Johnny Bench

Ranking the Catchers

With a commanding presence behind the plate and a rocket arm, Johnny Bench was the best defensive catcher in history. But that wasn't all. The powerful right-handed slugger won a pair of Most Valuable Player awards and led the Reds to six division titles, four pennants, and two championships. He hit an amazing .533 in the 1976 World Series and belted 10 post-season homers.

♦  Largest digits, Lombardi ⇒
♦  Most underrated, O'Neill ⇒
♦  Best plate-blocker, Scioscia ⇒

1.   Johnny Bench
2.   Yogi Berra
3.   Josh Gibson
4.   Roy Campanella
5.   Mickey Cochrane
6.   Ivan Rodriguez
7.   Mike Piazza
8.   Carlton Fisk
9.   Gary Carter
10.   Gabby Hartnett
11.   Bill Dickey
12.   Elston Howard
13.   Steve O'Neill
14.   Ted Simmons
15.   Joe Torre
16.   Buck Ewing
17.   Roger Bresnahan
18.   Thurman Munson
19.   Jorge Posada
20.   Ernie Lombardi
21.   Lance Parrish
22.   Wally Schang
23.   Ray Schalk
24.   Bill Freehan
25.   Biz Mackey
26.   Darrell Porter
27.   Bob O' Farrell
28.   Rick Ferrell
29.   Jason Varitek
30.   Mike Scioscia
31.   Bob Boone
32.   Jim Sundberg
33.   Gene Tenace
34.   Tony Pena
35.   Johnny Kling
36.   Rollie Hemsley
37.   Tom Haller
38.   Del Crandall
39.   Al Lopez
40.   Walker Cooper
41.   Terry Kennedy
42.   Darren Daulton
43.   Mickey Tettleton
44.   Terry Steinbach
45.   Sherm Lollar
46.   Jason Kendall
47.   Smoky Burgess
48.   Johnny Roseboro
49.   Tim McCarver
50.   Luke Sewell
Negro Leaguers
Had Josh Gibson had the chance to play in the major leagues, he may have become the greatest catcher in baseball history. His raw power was scary. Buck O'Neil claimed that Gibson hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium.
Best of the Unranked
Benito Santiago
Manny Sanguillen
Rick Dempsey
Jim Hegan
Deacon McGuire

Most One-Dimensional
Bill Bergen
Cliff Johnson
Best Managers
Al Lopez
Connie Mack
Wilbert Robinson
Ralph Houk
Joe Torre
Mike Scioscia
Steve O'Neill
Bruce Bochy
Paul Richards
Gold Glovers not ranked
Charles Johnson
Benito Santiago
Brad Ausmus
Sandy Alomar Jr.
Ray Fosse
Randy Hundley
Johnny Edwards
Jody Davis
Earl Battey
Roger Bresnahan was the first catcher to wear shin guards... After a splintered bat struck him in the adam's apple, Steve Yeager was the first to wear the flap below his mask to protect his neck... The first player to wear a hockey-style mask was ?.
Most Cerebral Ballplayer
Light-hitting, Princeton-educated Moe Berg managed to play 15 seasons in the majors. Recruited as a spy during WWII, Berg once listened to a lecture by Werner Heisenberg with orders to shoot him if the physicist hinted that the Germans were close to building a nuclear weapon. Moe Berg's page ⇒

"Why has our pitching been so great? Our catcher, that's why. He looks cumbersome but he's quick as a cat."
— Yankee manager Casey Stengel praises Yogi Berra

Berra's page ⇒
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