Sunday, May 14, 2023

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. CATCHER JOHNNY BENCH

Today on the blog we begin a FUN new thread, my personal picks for the 1970's "All-Decade Team", which I'm sure will cause some arguments back and forth as I have selected some surprises when it was all said and done!
I definitely plan on releasing this as a custom set this year, as the cards came out brilliant, using the 1980 Topps template as the design.
We begin with my pick for the decade's best N.L. catcher, this is a simple decision, Cincinnati Reds legend Johnny Bench, perhaps the greatest catcher of them all:


Not really much going into this pick, as anyone trying to argue for someone else as the decade's best N.L. catcher has quite the task in front of them, with Bench dominating the Majors over the 1970's.
Leading the Cincinnati Reds to two World Championships, four World Series appearances, two MVP Awards, and absolutely rewriting the catching game in Big League history, the man was already a legend by the time he was in his early-20's!
Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.
L-E-G-E-N-D.
Next week, my pick for the A.L.'s top catcher for the 1970's...