By Barb Armijo

Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench said his 17-year baseball career might have contributed to many of his body’s aches and pains, but he can’t solely blame the 400,000 times he crouched behind the plate as a member of the Cincinnati Reds for his hip replacement.

“I was hit by a drunk driver when I was in high school,” Bench said in a telephone interview from his home in Florida. “My hip was very badly injured, and in a sense it never fully healed. But I would never say it was baseball that led to the bad hips, as much as people like to say it did. Believe me, I have broken seven different bones and been banged up pretty badly playing baseball, but not the hips.”

The former Reds All-Star will be in Albuquerque March 13 at the Embassy Suites as a guest speaker for Prime Time’s 50-Plus Celebration. He is representing Stryker Medical, which manufactures ceramic hip replacements. Bench has a Stryker hip and said it has helped him get on with his life.

Bench, 62, has always been one of the most influential players and most outspoken retired players in the game. When he began having trouble with everyday activities, he had to face the fact that his hips were going bad. Since his hip replacement, Bench doesn’t mind telling not only baseball stories, but surgery stories as well.

“If I can in some way help people understand the procedure from a patient’s perspective, then that’s what I want to do,” he said. “It’s scary thinking about any surgery. But what I have gone through with my hips has really saved my life – my quality of life. I want people to know they don’t have to live with that type of pain forever.”

Bench needed a new hip four years ago after his hip joint had worn down to bone-on-bone.

“I know pain,” said Bench, who said he has had seven broken bones and plenty of aches associated with the grueling physical play that major league catchers endure.

A doctor friend of his recommended he receive a Stryker ceramic-on-ceramic hip, and since then, he said he’s never looked back. Bench has gone around the country holding seminars and meetings promoting Stryker’s products and talking with people about the benefits of receiving his total hip replacement.

Bench will talk about his experience, but he will also answer some questions from the audience during his Albuquerque visit. For more information call the Prime Time at 505.224.2970.

Prime Time's 15th Annual 50+ Celebration with Johnny Bench