He also ranked among the league leaders with a .450 slugging percentage (6th), 10 triples (10th), and five home runs (4th). Defensively, he led the league's catchers with 446 putouts and a 7.94 range factor. Bennett was the Wolverines' dominant offensive player, and helped the team to its first winning record at 42-41. In 1883, Bennett hit for a career high .305 batting average, and his 4.9 WAR rating was the third highest among the National League's position players, trailing only Dan Brouthers and Jack Farrell. Bennett's defensive performance as dominant as his offense, with a 1.8 Defensive WAR rating that was the highest among catchers and the third highest among all players in the league. He also led the league's catchers with 11 double plays turned and a .944 fielding percentage. As good as Bennett was in 1883, the Wolverines team was not good, dropping to seventh place with a 40-58 record. In 1884, matters got worse for the Wolverines, as they finished in last place with a 28-84 record. Bennett's batting average fell to .264, but his on-base percentage remained high at .334, and his WAR rating remained strong at 4.1. Bennett later recalled the toll of multiple losing seasons in Detroit: "During the next four years [1882–1885] I wished many times I was out of Detroit, or, rather, out of that team. It was awful. I thought sometimes we were lucky to finish last. Once we lost twenty-five straight games. Every week I caught a new pitcher." In June 1885, the Wolverines added another slugger in Sam Thompson, and the team improved incrementally to sixth place with a 41-67 record. Bennett compiled a 4.5 WAR rating for the season, the second highest of his career and fifth highest among the league's position players. He was also among the league leaders with 42 extra base hits (4th), 47 bases on balls (5th), a .456 slugging percentage (6th), 24 doubles (6th), a .356 on-base percentage (7th), and 64 RBIs (10th). Defensively, he led the league's catchers with a 7.00 range factor and ranked second in double plays (10), fielding percentage (.919) and putouts (347). In 1886, the Wolverines added several star players and improved substantially, finishing in second place with an 85-38 record.