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Why Johnny Bench was so special for the Reds

I’d guess that most of you reading this article never had the opportunity to watch Johnny Bench play baseball.

I know how you feel. I never watched Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle or Stan Musial either. And that would have been special.

But if you never saw Johnny Bench catch a game, you missed a lot. You know Bench is a Hall of Famer and was a great catcher but I’m sure you’ve seen some good catchers as well. Why, you ask, does it matter? So what?

Here’s why. Johnny Bench had panache. He had an attitude, a charisma.