Johnny Bench is one of the greatest, classiest, players of all time. He's one of the reasons I got into, fell in love, and still love baseball, today!! BIG RED MACHINE FOREVER⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️

Jose Canseco the only one who spoke truth...and they kicked his ass out.

Bonds should only be added after Pete Rose is added. I saw an ad for a gambling venue located at the Reds' ballpark. If baseball is now profiting from gambling, Rose should be forgiven.

Being from and growing up in Cincinnati, I didn't understand the magnitude of witnessing Johnny Bench play the game of ⚾, like I do now, what a privilege it was...

Ortiz was 100% caught and they still let him in...

If these guys get in so should Pete Rose!!

I was listening to DP on radio the day they talked to Canseco about his upcoming book. DP begged Jose to keep quiet & let the public believe their Heroes were all clean. Sucks when the truth is Bad for Business.

the last time Rose told the truth was when Pete was asked "when was the last time you told the truth?" & his answer was "i don't remember"

The eight White Sox that were banned from baseball, also won in court. Yet they were guilty. The same with Barry Bonds.

Johnny was, is and always will be my favorite player. A true legend.

C'mon, Joe Jackson was vindicated too. While many of these drugs were legal as far as the feds were concerned, they were against the rules of baseball. If we are going to put Bonds and Arod and a few others who blew up like blimps, then let's put in Pete Rose, too, and definitely Joe Jackson.

Best name is baseball. Brilliant and down to earth man. If you played catcher back in the day you wanted to be Johnny Bench

With runners on 2nd & 3rd, Bench after the pitch would from his crouch throw to 2nd to attempt a pickoff. 2nd basemen & shortstops had to be ready. Bench lead & managed. One of the most (if not the most) confident players & men I had the the privilege to watch play & speak. Curt Gowdy said that about Ted Williams & also spoke that way of Bench saying often " At this young age, this man is polished"!

They should have let Pete Rose in years ago and if they let Both Bonds and McGuire in Rose should be allowed in .

I love how honest Bench is about it. I would have done it too. I woulda been JACKED. 😂

Growing up in Dallas area we had no baseball until 70s. I loved the Reds. Followed them closely. These guys remind me of 2023 World Series Champs. Texas Rangers. I was in awe of Johnny Bench. He might go 0~4 but then hit one out in ninth to win. Definition of a Baseball hero. Even in retirement he is still a class act. I can’t imagine what he put his body thru to play so many games per year. Congrats Ohio, you guys have a legend. We had Pudge Rodriguez back about the time Bench retired. How can a team go all the way without a guy like this at catcher. I believe Reds are going to have a breakthrough season. They have assembled the talent. I felt same way last year about the Rangers and they broke thru. Hope to see Cincinnati fans next October in World Series, in Dallas Fort Worth.

I love Johnny Bench. What a legend!!!!

A great catcher, a superb human...... a hero

Johnny Bench was one of the first names I could recognize as a sports star, even before I started following the game...of course he did a great spray paint commercial back in the day - "I'm Johnny Bench, and this is Johnny Bench's bench!"

The realest talk about PEDs in baseball from one of the true legends of baseball.

The great Johnny Bench! Super talented!

Best catcher I've ever seen, got his autograph at Chain O Lakes ball park in Winter Haven FL.. Been aphillies fan all my life, and will never forget the big red machine and all those studs they had. Thanks mr. Bench for your many years of service to the game that we all love. Thanks again!!!!

Don't understand why Bench is giving a pass to Mcguire, Bonds, Clemens and yet he still bashes Rose

Lest we forget, not everyone was juicing. Letting those who used phd’s have an advantage over those who didn’t is unfair.

Compare Bonds with David Ortiz. Ortiz comes across as likeable and media friendly. The kind of guy that greets every fan who encounters him. Ortiz was also mentioned in the Mitchell Report. Bonds was never media friendly and came across (still does) as abrasive. Bonds pre or post steroid use was the fair superior player, yet Ortiz is in the Hall. Go figure.

When I was a limo driver, I had a HOF pitcher in my car and he basically said the same thing. The players were given things by the club and told to take it and they did.

Johnny is right about one important aspect: GNC did actually sell steroid-infused supplements for over a decade before the FDA stepped in. Even high school kids inadvertently were using.

Johnny Bench - class act. I grew up in Cincy and saw him play a lot of games. Best catcher ever

Baseball, Bud Selig, knew players were using and approved. To then demonize these players is BS.

My favorite player of all time Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench does not get the level of greatness he deserves...He was a outstanding player .I would love to have a signed ball by Mr.Bench

Damm thise were some great days...Johnny Bench...and the Big Red Machine...Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose...Red Scheindes...was the coach...

If Pete Rose is not in the HOF neither should Barry Bonds

OMG Johnny Bench was great. No one better as a defensive catcher and hit with power. You just didn’t try steal on him. The master.

Grew up a big red machine fan. Loved Bench. Best catcher I've ever seen. That said, amphetamines doesn't make a 30 HR a year guy a 70 HR a year guy....so no. He shouldn't be in the HOF because he's a cheat. And the outcry over Rose not being in the HOF is misdirected. The outcry should be why he wasn't put in jail for an inappropriate relationship with a minor.

Johnny was, and still is IMO, the best catcher in MLB history. It's hard to fathom that he'll be turning 76 this year. When I was a little kid back in the 70s, I wrote a letter to the Reds to tell them that Johnny Bench was my favorite player on my favorite team. I have no idea how the letter got to the Reds' offices, because I lived several states away, and am pretty sure I had no idea what their address was, other than that they were in Cincinnati. But somebody at the Post Office saw to it that it got there, and a few weeks later I got back in the mail from the Reds a Johnny Bench photo, autographed by Johnny himself. Talk about a treasured possession for a little kid. Only autograph I ever got. Only autograph I ever wanted.

Bench was one helluva catcher and now he`s a great interview

Give Us a Break ! “ Pete Rose 🌹 “ should be in the “ Hall of Fame” MLB is in the gambling business and NFL, and NBA and all Professional Sports it’s a crock of bull shot players are paid obscene wages for illiteracy

Johnny and the "Big Red Machine" are the reason I loved baseball in the 70's. Having said that, Barry Bonds was one of the best players in MLB history. Most of the league was taking stuff, that at the time was not illegal or being tested for. No era of the league has 100% clean hands. Before Barry ever went to San Francisco, he was already a multiple league MVP and the best player in the league. For me, the results on the field more than justify him being in. My opinion only.

Wow, that was a great interview! Great Job, guest and host.

Im a lifetime Astros fan since the 1970’s and Jonny Bench was my favorite player, I always had hoped he would be traded to the Astros but that never happened and I always had his baseball cards too as a child growing up

Keeping it real Johnny!

I’m 54, so I was just a kid when the Big Red Machine was doing their thing led by Bench, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose and a bunch more great players. My dad was a Dodger fan, so that was a lot of fun. My favorite player was Pete Rose.

Old Dodger fan here, Johnny Bench best catcher I ever saw! Pete Rose belongs in the hall of fame

They should have a wing in the Hall for "The Enhanced Era",and put all the juicers in it who warrant induction.

johnny bench is by far the best catcher I ever saw ! barry bonds when he came up in pittsburgh was a thin athletic type and once he started juicing even his head was bigger !

My favorite baseball team as a kid and most of the kids I was playing with the big red machine 😮, I love ❤️ Dan Patrick what a true sports reporter should be doing , give me my sports news with out the politics , when espn was so fun to watch 😮and a must 😮

My first baseball hero! Love Johnny Bench!!!!

I have no idea what position on Barry Bonds Johnny Bench was trying to take!

I checked out a book in the Carnegie Library in Brownsville,Tn. in 1975 because I had moved into the position as a little league catcher.I was a big fan of the big red machine that was the cincinnati Reds and I remember them to this day.Johnny Bench is one of the greatest catchers of all time and I studied his technique through his book on catching.

Pete Rose should be in the hall of fame before any of these candidates

Thank you so much Johnny!

Baseball was trying to recover from the 94 Strike, next thing you know; fans are coming back because of the Homer's. Bench was the greatest catcher of all time!

Put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame! Come on! Its 2023!

Bonds should be in the Hall of fame, but his plaque should have a footnote saying he juiced. Rose should have a plaque with a footnote saying he bet on baseball.

How about blaming the players. I thought folks from back in the day were about personal responsibility.

2009, Lakers vs Kings in Sac. Barry arriving late and walking behind the baseline behind the hoop where Kobe's at the line shooting FTs. Laker fans chanting "M-V-P!" ... Barry assumes the chants are for him, smiles wide and starts waving to the crowd with both hand 🤣🤣🤣 He doesn't need the Hall; he has his own world.

Mr. Johnny Bench looks like he is doing well. Greatest catcher of all time? Top 3 at least.

One thing peaple got to realize that there were more players using steroids that still sucked than the players that put up huge numbers

Bench was the best catcher.

Tom House said everyone was doing them already in the 60's. But for some reason the guys in the 90's are being held accountable for that whole era. Makes no sense to me.

In my opinion, Bonds was a HOFer based on just his career as a Pirate. He won multiple MVPs there. Not many people can say that, including plenty of guys who made it in.

For those of you who think these guys who juiced should be in the HOF, I am curious how you feel about Lance Armstrong. Should he be given back everything he lost? You have to draw an accountability line somewhere, even if you love the person.

That's just like OJ saying, "I was found not guilty" 😂

To me personally Johnny Bench is the best all-around catcher in baseball history eventhough Carlton Fisk is my favorite back stop ... much respect and admiration for Johnny Bench 👍👍

NO TO CHEATERS! I was never a Redleg fan, but I always admired Bench #1 . . . . . the best ever!

The player's union, team owners, commissioner, trainers, and media were all complicit when it came to steroids in baseball. Everyone knew what was going on, but they looked the other way because everyone was making money hand over first. They needed something to regenerate interest in baseball after the '94 strike and cancellation of the World Series. Home runs were flying out of ballparks, and the steroid summer of '98 saved baseball. They've already let steroid cheats in like Pudge Rodriguez, Jeff Bagwell and David Ortiz in the Hall of Fame. It's time we let all time greats like Bonds, Clemens and A-Rod in.

Pete Rose should be in.

They need him speaking more often

Barry Bonds is a HOF! I wasn’t a fan cuz he wasn’t on my team BUT the dude is one of the greatest players of all time!

If Bonds gets in the HOF, then Pete Rose should also be aloud in.

What a great person and baseball player .

Bonds was good before even touching anything. Hes like Juan Soto if Soto could hit .350 and played better defense. He's a HOF and it shouldn't even be a question.

HE definitely should be in the hall of fame, baseball knew what was going on and they let it go because the stadiums were full .

O.J. Simpson was "vindicated" too. Commen sense still tells anyone with half a brain that they cheated. Pete Rose was never accused of gambling on baseball during his playing career when he became the all-time hits leader. He was never gonna be a HoF manager, but as a player, where's his vindication.

I love the high horse baseball takes on this stuff. They used to hand out amphetamines and tramadol freely.

No ! No juicers! Period.

I hear there's a Barry Bonds movie in the works. Chris Rock is going to play Barry during his Pirate years and Shaq will play Barry in his Giants years.

Baseball, on purpose, did not test.

Barry Bonds belongs in the BHOF. He brought big fans to baseball, at that time. Steroids for days, he was the best hitter of, his time. He was a natural borned Baseball Player. His extraordinary skills on the field, we're all his. Love of the game, hard work, determination, most of all DNA, God Given. Barry Bonds belongs in the BHOF. No Doubt.

Bonds relationship with media does not help his case to get in which should not be but life sadly ain't fair

Johnny Bench in my opinion, is one of the greatest catchers of all time. He hitting was great, and he was superb behind the plate. For Bonds and Sosa and the others didn't need the steroids and other enhancing drugs. Again, Mr. Bench was great!

This is the one thing I hare about Johnny Bench: he is so pure.... he hates Pete Rose to death and everyone on the PED era... because you know: he was so pure. Hypocrite to the core, vindictive. If you notice he tries to avoid a straight answer. IMO Bonds and Clemens are HOF... and Pete Rose as well. But Bench is so selfish and, again, so pure.....

Barry’s a shoe-in for the hall of shame!

YES, HE SHOULD BE. HE'S THE MOST FEARED BASEBALL ⚾️ PLAYER OF ALL TIME. AND DON'T MENSION ROIDS. EVEN SORRY PLAYERS TOOK THEM AND THEY WAS STILL SORRY

"The Wonder Bra is performance enhancing..." Almost spit up my coffee. Wasn't prepared for that quote. Thanks Johnny!

Barry Bonds was the best player in the major leagues while he was with Pittsburgh. Mark McGuire was a natural slugger when he came up as a rookie and set a record for home runs. They were natural talents. They had HOF credentials until they started with steroids. They would have made the HOF if they abstained. Heavy price for bad decisions.

God he was so good.... freaking Legend

Yes, of course he does, as does Roger Clemens, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose. The fans is who made these guys famous. And their incredible careers warrant it.

Johnny bench was definitely one of the greatest players of all time in my opinion watch this gentleman all through the 70s

The thing with Bonds is, if he didn’t do anything at all (PED’s supposedly) he was going to the Hall anyway.

I think honesty and perspective is the antiseptic that sets the Hall of Fame free in this situation...In the "glory days" of baseball there were jars of Bennies/uppers/pep pills in every major league clubhouse.....The era of Mays and Mantle was not pure....Back then I'm sure some players did and some players did not use these substances to remain in the lineup...There are players right now in the Hall of Fame who made use of these performance enhancers...That is a verifiable fact...Major League Baseball does not want to have this discussion because then they'd have to admit that performance enhancing substances have always been a part of baseball.....If they would acknowledge this fact then Barry, Roger, Mark and the like would have to be allowed to enter The Hall based on their accomplishments between the lines......Baseball purists have been using the best of the best during their era entry into the HOF to protect a false narrative about the purity of baseball before the steroid era.....Baseball is played by human beings who break down during the course of a 162 game season....There have always been substances in the clubhouse to mitigate the breakdown of the human body....Roger, Barry and Mark are being used to hold the false narrative that is baseball history.together,,,,,The old adage baseball adage is "If you aren't cheating you aren't trying"....That statement didn't become an adage because it wasn't true...It is time to give these great players their due with entry into The Baseball Hall of Fame instead of scapegoating them to continue the false purity narrative of those who think they are protecting baseball.....Roger, Barry, Mark and as much as it pains me to say this even Alex Rodriguez deserve better.....Just my 2 cents.

I've heard stories from minor leaguers about what it was like in those years.. two teammates would be something like .260/12 HR hitters.. nothing special.. then after the off season one would come back juiced to the gills and hit .320 with 30 HR and get to the majors and the other guy hit .260/12 HR like always and never make it. So the motivation to use that stuff was huge.

YOGI, SAID JOHNNY BENCH WAS THE BEST CATCHER HE EVER SEEN PLAY .THAT SAYS IT ALL....JOHNY THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

Johnny bench got paid big bucks to come to our local sports banquet back in the early 90s to sign autographs and take photos. He refused to sign a home plate someone brought in.

when you don't put your famous stars in the the Hall of Fame, but their accomplishments are still there, it hurts the Hall as much as the former players. the story becomes why the Hall keeps them out, and not what they did when they played on the field ( a negative story instead of a positive one)

Put All those Guys in the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame. If They have to put a Asterisk ✳️ by Their Name, Because for the Era These Guys did Show Up Every Day, and Participated in Every Game and at Bats in All these Ballparks, their Accomplishments Speaks for itself.

just remember when the media says that sports are about the fans, best to know they are lying through their teeth. if you ask just about any fan, they will tell you that Bonds deserves to be in the HOF, but the writers, who simply do not like Bonds as a person are keeping him out (and, not because he allegedly took steroids)!

Ivan R. and Mike P. are in the HoF, but they certainly fit the classic profile of a steroid user: Slight build as a young man, transformed into an intimidating mesomorphic monster with astounding hitting power, then return to the original "slight build" after retirement. If they were let in, it doesn't seem fair that Bonds and Clemens (two absolute HoF caliber players before the steroid effects became obvious) should be left out.

I visited Cooperstown and was surprised to see Pete Rose memorabilia along with mentions of his records and accomplishments. But he does not have a bust and is not officially a member of the HOF. An example of the hypocrisy of MLB, now partnering with and taking millions from betting sites, having it both ways.