We’ll start with an easy one.

Johnny Bench is listed as the second best catcher of all time in Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. The fourteen time all-star and two time Most Valuable Player truly had an astounding career. Not only did he hit 389 career homeruns, and drive in 1,376 runs, but he also racked up ten gold gloves.

But this isn’t a debate about careers. How did Johnny Bench do in 1975 compared to Lance Parrish in 1984? Let’s take a look at some of Bench’s statistics.

Runs – 83
Homeruns – 28
RBIs – 110
Average – .283
OBP – .359
Slg. – .519
OPS+ – 140
Runs Created – 99
Batting Runs Above Replacement – 53
Field Runs Above Replacement – 47
Equalized Average – .308
Wins Above Replacement Player – 11.0

The only thing that prevents a complete sweep is Lance Parrish’s five extra homeruns. But that’s not nearly enough to make up the difference. Johnny Bench didn’t finish fourth in the MVP voting for nothing.

This one was a fat pitch waiting to get hit out of the park. Johnny Bench wins hands down.

Score Card – 1975 Reds 1, 1984 Tigers 0

And don’t forget to help us out with our little fund raiser. It might take the simulation to convince Brian who’s better.

And you can read Brian’s response over at Tigerblog. He took his beating like a man.

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