Growing up in a family of Cincinnati Reds fans, Austin Bode estimates that he went to about half of the team’s home games before he started playing travel and high school baseball.
So it only made sense that as an aspiring catcher, Bode knew all about Johnny Bench.
Thursday afternoon, the recent Columbus North graduate and incoming Louisville freshman became linked to Bench through an award started by the former Reds catcher and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer. Bode was announced as this year’s Johnny Bench Award winner for Indiana high school baseball.
“It was kind of unbelievable,” Bode said. “It’s a huge honor. I grew up a Reds fan. We’d always make a day out of it and make it to as many games as we could, and every Reds fan knows who Johnny Bench is. It hasn’t set in yet, but it’s definitely an honor.”
The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission created the Johnny Bench Award in 2000 to honor the top catcher in college baseball. In 2019, the award was expanded to honor the top college softball catcher and the top high school baseball and softball catchers in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Bode and the other winners, including Indiana high school softball winner Sarah Stone of Bedford North Lawrence, will be honored in a luncheon June 20 at the Reds Hall of Fame at Great American Ball Park. The players will be recognized prior to the Reds-Mets game that evening.
“This will be a pretty cool experience for me and my dad (Max) both,” Bode said. “His favorite player was Johnny Bench, so this was a really cool experience for him, too.”
Bode first noticed he had won when he saw the announcement on Twitter late Thursday afternoon. He later saw the release on mlb.com.
“I knew I was up for it, but I didn’t know when it would be picked or anything like that,” Bode said. “So it came as a little bit of a surprise. ”
Bode is the second consecutive catcher from Columbus to win the award for Indiana high school baseball. Columbus East’s Dalton Back, who now plays at Miami (Ohio) was last year’s recipient.
“Especially after hearing Dalton win last year, it was kind of a goal for me,” Bode said. “I didn’t know it was a thing until last year. So I worked really hard on my defense last year, and it obviously paid off for me.”
As a senior this season, Bode batted .333 with 25 RBIs and led the Bull Dogs with 10 doubles and five home runs in helping lead North to Conference Indiana and sectional titles. He also was walked 26 times and hit by pitch nine times.
“I didn’t have the numbers I wanted offensively, but I also had to deal with being pitched around this year,” Bode said. “Some of my at bats, I would only get one pitch to swing at. Later on, I started to turn it on a little bit, so it was just an adjustment. Defensively, I knew I had to work on my arm and my mechanics. I think I’ve really grown as a catcher over the last couple of years.”
Ben McDaniel, who resigned last month after eight years as North coach, nominated Bode for the award.
“I think Austin is extremely deserving of that award,” McDaniel said. “He’s grown up a Reds fan, and has been talked to about Johnny Bench by his father. He’s been a leader for us, not just this year, but since he’s been here. Austin has handled a lot of good pitchers in his three or four years. He models what Johnny Bench stood for as an individual off the field and a player. I’m happy for him.”
Following the high school season, Bode spent most of June playing for the CSL Snapping Turtles in the Grand Park College Summer League in Westfield. His last game was Tuesday, and he will miss Sunday’s College League All-Star Game.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Bode said. “It’s some little stuff that I don’t get to be at, but at the same time, it gets me on campus and gets me ready for fall. It’s nice because you’re not blindsided when you get there.”
Bode leaves Tuesday for Louisville, where he will major in sports adminstration. The players will have two-a-day workouts, lifting and conditioning, and Bode will be taking two classes this summer.
“I think people have always expected more out of Austin since he committed before he got to us,” McDaniel said. “He was solid behind the plate, he took it upon himself to be more of a positive leader on the field. He has eight sets of eyes on him, and being a vocal leader maybe isn’t second nature for him, but he did a great job of that this year. He’ll be surely missed around the Columbus North baseball diamond.”
