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Mike Piazza vs. Johnny Bench ESPN.com | |||||||||||||||||
Before getting into Mike Piazza vs. Johnny Bench, some of you probably think the photo above should be Ivan Rodriguez. Here's why we picked Piazza over Pudge: Player G AVG OBP SLG Runs RBI Pudge 1260 .304 .343 .480 715 704 Piazza 1117 .328 .395 .580 701 881Simply put, Rodriguez's plusses on defense don't overcome Piazza's huge edge on offense. Now, Piazza vs. Bench. Mike Piazza is now 32 years old. Bench's last year as a catcher was 1980 -- when he was 32 years old. Essentially, Piazza's claim as greatest ever lies in his ability to play at least a few more years behind the plate. Here are the career totals for both: Player G AVG OBP SLG OPS* OPS+^ Runs RBI TPR# Bench 2158 .267 .345 .476 .821 127 715 704 25.6 Piazza 1117 .328 .395 .580 .974 159 701 881 36.0* on-base percentage + slugging percentage ^ OPS adjusted for home park and normalized to league average (from "Total Baseball") # Total Player Rating (wins above average player at his position -- from "Total Baseball") As you can see, Piazza has a huge advantage in OPS. Bench was 27 percent better than league average, Piazza (so far) a whopping plus-59 percent. There is little doubt that Piazza has been the greatest-hitting catcher of all time. However, Bench was hardly a slouch. He led the NL three times in RBI and ranked in the top 10 in OPS five times. Piazza has ranked in the top 10 in OPS six times (thanks to baseball-reference.com for this information). On defense, Bench certainly holds a huge edge -- he won 10 Gold Gloves, his first as a 20-year-old rookie in 1968. However, Piazza's defense has always been underrated. No, he can't match Bench's throwing arm, but he's always caught very successful pitching staffs in Los Angeles and New York. In the end, Bench had a nine-year run as a great player before his knees gave out. He also mixed in some bad years (.238, 61 RBI in 1971 between his MVP years of 1970 and 1972). Piazza is at eight and counting and has never had a bad year. True, he hasn't won an MVP Award, but he has finished in the top four on four occasions. Final analysis: Piazza passes Bench in a couple years ... with Pudge hot on his heels. --David Schoenfield  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories | ALSO SEE Best now vs. best ever: First base Best now vs. best ever: Second base Best now vs. best ever: Third base Best now vs. best ever: Shortstop Best now vs. best ever: Left field Best now vs. best ever: Center field Best now vs. best ever: Right field Best now vs. best ever: Pitcher | ||||||||||||||||
