Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Winter 2019 - 22

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No Debate: Catching Great Johny Bench Captivates
at Law Foundation Holiday Benefit Luncheon
Continued from page 21

Kevin Miller of Berkshire Investments, Chris Phillips of
Baker Tilly, Brady West of Westside Insurance, and
Randy Miller of Berkshire Investments.

Chuck Phillips, Leisawitz Heller, Hall of Fame Sponsor

BCBA staff members Paula Ziegler and Lucy Brito are assisted
by BCBA Executive Director Kori Walter.
1

home run when his team needed one, had a great batting eye and
would get on base with a walk when his team needed that, and
had the ability to steal a base whenever his team needed a stolen
base. Bench focused on how Morgan's efforts were all directed
towards winning and doing what the team needed. Bench
described Tony Perez as the most important member of the "Big
Four" because of his leadership in the clubhouse with players of
all ethnic groups, through example and through humor. When
the Reds traded Perez to the Expos, Bench related how as good
as Dan Driessen was at replacing Perez at first base; the team lost
a number of intangibles in the clubhouse.
Asked about the Phillies-Reds rivalry of the late 1970s,
Bench fondly recalled his success in batting against Phillies ace
Steve Carlton, hitting 12 home runs off him with a career batting
average of .305 including post season.1 Bench also recalled,
in the same playfully malicious spirit, how the Phillies had a
ceremony to honor him in 1983, his final season, in which the
other members of the "Big Four," Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and
Tony Perez, at that point all on the Phillies roster, presented
Bench with a piece of the left field foul pole from the upper deck
of Veterans Stadium. The same foul pole Bench dinged during
one of the home runs off Carlton, stating of the Phillies: "They
couldn't beat us, so they went out and hired everybody on the
Reds." Bench still has the piece of the foul pole, as one of his
prized sports trophies.
Bench also described the events surrounding what he calls the
most important home run of his career - a home run he hit in the
bottom of the ninth inning in the fifth and deciding game of the
1972 playoffs against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bench's blast tied
the game and enabled the Reds to score the winning run later
that inning on a wild pitch. Immediately before he hit it, Bench
had been prompted to look up in the stands where his mother,
Katy, was sitting, and thought she mouthed to him, "Hit a home
run." Although she later said that it might have just been, "Go
Johnny." Whether she actually urged her son to slug a homer or
said something different, there is no disputing that Bench indeed
did plant the palm ball from Pirates' hurler Dave Giusti (against
whom Bench's lifetime average was .154) into the left-field seats,
and a few batters later the Reds were on their way to the 1972
World Series. (Note: Pirates fan Judge Pat Barrett requested that
I ask Bench a question involving the Bucos. I don't know if this
was the question the judge had in mind.)
Bench departed from reminiscing on baseball and discussed
his broader message in, "Catch Every Ball," where he lays out

Carlton shares the distinction with fellow Hall of Famer Don Sutton of having surrendered the most career home runs to
Bench, with 12. Right behind them is another Hall of Famer, Phil Niekro, with 11.

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