The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #39 Johnny Bench

Backstopping the list at #39 is Reds catcher Johnny Bench. Known as Little General, Bench led the Big Red Machine to two World Series titles in four appearances in the 1970s. Bench excelled in all facets of the game, ranking third all-time in offensive WAR among catchers and 6th all-time in dWAR among catchers. He’s the only catcher in history with three seasons driving in at least 125 runs, and the only catcher in history to lead the league in RBIs three times. His 45 home runs and 148 RBIs in 1970 are the most by a catcher in history, and his 355 total bases in 1970 are tied with Mike Piazza for the highest single-season total by a catcher. Bench is the only catcher in history to lead the league in home runs, and he did it twice. He was named the World Series MVP in 1976, joining Mike Schmidt and Frank Robinson as the only players in history with two regular-season MVPs and a World Series MVP. During his World Series MVP run, Bench hit a robust .533 with 17 total bases in Cincinnati’s four-game sweep of the Yankees.

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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