Johnny Bench Quotes

I am the best in baseball.

I know Reggie Jackson is a good player.

My idea of heaven is a pennant winner.

Now Joe Cronin was very good. I loved Joe Cronin, to play for.

In New York, after that famous home run, they expected me to be up there every year. That homer raised me to a high level, with the top guys in the game.

Baseball needs more superstars.

I have no idea what my batting average was in high school, but I know it wasn't below .450, and that's pretty good hitting where I come from.

Cobb is a prick. But he sure can hit. God Almighty, that man can hit.

We need just two players to be a contender. Just Babe Ruth and Sandy Koufax.

Well, you know, Pudge Rodriguez, obviously is as good as it gets.

I was a big Dave Winfield guy growing up.

True Yankees fans know an up-and-coming player when they see one.

Carl Yastrzemski was the best all-around player. He could run, throw and hit. He had the ability to play a number of different positions. He signed as a shortstop. He could play the outfield, of course, and third base and first, too. He was a tremendous athlete. Mickey Mantle was unbelievable, too.

I'm the guy that made Joe DiMaggio famous.

I don't want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench.

If you can do that - if you run, hit, run the bases, hit with power, field, throw and do all other things that are part of the game - then you're a good ballplayer.

When I think about athletes, probably my favorite guest of all time among baseball players was Ted Williams.

If a guy hits .300 every year, what does he have to look forward to? I always tried to stay around .190, with three or four RBI. And I tried to get them all in September. That way I always had something to talk about during the winter.

My top three were Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain and Bo Jackson.

Baseball's what I do.

The Babe was a great ballplayer, sure, but Cobb was even greater. Babe could knock your brains out, but Cobb would drive you crazy.

David Ortiz is a genius. He's incredible to watch. Over and over, he hits home runs that are simply transcendent.

In 83 I thought we were going to go all the way. We had Roy Smalley, and Steve King, and good players.

A lot of black guys always ask me, 'Did Larry Bird really play that good?' I said, 'Larry Bird is so good it's frightening.'

I loved coming up with players in scoring position and I had to drive them in.