119
1970-9-111
1981-6-113
1983-10-113
CAR-22-1618
 
   Black Ink Test: 9    (Avg Batter in HOF ~ 42)
   Gray Ink Test: 94    (Avg Batter in HOF ~ 203)
   Hall of Fame Standards: 53    (Avg Batter in HOF ~ 64)
 
Similar Batters     What are Similarity Scores?

  1. Bill Delancey (847)
  2. Gil Hodges (842)
  3. Ron Blomberg (823)
  4. Rudy York (795)
  5. Greg Luzinski (787)
  6. Larry Parrish (771)
  7. Dick Dietz (763)
  8. Joe Torre (757)
  9. Oscar Gamble (749)
  10. Billy Williams (735)
History
Drafted in 1st round, 1st overall pick, by Pittsburgh in 1967
Had first career hit on 4/4/1967, off Dick Ellsworth (COL)
Hit first career homerun on 4/15/1967, off Rollie Sheldon (SEM)
Won Gold Glove at Catcher in 1968
2/1/1970: Gets a new one-year contract worth $2,150,000 through salary arbitration
2/1/1971: Gets a new one-year contract worth $2,750,000 through salary arbitration
Drove in 6 runs against Minnesota on 7/31/1971
Won Gold Glove at Catcher in 1971
2/1/1972: Gets a new one-year contract worth $2,750,000 through salary arbitration
7/31/1972: Signed a contract extension with Pittsburgh, $3,200,000 per year, for 4 years
Won Gold Glove at Catcher in 1972
Won Gold Glove at Catcher in 1973
Traded from Pittsburgh to Colorado on 4/2/1974 (Going to PIT: CF Mike Adams. Going to COL: C Johnny Bench)
Was selected to the 1974 Allstar game
Drove in 7 runs against Pittsburgh on 7/25/1974
Won World Championship with Colorado in 1974
Won Gold Glove at Catcher in 1974
Won Gold Glove at Catcher in 1975
6/1/1976: Signed a contract extension with Colorado, $6,400,000 per year, for 7 years
Was selected to the 1976 Allstar game
Drove in 7 runs against St. Louis on 7/5/1976
Won Batter of the Month award on 10/1/1976, hitting .354 with 9 HR, 31 RBI
Won Player of the Week award on 7/1/1977, hitting .500 with 2 HR, 7 RBI
Was selected to the 1977 Allstar game
Won Player of the Week award on 8/19/1977, hitting .471 with 5 HR, 7 RBI
Had 5 hits with 5 RBI against Milwaukee on 4/12/1978
Hit 3 homeruns against Milwaukee, driving in 5 runs on 4/12/1978
Won Player of the Week award on 4/29/1978, hitting .429 with 4 HR, 9 RBI
Was selected to the 1978 Allstar game
Won Player of the Week award on 7/29/1978, hitting .444 with 4 HR, 8 RBI
Won Batter of the Month award on 8/1/1978, hitting .309 with 9 HR, 23 RBI
Won Gold Glove at Catcher in 1978
Was selected to the 1979 Allstar game
Won Gold Glove at Catcher in 1979
Traded from Colorado to Kansas City on 3/4/1980 (Going to KCR: SS Dick Allen, C Johnny Bench, RF Joe Ferguson, 3B Oscar Gamble, CF Johnny Grubb. Going to COL: 3B Jim Morrison, SS Doug Rader)
Drove in 6 runs against Minnesota on 6/8/1980
Won Player of the Week award on 7/1/1980, hitting .520 with 4 HR, 10 RBI
Was selected to the 1980 Allstar game
Won Gold Glove at Catcher in 1980
Was selected to the 1981 Allstar game
Hit 3 homeruns against Los Angeles, driving in 7 runs on 7/5/1982
Had 2000th career hit on 7/16/1982, off Jim Wright (BSN)
Hit for the cycle against Philadelphia on 4/27/1983
9/22/1983: Signed a contract extension with Kansas City, $1,250,000 per year, for 4 years
Traded from Kansas City to San Diego on 2/2/1984 (Going to SDP: 1B Oscar Gamble, RF Greg Luzinski, C Johnny Bench, 2B Bobby Grich, SS Joe Ferguson. Going to KCR: RF Sam Mejias)
Injured on 6/8/1984 with a Inflamed Hip Muscle, out for 1-2 weeks
Injured on 8/3/1984 with a Strained Back Muscle, out for one week