RBI Leaders (Jeff Burroughs/Johnny Bench)

Jeffrey Alan Burroughs (March 7, 1951-) was the first Texas Rangers player to win the American League Most Valuable Player award and was the first player in Major League history to be chosen Number 1 overall and win the MVP. The Washington Senators took Burroughs Number 1 overall in the 1969 June Amateur Draft and he debuted the following season in 1970. Jeff played outfield for 16 seasons in the Majors for the Senators (1970-1971), the Texas Rangers (1972-1976), the Atlanta Braves (1977-1980), the Seattle Mariners (1981), the Oakland Athletics (1982-1984) and the Toronto Blue Jays (1985). Jeff did not possess a great glove, but was a big bat in the lineup. He had 11 consecutive years with ten or more home runs including one 30 and one 41 home run season. Burroughs best year came in 1974 when he had 167 hits including 25 HRs and drove in 118 RBI earning his first of two All-Star selections and the AL MVP award. He helped the Blue Jays reach the 1985 ALCS, only to fall to the would-be World Series champion Kansas City Royals. Jeff Burroughs finished his career with a .261 career batting average, 1,443 hits including 230 doubles and 240 home runs, scored 720 runs and drove in 882 RBI.

Johnny Lee Bench (December 7, 1947-) is considered to be amongst the greatest catchers that Major League Baseball has ever seen and was the team leader that led the Cincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine" to back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Bench was a smart ballplayer, with an exceptional work ethic, who starred for his high school baseball and basketball teams and was named class valedictorian in his senior year. The Cincinnati Reds then took Johnny with the 36th overall pick of the 1965 MLB Amateur Draft. He spent two seasons with the Buffalo Bisons before getting the call-up to the big leagues. In 1968, Bench hit .275 with 15 home runs and 82 RBI to win the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award and his first All-Star selection while also posting a .991 fielding percentage and a 47% caught stealing percentage to win his first Rawlings Golden Glove. These accolades were early signs of what was to come. He won ten consecutive Gold Gloves behind the plate, second only to Ivan Rodriquez who won 13. In 1969, he set the single season caught stealing percentage record gunning down 57% of the opponent’s would-be base stealers and also posted a .992 fielding percentage. That same year, at the plate, Johnny led the NL with 45 home runs and 148 RBI while batting .293 to win the NL Most Valuable Player Award. Two years later, he would repeat as NL MVP, again leading the National League in home runs (40) and RBI (125) as well as throwing out 56% of the opposition’s base runners – second all-time in single season caught stealing percentage.

Bench led a host of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers like Pete Rose, Dave Concepcion, Ken Griffey, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan and George Foster during the 1970s, helping the Reds reach the World Series four times (1970, 1972, 1975, 1976). The potent, well-oiled offense of Cincinnati earned the moniker "Big Red Machine" and could beat you with power or manufacture runs. The Reds beat the Boston Red Sox four-games-to-three in what is considered one of the greatest World Series in history and then repeated as champions in 1976, sweeping the New York Yankees. The 14-time MLB All-Star was named the 1976 World Series MVP after batting .533 with two homers and six RBI in four games. Johnny Bench was the Cincinnati Reds catcher for 17 seasons (1967-1983) and was formidable hitter at the plate as he posted a .267 career batting average with 389 home runs and 1,376 RBI. Bench also finished his career with a .990 fielding percentage behind the plate, winning 10 Gold Gloves, and gunning down 44% of the would-be base stealers. Johnny Bench popularized the one-handed style of catching that is commonplace in the game today. Johnny Lee Bench was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Since retiring, Bench has remained active in sports even attempting a run at the Senior PGA Tour after turning fifty. The Sporting News ranked him #16 on the "100 Greatest Baseball Players" list.