Johnny Bench hits three home runs off Steve Carlton
On May 9 1973 Johnny Bench All-Star catcher for the Cincinnati Reds hits three home runs in one game off All-Star pitcher Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies.As Bench had homered in his previous at-bat the game before as well this gave him four home runs in four consecutive trips to the plate.In 1973 Bench was five seasons into a Hall of Fame career.After breaking in with the Reds in 1967 and playing 26 games he won the National Leagues Rookie of the Year award in 1968 with a .275 batting average 15 home runs and 82 runs batted in.
In 1970 Bench broke out leading the NL with 45 home runs and 148 RBIs while batting .293.He repeated his 1970 NL MVP in 1972 behind 40 homers and 125 RBIs.That year Cincinnatis famed Big Red Machine of the 1970sconsidered one of the finest teams in baseball historywas having another dominant year in the NL West.
Led by manager Sparky Anderson the Reds had won the National League pennant in 1972 only to lose to the powerful Oakland As in the World Series four games to three.Bench was the leader of a team that was loaded with talentincluding future hit king Pete Rose second baseman Joe Morgan outfielders Tony Perez and George Foster and shortstop Dave Concepcion.On May 9 1973 Benchs hitting spree continued despite his ongoing recovery from surgery to remove a benign lung lesion.His three home runs off defending Cy Young winner Carlton to give him four home runs in four consecutive at-bats tied a major league record.
This was Benchs second three-homer day He had also hit three and drove in seven runs one year earlier to the day also against Carlton.In addition to his prolific hitting Bench is remembered for pioneering the one-handed style of catchingin which catchers use oversized padded gloves and tuck their off hand behind their backthat is now used by nearly every major league catcher.He was also the first catcher to wear a batting helmet while catching an important protection for men who have 90 mph fastballs thrown at their heads more than 100 times per game.Johnny Bench was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 and named starting catcher of Major League Baseballs All-Century team in 1999.
