Johnny Bench‘s single-season home run record for a catcher had stood for 50 years. The Cincinnati Reds legend has now been replaced by Kanas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez who hit his 46th home run of the year today.
Perez has had a phenomenal year, and were it not for the ridiculous performance from Shohei Ohtani this season, Perez may be in line to take home the American League Most Value Player trophy. Perez is hitting .274/.314/.542 with 46 homers and 115 RBIs.
Bench’s 1970 season was one for the record books. The Reds’ backstop hit .