Best Catcher of All Time: Berra Over Bench

Yogi Berra is the best catcher of all-time, however Johnny Bench is a very, very close second.  Sometimes known better for his funny appearance or comical sayings, such as "baseball is 90 percent mental, the other half is physical."  Standing 5'8", Berra played 18 seasons for the New York Yankees from 1946 to 1963 and a very small part of one season for the New York Mets in 1965.  He won a record 10 World Series rings and was named an AL all-star 14 times.  He started off as a poor defensive catcher but developed into a great signal caller and handler of the pitching staff.  Bench, who played 17 seasons for the Reds, was probably a bit better defensive catcher.  However, their offensive stats were similar.  Here they are...

Berra's Stats

G	AB	H	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	SLG	OBP	OPS	OPS+
2120	7555	2150	1175	358	1430	30	.285	.482	.348	.830	116.4

Bench's Stats

G	AB	H	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	SLG	OBP	OPS	OPS+
2158	7658	2048	1091	389	1376	68	.267	.476	.342	.817	118.1

stats found at http://www.thebaseballpage.com/

Bench does have more homers and both he and Berra have similar on-base percentages and slugging percentages.  However, in roughly one hundred fewer at-bats, Berra has a batting average that is 18 points higher.  He also managed to record more RBI, more hits, and he scored more runs.  Overall, Bench and Berra have roughly the same offensive stats.

Berra wins because of his offensive prowess and his higher average than Bench.  Bench was better defensively, but Berra was no slouch behind the plate.  They both played well in the playoffs.  Berra won 10 rings as the leader of many great New York Teams, compared to Bench's two rings with the Big Red Machine Reds of the 1970s.  A lot of people would put Bench ahead of Berra, but in my opinion the best catcher is Berra, all the way.

Stay tuned as I'll eventually get to the best players at every position.