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There are a few names that come to mind when you think of the greatest Cincinnati Reds players of all-time.
There’s Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Frank Robinson.
But one name consistently stands above the rest.
That would be hall of fame catcher Johnny Bench.
Bench is considered by many to be the greatest catcher in MLB history. He spent his entire 17-year career with the Reds, winning the 1968 NL Rookie of the Year Award and not looking back. He twice won the NL MVP (1970, 1972) and won the 1976 World Series MVP when Cincinnati swept the New York Yankees..
The face of the “Big Red Machine” was a 14-time All-Star. He’s also the franchise leader in home runs (389) and RBIs (1,376).
Oh, and lest you think he was just a star at the plate, Bench won 10 Gold Glove Awards too.
So it came as no surprise when he was first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 1989.
But Bench is now in the news for a much more disappointing reason.
The Reds legend apologized on Sunday after an antisemitic remark about former general manager Gabe Paul.
The comment came Saturday at a news conference to honor Gabe Paul, who passed away in 1998. He was one of three new members being inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame.
At the event, Bench’s former teammate Pete Rose said that “when I got out of high school in 1960, Gabe Paul signed me to a contract for 400 bucks a month.”
Bench then responded, “he was Jewish,” which prompted laughter from some in the audience.
He issued the following statement a day later:
“I recognize my comment was insensitive. I apologized to Jennie (Paul) for taking away from her father the full attention he deserves. Gabe Paul earned his place in the Reds Hall of Fame, same as the others who stood on that stage, I am sorry that some of the focus is on my inappropriate remark instead of solely on Gabe’s achievement.”
Paul’s daughter Jennie then told The Athletic that she did not hear the remark.
“I didn’t even hear him say that,” Jennie Paul said. “Johnny came up and said, ‘Were you offended?’ and I said, ‘For what?’
“I didn’t even hear him say that. I suppose if I would’ve heard him say that, I would’ve said something, but I didn’t even hear him say that.”