Bench Gushes Over Phillies Catcher Realmuto

Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, arguably the greatest catcher of all time, heaped praise on the Philadelphia Phillies’ catcher, J.T. Realmuto, according to Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com.

Bench hit 389 home runs and slashed .267/.342/.476 in his 17-year career with the Cincinnati Reds.

“J.T. does so many good things, bats in the middle of the lineup, does what he has to do every day, but the durability, you also have to go with durability,” Bench told Phillies.com. “He caught 1,100 innings or something like that, that’s phenomenal. To try to see a guy catch 100 games, to think I caught 13 consecutive years of 100 games or more, you really didn’t have a day off.”

According to Zolecki, Realmuto caught 1,281 1/3 innings overall, including the playoffs. Only two catchers have caught more innings than that in the past 14 years: Salvador Perez (1,389 2/3 innings in 2014, and 1,334 1/3 innings in 2015) and Yadier Molina (1,309 innings in 2011).

Realmuto was also picked as the top catcher in Major League Baseball by MLB Network.

Realmuto’s emergence last season was noticeable and he carried the Phillies both offensively and defensively at times.