On November 7, 1972 — .For the second time in three years, Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench (.270, 40, 125) wins the National League MVP award. The Reds catcher joins Mickey Cochrane (1928 A’s, 1934 Tigers), Yogi Berra (1951, ’54, ’55 Yankees), and Roy Campanella (1951, ’53, ’55 Dodgers) as only the fourth backstop to win the award multiple times.
Johnny Bench, admitting he “lost a little concentration and didn’t bear down hard enough” in 1971 said he was “just thrilled” Tuesday when he was named the National League’s “Most Valuable Player” for the second time in three seasons. Bench, the slugging Cincinnati Reds’ catcher, was supposed to be shipped directly to Cooperstown in 1970 when he hit .293 with 45 homers and 148 RBIs while being named the National League’s MVP at in Cincinnati when he was notified that he was the 1972 winner, obviously got a bigger thrill out of winning it this time than he did in 1970. “I felt I had it won in ’70 all along,” he said. “There wasn’t any doubt in my mind. But I’m just thrilled about this. It’s the greatest thing that can happen to me. If we’d won the World Series, this would have been the icing on the cake. But this will make the Winter better.” Bouncing back from the bad season meant a lot to Bench. “After last season when I heard everything about how bad I was and all, it s very- sweet to be able to come back.”
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