Johnny Bench on Mike and the Mad Dog radio show

[sbaust53]

If Bench isnt in your conversation as the best catcher ever to play, you dont know baseball.

[BobbyFz]

Mets fan checking in - I loved Jerry Grote growing up, made sure to wear his number in Little League. Could catch and throw with anyone in the history of game (as far as I was concerned, anyway! LOL) and tough as nails.

That said, Johnny Bench was the GREATEST all-around catcher I ever saw. Ever. Power bat, power arm, gold glove, and so damned CLUTCH. Never saw Berra or anyone from that era, but it would be hard for me to imagine they could have been better than Bench.

[JustAintthatWay]

salute to johnny bench's dad

that's a heckuva story he told

lots of ugly rumor about bench i dont believe 'em and hearing johnny talk here only reinforces that

and the interviewer sure has a helluva baseball memory excellent interview one of the best ive ever heard

thnx for the vid

[carolinablue1982]

Don't let anybody fool you. Bench was the best. Period! I thought Pudge could have gone down as the best ever, but the guy was on the juice.

[NYVoice]

Johnny was THE guy during my era. Ironically, as a Mets fan, I took pride in that Johnny said that he thought Jerry Grote was the best defensive catcher in the league. He said, "If I played for the Mets at that time, I'd have been playing third base".

[shade881993]

Bench played great behind the plate, and hit 389 HR in 16 full seasons and one season w/less then 70 AB (1967).

Take away the surgery, and the injuries, and I believe Bench would have played @ 20 seasons with @ 500 HR.

Johnny Bench - The Greatest Catcher, ever...

[MLBbaseballguys]

I think most people would agree that the catcher is one of the hardest and most grueling positions in baseball. mad props to jonny, one of the greatest to play the game

-The Baseball Guys

[44Snyder]

For my money, Steve Yeager of the LA Dodgers was one of the strongest throwing catchers I ever saw. Yeager's not as well remembered because he didn't hit as well as say...Bench or Carter. Munson was all blood and guts. Fisk was a great receiver from that era. But I agree...overall...Bench stood alone behind the plate.

[hubbased]

Great era for catchers--let's not forget the ball ball hitting Manny Sanguillen.

[wuzup6767]

bench is the greatest catcher ever period.

[mm3861]

Munson was just as good.

[aisle4row8seat113]

Munson had a weird side-armed delivery to second base. Bench had far greater physicality than Munson or Pudge and did everything the correct way.

[mm3861]

I'll take Pudge first.... then Piazza. :)

[misterbelfridge344]

If John had not had surgery for a spot on his lung he could have put up much better numbers even though the numbers he put up were pretty good.

[kevinvanmeter]

Chris Russo leaves WFAN--Good luck, Mad Dog!

[rbench5]

Nice Interview... I like the cheeseburger story!

[silverado7163]

No one, not piazza or pudge, could throw out base stealers like Bench.

[ddenuci]

Johnny was the best. Piazza and Pudge might have put up better numbers in the more offensive-minded '90s, but no one can deny that when Bench hit 40 and 45 home runs, he would lead the league. When Piazza hit 40 in 1999, he was 7th (25 hrs behind McGwire).

[ballsmccoy]

C'mon now, you shouldn't look down your nose at Mike Piazza, he was clean his entire career and showed up every day despite taking a beating behind the plate.

[ddenuci]

balls: I actually liked Piazza, and would like to think he wasn't on the juice. Unfortunately, this is what happens because MLB did not take the steroid issue seriously during the era in which Mike played. So everyone is a suspect.

[ballsmccoy]

"You'd like to think?" that's a pretty ignorant way of looking at things man, (I'm not calling you ignorant -- with all due respect). You're alleging that any good player in baseball during the last 18 years is guilty of taking steroids! If you graph Piazza's career climb, peak and his descent, it follows a very natural line. The nature of his injuries and length of time he took to recover, the loss of bat speed and defensive ability can prove Piazza's greatness didn't come unnaturally.