Don Pavletich, who played for the Cincinnati Reds for parts of nine seasons and joked that he was replaced at catcher by Hall of Famer Johnny Bench and later - with the Boston Red Sox - by Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk, died Thursday at age 81, according to his obituary.
Bench, the former Big Red Machine great, was among those remembering Pavletich via social media:
Pavletich's best two offensive seasons of his Major League Baseball career - which also included a season with the Chicago White Sox and parts of two seasons with the Red Sox - were with Cincinnati.