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- During spring training of
- Johnny BenchΓÇÖs rookie
- season, the great Ted
- Williams gave the young
- catcher an autographed
- baseball. On it, Ted had written: ΓÇ£To Johnny
- Bench, a Hall of Famer for sure".
-
- In 1968, Johnny set a record for catchers,
- with 40 doubles, and became the first catcher
- to win the National League Rookie of the
- Year award. Two years later, Johnny was
- named MVP after leading the league with 45
- homers and 148 runs batted in. He also led
- the Reds to the pennant.
-
- Before he retired in 1983, Johnny had hit
- 389 home runs and led the league in
- RBIs three times. One of the best
-