No one in his or her right mind would dispute that Johnny Bench is the best catcher in Reds history, and arguably the greatest catcher in MLB history. Consider his statistical placement in the annals of Cincinnati baseball...11 of the top 20 HR seasons...11 of the top 20 RBI seasons...10 of the top 20 hit seasons...12 of the top 20 runs scored seasons...etc etc
I went to baseball-reference and singled out Reds from 1901 to 2011, playing at least 100 games in a season, with at least 50% of their appearances as a catcher. Here are what I found to be the top 3 seasons of all time:
1) Johnny Bench, 1970. He won the first of two NL MVP awards that year, and for good reason. Batted .293 with a league-leading 45 HR and a league-leading 148 RBI. Posted 6.5 WAR (actually only tied for his third best total in that category). He also received the third of his ten NL Gold Gloves. Unfortunately Bench did not hit well in either the NLCS victory over Pittsburgh or World Series loss to Baltimore that year (a combined 6 for 28 with 4 RBI).
2) Johnny Bench, 1972. His second MVP year. 40 HR, 125 RBI (both league-leading totals again). 9.1 WAR. Another Gold Glove. A slightly better postseason than in 1970 - 12 for 41 combined in NLCS vs Pittsburgh and WS loss to Oakland.
3) Johnny Bench, 1974. Fourth in MVP voting. A league-leading 129 RBI. A league-leading 315 total bases. Another Gold Glove. 7.6 WAR.
The best of the rest (players other than Bench):
Ernie Lombardi, 1938. Won the NL MVP. 19 HR and 95 RBI...NL-leading .342 average...5.3 WAR.
Others worth mentioning, in no particular order:
Smoky Burgess 1955
Bubbles Hargrave 1926
Ed Bailey 1956
Eddie Taubensee 1999
Ray Mueller 1944
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