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Celebrated Name:
Johnny Banks
Real Name/Full Name:
Johnny Lee Bench
Gender:
Masculine
Age:
73 years old
Date of birth:
December 7, 1947
Place of birth:
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Nationality:
American
Height:
1.85 m
Weight:
94 kilograms
Sexual Orientation:
Just
Marital status:
Divorced
Wife/Spouse (Name):
Lauren Baiocchi (m. 2004-2017), Laura Cwikowski (m. 1987-1995), Vickie Chesser (m. 1975-1976)
Children/children (son and daughter):
Yes (Bobby Bench, Joshua Bench, Justin Bench)
Date/Girlfriend (Name):
N / A
Is Johnny Bench gay?:
no
Profession:
baseball player
Salary:
N / A
net worth:
6 million dollars
Last updated:
January 2021
Johnny Bench is a former baseball catcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds in the major leagues. He only played for the Cincinnati Reds his entire career. He was also inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He was a key player for his team as they won six division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series championships. He was named the best catcher in baseball history by ESPN.
You may know Johnny Bench very well, but do you know how old and tall he is and what is his 2021 Net Worth? If you don’t know, we have prepared this article with details of Johnny Bench Short Biography Wiki, Career, Working Life, Personal Life, Net Worth Today, Age, Height, Weight and more Facts. Well, if you’re ready, let’s get started.
Early Life & Biography
Johnny Bench was born on December 7, 1947 in Oklahoma City, USA. After his birth he grew up in the town of Binger. His father was once a semi-professional baseball player and then a truck driver. His mother was a housewife. He has three siblings, two brothers and one sister. He was a serious student and got good grades in high school. During this time he played both baseball and basketball.
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In 1965 he was involved in an accent. He was returning from a baseball game when the team bus brakes suddenly failed. The bus rolled down an incline, and when it stopped rolling, his feet were hanging out the back door and two of his teammates were dead on the hill. This incent changed his life. When he was 17, his dream of playing baseball was about to come true. He was offered baseball scholarships from various colleges and was then drafted by the Cincinnati Reds organization.
Personal Life
Johnny Bench has married four women in his life. In 1975, just before the start of the season, he married his first wife, Vickie Chesser. She was a toothpaste model. Shortly after their marriage, they realized they were irreconcilable and divorced after the season ended. Their marriage lasted 13 months. He married his second wife in December 1987. Her name is Laura Cwikowski, and she was a model and an aerobics teacher. Together they had a son named Bobby Binger Bench.
After their divorce in 1995, they shared custody of their son. His third marriage took place in 1997. He married Elizabeth Benton. Then, in 2000, he filed for divorce after discovering that she was dating a lot of people. In 2004 he remarried. This was his fourth marriage and he married Lauren Baiocchi. She was then 31 years old. They had two sons, Justin and Josh. He divorced her when he realized she wouldn’t be moving to Flora with him. He got custody of his sons.
Age, Height, and Weight
Johnny Bench was born on December 7, 1947 and is 73 years old as of today, January 24, 2021. He is 1.85 m tall and weighs 94 kg.
Career
He made his minor league debut in 1967 at the age of 19. In his debut season, he recorded 70 assists. He was later called up to the major leagues for his debut in August 1967. In his first full major league season, he won 154 games and popularized his defensive dominance. He finished third on the team.
After two seasons of leading the league in HRs, RBIs and sacrifice flies while catching more than 100 games, he joined Roy Campanella as the only backstop pair to win multiple MVP awards. In those two seasons, the Cincinnati Reds won the National League Championship (1970 and 1972). He helped his team win two World Series championships in 1975 and 1976.
Awards & Achievements
He has played 14 times for the All-Star team from 1968 to 1980 and again in 1983.
He is a two-time World Series Champion. His team won him in 175 and 1976. He was the World Series MVP in 1976. He is a ten-time Golden Glove Award winner from 1968-1977.
He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and in 1989 into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Net Worth & Salary of Johnny Bench in 2021
As of January 2021, Johnny Bench has an estimated net worth of $6 million. He’s played pro baseball his entire life and as a result gained much of the value of baseball. He has also secured various sponsorship deals with big brands. In fact, these brands pa him well, and that has added to his wealth.
Johnny Bench is a baseball legend. He’s a very famous person in the US and he’s probably the greatest player in the Cincinnati Reds. He’s earned his fame through hard work and we can’t thank him enough for his contribution to the sport and for his entertainment.
How tall is Johnny Bench?
How old is Johnny Bench today?
How long was Johnny Bench married?
Early in his career, Bench was hailed as “baseball’s most-eligible bachelor,” a distinction he shed before the 1975 season when he married Vickie Chesser, a toothpaste model who’d previously dated Joe Namath. Four days after they met, Bench proposed; 13 months after they married, they were divorced.
How much did Johnny Bench make a year?
Bench’s highest annual salary during his 17-year career was $400,000, which is $150,000 less than the Major League Baseball minimum salary today (and is a little more than $1.8 million in 2019 dollars).
Who is Johnny Bench married to?
His fourth marriage took place in 2004, to 31-year-old Lauren Baiocchi, the daughter of pro golfer Hugh Baiocchi. After living in Palm Springs with their two sons, Justin (born 2006) and Josh (born 2010), Johnny had the urge to return to South Florida, where he lived from 2014 to 2017.
How tall is Pete Rose?
Does Johnny Bench live in Florida?
He lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with 30-year-old son Bobby and sons Justin, 14, and Josh, 11, from Bench’s fourth marriage.
How old is Pete Rose?
How old is Joe Morgan?
How many balls can Johnny Bench hold?
BENCH can hold as many as seven baseballs at a time in his throwing hand. His fingers are long and strong, and he can hold a baseball between the tips of his middle and fourth fingers and snap it toward a target.
How big are Johnny Bench’s hands?
| Also Known As | Johnny Lee Bench |
|---|---|
| Height/Weight | 6 ft 1 inch, 197 lb (185 cm, 89 kg) |
| Batting Hand | right |
| Throwing Hand | right |
| Debut Date | August 28, 1967 |
How old is Carlton Fisk?
What was Pete Rose’s highest salary?
His highest-earning year was 1986, when the Cincinnati Reds paid Rose $1 million for managing the team.
Is Johnny Bench the best catcher ever?
Ergo, Johnny Bench is the best catcher who ever lived,” says writer Roger Kahn on ESPN Classic’s SportsCentury series. Johnny Bench, who won two MVPs and 10 consecutive Gold Gloves, will be profiled on Tuesday, October 25 at 4 p.m. ET. Johnny Bench helped lead the Reds to two World Series titles.
How many Gold Gloves does Johnny Bench have?
As the leader of Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine of the 1970s, in which he helped the franchise to four National League pennants and two World Series titles, the rugged and durable Bench was a 10-time Gold Glove Award winner as the result of his skilled handling of pitchers, unparalleled defensive skills and a lightning …
How big are Johnny Bench’s hands?
| Also Known As | Johnny Lee Bench |
|---|---|
| Height/Weight | 6 ft 1 inch, 197 lb (185 cm, 89 kg) |
| Batting Hand | right |
| Throwing Hand | right |
| Debut Date | August 28, 1967 |
What percentage of runners did Johnny Bench throw out?
By comparison, Bench was very good, but not that good. He threw out 57 percent of baserunners in 1969, building a reputation that sometimes exceeded actual performance. Leading the Reds to 1975 and 1976 World Series wins, Bench threw out 69 or 158 runners attempting to steal.
What is a Johnny Bench baseball card worth?
| 1965 Baseball Hall of Fame Gold Plaque Postcards 1965-2015 #1989 Johnny Bench | $2.25 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 Topps #95 Johnny Bench | $35.95 | $42.62 |
| 1969 Topps #430 Johnny Bench | $8.23 | $30.48 |
| 1970 Kelloggs #58 Johnny Bench | $14.24 | |
| 1970 O-Pee-Chee #464 Johnny Bench | $5.89 |
How old is Carlton Fisk?
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Johnny Bench Age, Net worth: Bio-Wiki, Kids, Wife, Weight 2022
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Johnny Bench’s Net Worth, Age, Height, Weight, Wife, Ks, Bio-Wiki ; Real Name/Full Name: Johnny Lee Bench ; Gender: Male ; Age: 73 years old ; Birth Date: …
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Johnny Bench – Wikipedia
Johnny Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted …
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Johnny Bench – Net Worth, Age, Height, Bio, Birthday, Wiki!
Explore Johnny Bench net worth, age, height, bio, birthday, wiki, salary, 2021! Famous Johnny Bench was born on December 7, 1947 in United States.
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Johnny Bench Age, Net worth Bio-Wiki, Kids, Wife, Weight 2022
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Johnny Bench
American baseball player
baseball player
Johnny Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from 1967 to 1983, with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of the Reds team, known as the Big Red Machine, that dominated the National League in the mid-1970s, winning six division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series championships. He is widely regarded as the greatest catcher of all time.
A fourteen-time All-Star and two-time National League Most Valuable Player, Bench excelled on both offense and defense, leading the National League twice in home runs and three times in runs batted in.[7] At the time of his retirement in 1983, he held the major league record for most homers hit by a catcher.[4] He was also the first catcher in history to lead the league in home runs.[8] His record of 45 home runs in a season held the record for most by a catcher until Salvador Perez hit 48 in 2021.[9] His 389 home runs and 1,376 hits remain the most in Cincinnati Reds history.
On defense, Bench was a ten-time Gold Glove Award winner who was proficient with throwing batons and possessed a strong, accurate throwing arm. He caught 100 or more games in 13 consecutive seasons.[4] In 1986, Bench was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.[4] He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.[7] ESPN has named him the greatest catcher in baseball history.[11]
Career in Major League Baseball
1960s [edit]
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Bench is one-eighth Choctaw; he played baseball and basketball and was top of his class at Binger-Oney High School in Binger.[12] His father told him that the quickest route to a top league title was the catcher. As a 17-year-old, Bench was drafted 36th overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 1965 amateur draft and played in the 1966 and 1967 minor league seasons for the Buffalo Bisons. During the 1967 season, he hit a grand slam against Jim Palmer, who in 19 years in the major leagues would never concede a grand slam. Bench was called to the Reds in August 1967.[15] He only hit .163 but impressed many with his defense and throwing arm, including Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Williams signed a baseball for him and predicted that the young catcher would surely become a “Hall of Famer”! Williams’ prophecy came true 22 years later in 1989 when Bench was elected to Cooperstown.
During a spring training game in 1968, Bench caught right-hander Jim Maloney, an eight-year veteran. Maloney was once a tough pitcher, but injuries had dramatically reduced his fastball’s speed. Maloney nonetheless insisted on repeatedly “shrugging off” his younger catcher, throwing fastballs in lieu of the breaking balls Bench had requested. When an angry Bench told Maloney bluntly, “Your fastball don’t pop,” Maloney responded with an epithet. To prove to Maloney that his fastball was no longer effective, Bench called for a fastball, and after Maloney released the ball, Bench dropped his catcher’s mitt and caught the fastball with his bare hands. Bench was the Reds’ catcher on April 30, 1969 when Maloney fielded a no-hitter against the Houston Astros.
In 1968, 20-year-old Bench impressed many in his first full season; [21] He won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, hitting .275 with 15 homers and 82 RBIs. This was the first time the award was won by a catcher.[1][6][22] He also won the 1968 National League Gold Glove Award for catcher, which was the first time the award was won by a rookie. He had 102 assists in 1968, which was the first time a catcher had more than 100 assists in a season in 23 years.[25]
During the 1960s, Bench also served in the US Army Reserves as a member of the 478th Engineer Battalion, stationed across the Ohio River from Cincinnati at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. This unit included several of his teammates, including Pete Rose.[26] During the winter of 1970-1971 he was part of Bob Hope’s USO tour of Vietnam.
1970s[edit]
In 1970, Bench had his best statistical season. At 22, he became the youngest player to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award. He hit .293, led the National League with 45 home runs and a franchise-record 148 runs batted as the Reds won the NL West Division. The Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series but lost to the Baltimore Orioles in five World Series games.
bank in 1977
Bench had another strong year in 1972, winning the MVP award for the second time. He led the National League in home runs (40) and RBI (125) to help the Reds to another National League West Division title and won the NL pennant in the deciding fifth game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. One of his more dramatic home runs[32] was probably his ninth inning lead-off home run in backfield in that fifth NLCS game.[33] The solo shot ended the game at three; the Reds won later in the inning on a wild throw, 4-3. [34] [35] It was hailed after the game as “one of the greatest clutch home runs of all time”. [36] However, the Reds lost the World Series in seven games to a strong Oakland Athletics team. [37]
After the 1972 season, Bench had a growth removed from his lungs; [38] [39] He remained productive but never again hit 40 home runs in a season. In 1973, Bench hit 25 homers and 104 RBI, helping the Reds from a 101⁄2 game deficit over the Los Angeles Dodgers in early July to lead the majors with 99 wins and capture another NL West Division crown. In the NLCS, Cincinnati faced a New York Mets team that won the NL East by an unimpressive 82-79 (.509) record, 16 1⁄2 games behind the Reds. The Mets boasted three of the better starting pitchers in the NL, future Hall of Famers Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack. Bench’s bottom on Seaver’s ninth-inning home run in the first game propelled the Reds to victory, but Seaver would get the best of the Reds and Bench in the deciding Game 5, winning 7-2 to put the Mets in the World Series against the Oakland A. [40] [41]
In 1974, Bench led the league with 129 RBI and 108 runs, becoming only the fourth catcher in major league history with 100 or more runs and RBI in the same season. The Reds won the second-most games in the majors (98) but lost the West Division to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1975, the Reds finally made their breakthrough in the postseason. Bench contributed 28 homers and 110 RBI.[1][43][44] Cincinnati defeated the Pirates in three games to win the NLCS and defeated the Boston Red Sox in a memorable seven-game World Series.
Bench around 1980
Bench struggled with sore shoulders in 1976 [48] and had one of his least productive years with just 16 home runs and 74 RBI. He ended with an excellent postseason, starting with a 4-for-12 (.333) performance in the NLCS sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies. The World Series featured a head-to-head match with Yankees all-star catcher Thurman Munson. Bench rose to the occasion, hitting two .533 homers while Munson also hit well with a .529 average.[1][6][50] The Reds won in a four-game sweep and Bench was named series MVP.[1][51][52] At the post-World Series press conference, Reds manager Sparky Anderson was asked by a journalist to compare Munson to his catcher. Anderson replied, “I don’t want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench.”[53]
Bench rebounded in 1977 with 31 home runs and 109 RBI, but the Dodgers won two straight NL pennants. The Reds reached the postseason only once in his career in 1979, but were swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates three straight times in the NLCS.
1980s[edit]
In the last three seasons of his career, Bench emerged from behind the plate and won just 13 games while primarily becoming a corner infielder (first or third base). The Cincinnati Reds proclaimed “Johnny Bench Night” at Riverfront Stadium on Saturday, September 17, 1983, where he hit his 389th and final home run, a left line drive in the third inning in front of a record crowd ] at the end of the season, he walked retired at the age of 35.
MLB career statistics [ edit ]
Johnny Bench’s number 5 was retired by the Cincinnati Reds in 1984.
Bench had 2,048 hits for a career batting average of .267 with 389 homers and 1,376 RBI during his 17-year major league career, all of which he spent with the Reds. He retired as a career catcher home run leader, a record that stood until it was surpassed by Carlton Fisk and current record-holder Mike Piazza. Bench still holds the major league record for most Grand Slam homers by a catcher with 10. During his career, Bench earned 10 golden gloves, was named to the National League All-Star team 14 times, and won two Most Valuable Player Awards.[1][59][28][31] He led the National League three times in caught steal percentage and finished his career with a .990 percentage at the catcher and a .987 overall percentage.[1] He caught 118 shutouts during his career and ranked him 12th all-time among major league catchers. Bench also won awards such as the Lou Gehrig Prize (1975), the Babe Ruth Prize (1976), and the Hutch Prize (1981).[61]
Bench popularized the hinged catcher’s mitt, first introduced by Randy Hundley of the Chicago Cubs. He began using the glove on his throwing hand after a stint on the disabled list in 1966 due to a thumb injury. The glove allowed Bench to safely tuck his throwing arm to the side when receiving the pitch. By the turn of the decade, the folding glove became standard equipment for catchers. Bench had huge hands (a famous photograph shows him holding seven baseball balls in his right hand[64]) and also tended to block breaking balls in the dirt by picking them up with one hand rather than in the more usual and fundamentally correct way and Way: dropping on both knees and blocking the ball with the chest protector to keep the ball in front.[63]
Personal life[edit]
Bench has been married four times. Once hailed as “baseball’s best bachelor,” he dropped that honor before the 1975 season when he married Vickie Chesser, a toothpaste model who had dated Joe Namath. Four days after they met, Bench proposed and they were married on February 21, 1975. [65] [66] The couple quickly realized they were incompatible, particularly after Bench suggested that his wife accept the offer of the Hustler Magazine accepts posing naked for $25,000. They split at the end of the season (Bench reportedly told her, “Now I’m done with two things I hate: baseball and you”) and divorced after just 13 months. “I tried. I even hand-squeezed orange juice,” Chesser told Phil Donahue in December 1975. “I don’t think either of us had any idea what the marriage was really like.” Upon returning to Manhattan, Chesser said, “Johnny Bench is a great athlete, mediocre everything else, and a true tragedy as a person.”[69][70 ]
Before Christmas 1987, Bench married Laura Cwikowski, a model and aerobics instructor from Oklahoma City. They had one son, Bobby Binger Bench (named after Bob Hope and Bobby Knight and Bench’s hometown) before divorcing in 1995. They shared custody of their son. “He was and is a great father,” says Bobby, who works in Cincinnati as a production staffer for Reds shows. Bench’s third marriage to Elizabeth Benton was in 1997. Johnny filed for divorce in 2000 alleging marital infidelity. His fourth marriage was in 2004 to 31-year-old Lauren Baiocchi, daughter of golf pro Hugh Baiocchi. After living in Palm Springs with his two sons, Justin (born 2006) and Josh (born 2010), Johnny felt the urge to return to South Florida, where he lived from 2014-2017. The family explored homes in Palm Beach Gardens. Lauren would not move to Florida, which would result in their divorce. As of 2018, Bench has primary custody of the boys.[71]
Honors and post-career activities[edit]
Bench’s statue at Great American Ball Park
Bench was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York in 1989 along with Carl Yastrzemski. Elected in his first election year, he appeared on 96% of the ballots, the third-highest percentage at the time. Three years earlier, Bench had been inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and his #5 uniform was retired by the team. He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. In 1989, he became the first individual baseball player to appear on a Wheaties box, a cereal he ate as a child.[75]
For a time in the 1980’s, Bench was a commercial spokesperson for Krylon paint with a memorable catchphrase, “I’m Johnny Bench, and this is Johnny Bench’s bank.”[76]
In 1985, Bench starred as Joe Boyd/Joe Hardy in a Cincinnati stage production of the musical Damn Yankees, also starring Gwen Verdon and Gary Sandy. He also hosted the television series The Baseball Bunch from 1982 to 1985. A cast of boys and girls from the Tucson, Arizona area learned the game of baseball from Bench and other current and retired greats. The Chicken provided comic relief, and former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda appeared as “The Dugout Wizard.”
In 1986, Bench and Don Drysdale did the backup contests, or ABC’s Sunday afternoon baseball television shows (Al Michaels and Jim Palmer were the primary commentators). Keith Jackson, who normally worked with Tim McCarver, made the No. 2 Monday night games. Bench took a week off in June (with Steve Busby as his back-up) and was also working on a game with Michaels when the stations switched announcer pairings. While Drysdale worked as an interviewer at the All-Star Game in Houston, he didn’t reappear until the playoffs. Bench just disappeared and eventually went to CBS radio to help Brent Musburger call this year’s National League Championship Series. Bench later served as color commentator on CBS Radio’s World Series coverage from 1989 to 1993 alongside Jack Buck and later Vin Scully. In 1994, Bench served as a field reporter for NBC/The Baseball Network’s coverage of the Pittsburgh All-Star Game.
After turning 50, Bench was a part-time professional golfer and played several events on the Senior PGA Tour.[77][78][79] He has a home on the Mission Hills-Gary Player Course in Rancho Mirage, California.[80]
In 1999, Bench was ranked #16 on the Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Players in Baseball.[81] He was the senior catcher. Bench was also selected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team as the top voter. As part of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award Golden Anniversary, Bench was selected to the All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team.[83]
From the 2000 through 2018 college baseball season, the best college catcher received the Johnny Bench Award annually. Notable winners include Florida State University’s Buster Posey, Baylor University’s Kelly Shoppach, Stanford University’s Ryan Garko, and Cal State Fullerton’s Kurt Suzuki. The award was renamed the Buster Posey Award beginning with the 2019 season.
In 2003, he guest-starred as himself on an episode of Yes, Dear, along with Ernie Banks and Frank Robinson.[85]
Bench signs autographs in Houston in May 2014.
In 2008, Bench co-authored the book Catch Every Ball: How to Handle Life’s Pitches with Paul Daugherty, published by Orange Frazer Press. An autobiography titled Catch You Later, published in 1979, was co-authored with William Brashler. Bench has also broadcast games on television and radio and is an avid golfer having competed in several Champions Tour tournaments.
Bench was interviewed by Heidi Watney of New England Sports Network during a September 2008 Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park. While knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was on the mound for the Red Sox, Bench shared a story that then-Reds manager Sparky Anderson told him he was considering trading knuckleballer Phil Niekro. Bench responded that Anderson should also act better for Niekros’ catcher.
On September 17, 2011, the Cincinnati Reds unveiled a Bench statue at the entrance to the Reds Hall of Fame at Great American Ball Park. The larger-than-life bronze statue of Tom Tsuchiya depicts Bench throwing out a baserunner. Bench called the unveiling of his statue his “greatest moment.”[89]
He was the Hall of Fame recipient of the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award in 2018 for his service and continued support of the US military.[90]
See also[edit]
Johnny Bench is seeking a new challenge at age 70
This story will appear in the July 2, 2018 issue of Sports Illustrated. For more great storytelling and in-depth analysis, subscribe to the magazine – and receive up to 87% off the cover price and two FREE gifts. Click here for more details.
The scene is so familiar it borders on cliché. Two brothers, ages 12 and 8, are in the back seat of a white SUV on their way to school, this time in South Florida. Her father is behind the wheel. He got up early to make omelets and pour cereal, but at 6:40 he had to resort to bribery to wake the little fella – “he’s the sleeper” – by promising a stop at Dunkin’ before dropping him off ‘ to pickle donuts.
They’ve barely left the driveway when they start bickering over the SiriusXM offerings. The kids want Top 40. Dad wants Brooks & Dunn or Toby Keith or… basically anything that isn’t Top 40 or hip hop. But the children outnumber him.
With the same grimace, he flashed pitchers as they threw off his shields, history’s greatest catcher spun the window and the three men in the SUV began singing along to 21 Pilots and Imagine Dragons. Dad mixes up the words, as he often does.
Johnny Bench is 70. He doesn’t look 70; Tanned from the Florida sun, his physique isn’t significantly swollen from his playing weight of 221 pounds, the muscles are still visible. He says he doesn’t feel 70.
And God knows he’s not living the life of a 70-year-old. As the single father of Justin, a sixth grader, and Josh, a third grader, he gets up at 5:30 a.m. to do laundry and lay out his children’s clothes. He spends nights checking homework (both are on the roll of honor, he brags) and uses his iCalendar less to keep track of start times than to plan after-school activities and pediatrician appointments.
The backstory is complex but, says Bench, ultimately quite simple. Johnny and his fourth wife, 45-year-old Lauren Baiocchi, lived in Palm Springs with their two sons. Johnny didn’t love the California desert; He had urges to return to South Florida, where he lived from 2014-17, and it was closer to Lauren’s parents who live there. So the family looked for homes in Palm Beach Gardens. But when it came time to move, Lauren decided she wasn’t going. And Johnny didn’t stay. Lauren and Johnny get divorced. And while the matter goes through family court, Johnny has primary custody of the boys.
Nearly 30 years after his induction into the Hall of Fame, Bench had not imagined this life, a single parent trying to get his kids to expand their tastes beyond chicken fingers, limit screen time and coordinate sleepovers. He looks around at parents’ evenings and the generation gap is clear. Bench says, “Not too many parents of my boys’ friends are like, ‘Hey, I remember seeing you play.'”
If life at 70 isn’t what he imagined, Bench points out that it’s irrelevant. “What matters is now,” he says. “I want these guys to be well behaved and well mannered and have a good education. It’s a commitment, but I’ve made a commitment to them.
As if on cue, he receives an SMS. “That’s right,” he says, his voice dropping an octave. “Josh asked me last night if Nick could stay with me…”
Going back to his original train of thought, “When people say, ‘You have two wonderful boys and you’re a great dad…'” Bench’s voice trailed off, and when he started again, it began. “I don’t have a ring for that, but I’ll tell you, if I can be considered the father of the Hall of Famer, then that matters more than anything I’ve accomplished.”
With tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, Bench – as he often does – quotes a country song. “Ever heard ‘Mr. Mom’ by the band Lonestar?” he asks. Bench grabs his phone, flips through iTunes, and there, in the middle of an Italian restaurant, sings along in a pleasantly growling voice:
Well, Pampers melt in a Maytag dryer
Colored pencils move up a drawer
Rewind Barney for the fifteenth time
Breakfast at six, nap at nine
There is chewing gum in the baby’s hair
Sweet potatoes in my lazy chair
Been crazy all day
And it’s only Monday, Mr. Mom
Understatement: Johnny Bench’s childhood bore little resemblance to Justin and Josh’s. He grew up in Binger, Oklahoma, where the population then and now was around 600. His father, Ted, worked for a propane company, got up early and drove an oil truck, and his mother, Katy, kept her four children in order.
Johnny – never John – was one of those sports omnivores who excelled at everything. But Ted had been a semi-pro baseball player, and while Johnny was growing up, Mickey Mantle proved that Oklahoma boys could be shining stars on the diamond. So baseball took precedence in the Bench house. In elementary school, Johnny listed his future occupation as “Major Leaguer” and practiced his autograph. He chose the catch because — an early part of the analytics — his father thought it was the position that offered the best chance of making the majors.
At Binger, his ambition generated giggles and suggestions that the Bench boy should live up to his expectations. But Johnny never asked for validation from others. At 17, he was a Reds second-round draft pick in 1965. While playing for Class A Tampa that year, he caught the attention of none other than Yogi Berra. “He can do anything – now,” Berra said.
In Bench’s first game against Triple A Buffalo in 1966, he fractured his right thumb. During his recovery, he sat in the stands at Crosley Field over the Reds’ bullpen and yelled down, “If any of you are catchers, you better remember me. I’ll take your job.”
what he did In 1968, Bench played his first full season and was named National League Rookie of the Year. This off-season, Sports Illustrated ran a feature on “The Big Zinger from Binger.”
In 1970, Bench continued to climb, hitting 45 home runs and 148 runs. Yet when he won the NL MVP award that fall, it was for both his defense and offense. Bench’s right arm was worthy of a UN weapons inspection; He took as much pride in throwing base runners as he did throwing balls over fences. In 1969 and 1972, he led the major leagues in percentage of thefts caught. “Man, did he know what to call a game,” says Tom Seaver, a teammate from 1977-’82. And before it became a professional requirement, Bench had perfected the dark art of pitching.
In 1972 the Big Red Machine hummed. Bench was NL MVP again, hitting 40 home runs and knocking in 125 runs. At the end of the ninth inning of the NLCS final Game 5, with the Reds a run behind the Pirates, Bench came to bat. “As I walked to the plate,” he later recalled, “I heard my mom yell my name, ‘Hit me a home run.’ I thought I wish it was that easy!” He did it anyway and tied the game. The Reds scored another run to win the game and the pennant before falling below the A’s in seven World Series games.
Barely in his twenties, Bench acted like a veteran. Already during his second season with the majors, he found his pitcher Gerry Arrigo’s arm was tiring. So Bench called for a curveball. Arrigo, six years older than Bench, declined. When Arrigo pulled back and threw a fastball, Bench caught the field with his bare hands. point made. Bench once recalled to Sports Illustrated, “I didn’t want to show him, but…” For a 1972 Time Magazine story entitled “Baseball’s Best Catcher,” Jim Maloney of Cincinnati, eight years Bench’s senior, said, “He will come up the hill and chew me up like I’m a two year old. And I like it.”
Despite being from rural Oklahoma – “two miles beyond RESUME SPEED,” as he likes to say – Bench exuded an air of sophistication. As a bon vivant, he knew the best restaurants in every Dutch town. He subscribed to Time and made a point of knowing the Cincinnati gentry. He began producing and hosting a daily morning show on local television, interviewing Bob Hope and Gerald Ford, among others. He hired his team’s young radio announcer as his sidekick. “I gave Al Michaels his first job in television,” he says.
Confident and self-possessed, Bench was a wallflower compared to the team’s scruffy outfielder. For a time, Bench and Pete Rose were cast as contrasts: the graceful, polished, socially ambitious catcher versus the gritty, dirt-on-the-uniform, what-you-see-is-what-you-get grinder. It was an oversimplification, but an unmistakable coldness passed between them. “Bench and Rose were never bosom buddies, not even close,” says Michaels. “There was a healthy rivalry. Who was the lead dog? But it was never at the team’s expense.” (Bench points out: He and Rose were courteous enough to share several business ventures, including a car dealership and a bowling alley.)
The Reds of the ’70s were an extraordinarily close unit; Many of the players lived in the same apartment complex. The core of the team – Bench, Rose, infielders Joe Morgan and Tony Pérez – could not have been more different in terms of background, playing style and personality. It does not matter. Bench recalls that NFL coach Ted Marchibroda once asked him what made the Reds so successful. “Our name is Reds, which is funny because we don’t see color,” Bench explained. “We have black leadership, white leadership, Spanish leadership. None of that makes a difference. You could go to a bar after a game and take a team photo because we were all hanging out together.”
Nor was the team destabilized by the social stresses of the late ’60s and ’70s. While some teams questioned and defied convention — the A’s presented themselves as a mustachioed band of rebels — the Cincinnati players offered little resistance to team strictures banning facial hair and decreed that the white-and-red uniforms only display a certain amount of stockings and demands that the players in the dugout “show the right attitude”. The team’s manager from 1970 to 1978, Sparky Anderson, was a revered figure whose decisions went largely uncontested by his minions. “We respected him, but he respected us to the point that he asked for our input,” says Bench. “Your reaction: My god, he thinks I have a brain. He made you feel like a pro.”
Bench jokes that he’s dating himself when he talks about his salary. He made $11,000 in his rookie season and $85,000 in his first MVP season, less than today’s MVPs make per game. In another sign of how times have changed, he talks about the basketball team he and his teammates — including Rose — started during the offseason. They stormed Ohio and played games mostly for charity. According to Rose, the team went 47-4, losing only to the alumni teams of the University of Cincinnati’s 1961 and 1962 NCAA champion teams. Eventually, Reds management forced the team to disband after midfielder Bobby Tolan tore his Achilles tendon in a game. “Imagine that today,” says Bench, laughing. “Not too many front offices would choose to do that, would they?”
In 1975, Cincinnati returned to the World Series and won by beating the Red Sox seven times. A year later, the Reds defeated the Yankees. The Big Red Machine’s record: five seasons, four division crowns, three pennants, two World Series titles. Bench is reluctant to make “best of all time” statements, but others will. Suffice it to say that if “Sports Dynasties” is a Jeopardy! In this category, without exception, the Reds of the mid-70s are mentioned.
By 1975 Bench had solidified his status as the best practitioner of his position. He compiled 14 All-Star teams and won 10 Gold Gloves every year from 1968 to 1977. (By comparison, Buster Posey has one.) Over the course of his career, Bench knocked out 43% of risk-tolerant baserunners who chose to test his arm.
In the middle of his career, his body started an uprising. His hips ached constantly, the legacy of a car accident Bench endured as a teenager. His knees were sore from endless collisions with home plate. He had back problems, had surgery to remove a lesion on his lung in 1972 and broke his left ankle in 1981. Half a life later, he still remembers the rough treatment he received from unsympathetic fans. “They say, ‘Don’t let the boos get you down.’ But do this: go into your office tomorrow and have two people boo you, then when you leave your office, you’ll be booed again, the next thing you know, you’re back in your office and you’re not come from.”
Bench found solace in some advice he received from two men. Bobby Knight, legendary basketball coach and longtime friend, told him, “A critic is a legless man who teaches you how to walk.” Bobby Richardson, the former second baseman for the Yankees, said, “This crowd on Earth quickly forgets the heroes of the Past. They cheer like crazy until you fall.”
Over the last three seasons of his career, Bench has caught just 13 games overall. He retired in 1983 after playing his entire career in Cincinnati and didn’t agonize over the decision. Years later, John Elway asked him, “How did you know when to retire?”
Bench had a simple answer: “When you can’t be John Elway anymore.” He now says, “I realized I couldn’t be Johnny Bench anymore. I walked out of a $900,000 contract. Then he laughs. “Of course [after our conversation] Elway won two more Super Bowls and then retired on his own terms.”
After baseball, Bench hosted the classic children’s show The Baseball Bunch, which ran for six years. He was a regular on the motivational speaker circle and spokesman for a bank in Cincinnati. He would go hunting with his sidekick, Knight, and play golf with one of his myriad celebrity friends. Lending his name to charities, grants and golf classics, he raised millions. “The great thing about it,” he says, “is that I knew I had a life.
It has often been said that Bench has the temperament to be a good manager. But he says: “I don’t want to deal with incompetence. I played in a team that was at the level it was. Really, I have a hard time accepting people who aren’t trying, aren’t professional. The great thing about my life is that I don’t have to deal with them.”
His old teammates remain kindred spirits. Bench meets Pérez, who lives nearby, in Miami. He goes fishing with Seaver. He meets Rose at card shows and they text each other on their birthdays.
Then there’s Morgan, of whom Bench says, “Couldn’t have ever found a better ball player anywhere.” Morgan flirted with death a few years ago after complications from knee surgery. As he turned a corner, “The first thing Joe did was send me a video of him walking around the room without a cane. I said, ‘It looks like you have two sticks, the way those legs are shaped.’ But now he’s better and that makes me so happy.”
Talk of Morgan’s recovery prompts Bench to take full stock of his life. “I’ve been blessed with many things,” he says. “Blessed with what I’ve had in my life, where I’ve got to.”
By the standards of friends, experience, and fortune, Bench’s life was a fulfilling one. But according to his own statements, he was considerably less successful in his private life. Of course he has the lyrics of a country song ready for that. Actually, two songs: “Till I Get It Right” by Tammy Wynette and “The Dance” by Garth Brooks. “So I’ll just keep falling in love until I get it right.” Moments later, he sings, “I could have missed the pain, but I had to miss the dance.”
Early in his career, Bench was hailed as “baseball’s best bachelor,” an honor he lost prior to the 1975 season when he married Vickie Chesser, a toothpaste model who had previously dated Joe Namath. Four days after they met, Bench proposed; They were divorced 13 months after their marriage. (“I’ve tried. I even hand-squeezed orange juice,” she told Phil Donahue in December 1975. “I don’t think either of us had any idea what marriage was really like.”)
Before Christmas 1987, Bench married Laura Cwikowski, a model and aerobics instructor from Oklahoma City. They had one son, Bobby Binger (named after Hope and Knight and Bench’s hometown), before divorcing in 1995. They shared custody of the boy. “He was – is – a great dad,” says Bobby, who works in Cincinnati as a production staffer for Reds shows. “Definitely fixed. I remember he made me wear pants and a button down for my 12th birthday. But he did many things that you later appreciated.”
Bench married Elizabeth Benton for a third time in 1997 and married Baiocchi, daughter of professional golfer Hugh Baiocchi, for the fourth time in 2004. Bench chooses his words carefully and discusses their recent breakup, partly because it’s about his sons’ mother and partly because the matter is still pending in court. However, he asserts one thing without hesitation: primary custody suits him well.
“Being a father can be challenging, sure. But even if it’s not fun, it’s fun – if that makes sense,” he says. “I don’t mind the work. I mean how can you complain about the laundry?
Bench also has help. The two daughters of Gary Carter – another big catcher from Bench’s era – live nearby and have helped find babysitters and housekeepers. Lauren’s parents (who are Bench’s contemporaries) live a few miles away and are happy when Johnny travels. Bobby flies to Florida about once a month and helps out his half brothers. “Sometimes I’m a good cop, sometimes I’m a bad cop,” he says. “Dad will tell them to put the XBox away, and they’ll say, ‘In a minute.’ Then I say, ‘I know you’ve started a new game. You can fool your father, but you can’t fool me!'”
Justin and Josh both play sports, but they feel little pressure to be the sons of a Hall of Famer. Neither plays baseball, but Johnny wants both of them involved in the game. The boys’ friends have hardly heard from Johnny Bench. And Bench is fine if the boys prefer soccer or music or whatever.
Like any father – especially at a certain age – Bench teaches by telling gossip stories. He shares tales of fishing trips and cross-country flights and USO tours and cautionary tales of celebrities he knew who went broke or never grew up. “If what you did yesterday is important to you now,” he says, “then you haven’t done much today.”
Most of the stories have nothing to do with baseball, but there’s one that’s set in the late ’60s: Bench was 18 and playing in Buffalo. Two senior pitchers, Dom Zanni and Jim Duffalo, pulled him aside. They noted that despite his natural talent, he lashed out with cracking pitches. The next afternoon they met in the park. “They threw me curveball after curveball after curveball,” Bench recalls. “Two games later, I hit two home runs from curveballs. The pitcher was Sam Jones, supposedly the curveball guy.”
The moral of the story is obvious, but the 70-year-old single father of teenagers smiles and takes his momentum. “I tell the boys: You have to be able to handle curveballs.”
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