Home

“Thurman Munson was the glue that held the Yankees pitching staff together during those championship years. He was a fierce competitor who was beloved by everyone on those teams. His greatness cannot be measured by batting average and home runs alone. Without him, the Yankees do not win those pennants and championships. Thurman– and Billy Martin– should join Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson on the wall of the baseball Hall of Fame.”

– Peter Golenbock

During the 1970s, Thurman Munson was among the top three catchers in major league baseball. He was named to seven all-star teams, respected by his peers and was the heart and soul of the Yankee championship teams of that era. When viewed through the prism of modern baseball analytics, Thurman Munson had an incredible decade of dominance from 1970 to 1979 that matches up with other catchers in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

To be eligible for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a player must Player must have played in each of ten (10) Major League championship seasons.

Thurman Munson played 11 years.  What does an 11 year Hall of Fame career look like?  It was Thurman Munson’s career. Here are a dozen reasons why Thurman Munson’s 11-year career was Hall of Fame caliber:

  1. Rookie of Year and MVP- the only Yankee to hold both awards until Aaron Judge in 2022.
  2. Seven All-Star appearances in 11 years!!
  3. Two World Championships and Three League Titles
  4. Three Gold Glove Awards
  5. Named Sporting News  American League catcher for the decade of the 1970s.
  6. Three seasons .300 and 100 RBI
  7. Four seasons of 180 hits
  8. Five seasons .300 (only 3 catchers had done before and now only 10 in total)
  9. .357 with 22 RBI in 30 games in the postseason.
  10. Six seasons with 4 WAR
  11.  From 1969-1979, only 13 players had higher total WAR and Johnny Bench was only catcher with higher WAR
  12. For the 1970s, Munson led all catchers in the AL in hits, runs, doubles, RBI, and batting average.

In 2019, Thurman Munson was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame- the premier state baseball hall of fame in the country.

In 2024, the Classic Baseball Era Committee will be meeting in December to consider players whose greatest contributions to baseball occurred before 1980 which is the era that Thurman Munson played.

On March 14th, the Munson HOF Committee officially launched its  2024 Munson HOF campaign at the 44th Annual Thurman Munson Awards Dinner.  

What can you do?

  • Sign the Petition
  • Ask your friends and family to sign the petition.
  • Ask your local newspapers to cover the Munson HOF Campaign.
  • Purchase and proudly wear a Thurman Munson 2024 Hall of Fame T-shirts-available from the Thurman Munson Fan Cub Page on Facebook
  • Write Yankee President Randy Levine and Chief Operating Office Lonn Trost  to ask that the Yankees support the  2024 HOF Campaign.
  • Join Munson HOF Committee and Thurman Munson Fan Club (known as “Thurman’s Army) at Yankee Stadium for Old Timers Day on August 24th.

Munson HOF Committee Media on Why Thurman Munson Belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame


Sign the Petition

REGULAR SEASON TRADITIONAL BATTING STATISTICS SUPPORTING MUNSON HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

  • 1st catcher to have consecutive 4 seasons with 180+ hits –
  • 1 of 3 AL catchers with 7 consecutive seasons with at least 130 hits
  • 1 of 3 catchers with 3 consecutive seasons with a .300 avg. and 100 RBI
  • 5 times finished in the Top 10 in batting average
  • Finished 3rd, 4th and 4th in hits for a season – only catcher in history
  • Batted .330 with 2 outs and RISP from 1975 to 1978 (team batted .243) Compare to – Fisk (273), Bench (.255) and Carter (.220). only exceeded by Carew and Stargell for HOFers in same time period
  • Career .301.66 RISP is higher than all catchers in Hall of Fame and would rank 8th  among all Hall of Famer players
  • Career BA .292 – Compare to Bench (.267), Fisk (.269) and Carter (.262.)
  • 1 of 8 catchers to finish multiple times in top 10 in Total Bases for a season and had 230+ TB (1975-1978).
  • 7 All-Star Games in the 9 seasons.
  • AL MVP in 1976 and finished 7th in MVP voting in 1975 and 1977
  • AL ROY Catcher (1970)
  • 16th all-time – On-base percentage by catcher
  • 20th all-time – OPS by catcher
  • 24th all-time – Slugging by catcher
  • 26th all-time – Hits by catcher

ANALYTICS SUPPORTING MUNSON HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

  • WAR10 of 45.6 is seventh out of the 19 catchers in the Hall of Fame
  • From 1969 to 1979, Munson’s 46.1 WAR ranked 13th in all of baseball  and second only Johnny Bench for this period
  • 4th best WAR per 162 games with 5.25 WAR
  • 12th all- time in JAWS for catchers
  • 15th all-time in WAR for catchers.
  • 8th in War7 (tied with Yogi Berra and ahead of 11 HOF catchers)
  • 1 of 5 AL catchers with 9 consecutive years OPS above league average (all other catchers are in the Hall of Fame).
  • 120 OPS+ in five different seasons, including a career high 141 in 1973.
  • 1 of 4 AL catchers with 4 top 20 finishes in OPS+  (minimum 1,000 games caught)
  •  Munson Wins Above Average trails only Johnny Bench among catcher for 1970-79.
  • Munson 116 wRC+ tied with Gary Carter and Ted Simmons, and just behind Carlton Fisk at 117 wRC+

POST-SEASON

  • Hit .357 in six post-season series-11th best all-time  and 94 points higher than next HOF catcher)
  • Postseason OPS (.874) higher than every Hall of Fame Catcher except one
  • Hit safely in 27 of 30 postseason games – no other player has ever done that!
  • Hit safely in 10 consecutive world series games
  • 7 consecutive hits in world series
  • More hits and RBIs per postseason game than any other Hall of Fame catcher

DEFENSIVE STATS

  • Caught 120+ games for 7 consecutive seasons (‘72 to ‘78) and ’70 (117 games in ’71 due to reserve duty) or would have been 9 consecutive seasons
  • Top 5 for games caught – 8 seasons (Led the league 3 times with 1 runner up )
  • Top 5 for Putouts – 6 seasons
  • Top 5 for Assists – 8 seasons ( Led the league 3 times with 4 runner-up)
  • Top 3 for DPs turned as C – 5 seasons ( Led league 2 times with 1 runner-up)
  • Top 5 for runners caught stealing – 5 seasons (with 1 runner-up)
  • Top 5 Caught % – 7 seasons ( Led the league 2 times with 1 runner up )
  • Career 44% caught stealing-11th all-time
  • led the league in COMPLETE games caught in the 1970’s 3 times (Fisk 2, Bench 0)
  • led the league in innings caught 4 times (Fisk 2, Bench 0)

DURABILITY

  • Munson is the all-time leader in percentage of complete games caught (1,182 complete games out of 1,278 games caught)
  • nine consecutive seasons with 1,000+ innings caught and 100+complete games caught – not one Hall of Fame catcher matches this feat.
  • six consecutive seasons with 115-129 complete games caught per season -tied for 2nd with Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench
  • three consecutive seasons of 130-139 Complete Games caught- 2nd among Hall of Fame Catchers.
  • seven seasons of 140 games played as catcher- good for third place behind only Johnny Bench and Gary Carter.
  • averaged 144 games per season from 1970-1978
  • During the decade of the 1970s, he had more innings caught, games started at catcher, complete games caught, assists, runners caught stealing than his contemporary Hall of Fame catchers Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk

PROPOSED PLAQUE

The Captain. Fiery leader of two World Series championship teams and three American League pennant winners. Feared clutch hitter who excelled in the post season. Three consecutive seasons of batting .300 with 100 RBI. 1970 AL Rookie of the Year. Seven time All Star, three time Gold Glove recipient. Winner of the American League MVP in 1976.”

Thurman Munson Tributes

 

” I was always totally amazed at Thurman. I thought he was one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever known”

Johnny Bench (2002)

“We hated the Yankees but we all respected Thurman. He was so tough in the clutch and we feared him because he usually came through”

George Brett(2009)

“He is the best there is at calling a game”

Pat Dobson (1974)

“When I came from California, he made me a pitcher. He taught me how to pitch to the hitter.”

Ed Figueroa

“The resurgence of the Yankees as winners was due to one man’s efforts in particular and that man was Thurman Munson.”
Carlton Fisk (1980)

“He had an uncanny ability, unlike any teammates that I have played with, to share a laugh or humorous moment on the field during pressure moments. Even in World Series play, he always had a way about him that kept the players calm and enabled us all to be the best we could be on the field. Although Thurman always managed to keep the mood relaxed, he also epitomized the way in which the game should be played, giving maximum effort at all times and coming through in the clutch almost routinely. Thurman was the greatest catcher I ever threw to. While I was fortunate to play with many great players, he was my favorite teammate of my career.”
Goose Gossage (2000)

 “He made pitchers that were average good ones good. He made them win a lot of games because of his ability to take all the pressure and call the game”

Ron Guidry(1992)

“If there’s one guy on this team you don’t want out of your lineup, it’s Thurman. I’d say he’s the best ballplayer on the team, a man who can do everything and do it well…Thurman’s a first rate guy and class individual.”
Elston Howard (1978)

“Thurman played harder than any man I’ve ever met. He played in pain. He played with purpose. Most of all he brought out the best in those around him.”
Catfish Hunter (1988)

““had he lived, I bet we would have won two more world series in New York, both in 1980 and 1981”

Reggie Jackson (2002)

“Someday the Yankees are going to come up with a catcher again who’ll hit .300 and drive in a hundred runs, but they’ll never come up with another Thurman Munson, the man.”
Tony Kubek (1979)

“Thurman Munson is probably the best clutch hitter in baseball”
Tommy Lasorda (1978)

“Of all of the Yankee hitters, Thurman Munson was the one who scared me the most when he came up to bat. He had that swing and that heart. He was just totally clutch”
Charlie Lau (1978)

“I have never met such a man who led by example and backed it up time after time. Thurman was passed the torch from Yankee catching royalty, Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, & Elston Howard. He was a Captain, a champion, and a friend. “
Sparky Lyle

“He was a great competitor and a great athlete and he always busted his tail for me. No one played harder than Thurman. No one was a better leader on and off the field than Thurman. Thurman Munson was the perfect Yankee captain. He was every manager’s dream.”

Billy Martin

“He’s the best right handed hitter I’ve seen in the league. He is a beautifully disciplined hitter”

Gene Mauch (1976)

“He was smart behind the plate. He knew what the hitters could and couldn’t do, and his leadership was unquestioned. The pitchers relied on him”

Gene Michael (2014)

” He was the leader on those teams and everybody knew it. We all looked up to him because of his toughness and his ability to produce in the clutch. He had such an uncanny ability to come through when the pressure was on. he loved his family. He was a good friend and teammate. He played hard, and he expected everybody else to play hard. He was a true professional when he walked out on the field and put the uniform on. He was a very special player and those type of players don’t come along very often. “In all the years I’ve played this game, he is the finest competitor I have ever seen, the most professional, the best example of a team player.”

Bobby Murcer (1989)

“In all the years I’ve played this game, he is the finest competitor I have ever seen, the most professional, the best example of a team player.”

Lou Piniella (2012)

“when you think of Thurman Munson, you think about the total package. this man could even run. Most catchers back then would just go base to base. Thurman would take you first to third in a minute. If you needed an RBI, he could hit that patented line drive to right to drive in runs. If you need a home run, he could turn on you and take you deep. The total package, I don’t think, even when you talk about the great catchers of the game—and he was obviously up there- none of those guys really did everything well like Thurman did . He did everything that was necessary to win. He knew how to get the base hit and go the other way. He would do anything to get the job done. If you didn’t watch him he’d steal a base.”

Willie Randolph (1992)

“Thurman Munson was great. He could hit, hit for power, field, throw, run. He could beat you in so many ways and he would do just that. It all just runs together. He was unreal.”
Frank Robinson

“legacy-type player. He was one of those players that fathers would talk to their sons about, even when the sons never saw him play, or grandfathers would talk to their grandsons about, even though the kids might not have seen him play. What a competitor he was.”

Ken Singleton (2019)

“In a real tough situation, it was not Reggie (Jackson) you feared most, it was Thurman. Thurman would always find a way to get the runner home. Whether it was with the arm or the bat, he found a way to beat you.”

Steve Stone (1989)

“You don’t find a better clutch hitter and you don’t find anyone who handles pitchers better”

Bill Virdon (1976)

“Munson was without question the most intelligent catcher in the American League, with a great sense of command of calling pitches and an ability to both challenge and calm the pitchers he worked with….He was the guy at the top of the dugout steps cheering his teammates on, the guy who led the team into battle when the benches cleared. He was the player the Yankees rallied behind….”

Bill White (2011)

“With the winning run on second base, Thurman was the guy you’d want to be up there at the plate. You  knew he was going to get a base hit. He was such a tough out, especially with a runner on second. Also, he played hard, and he played  hurt”

Roy White (2003)

Scroll to Top