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“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. Sporting News starting 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. The theme for the 2024 Munson HOF Campaign is #JusticeforThurman.  

What can you do?

  • Sign the Petition
  • Ask your friends and family to sign the petition.
  • Use the hashtag #JusticeforThurman whenever discussing the Thurman Munson on social media.
  • 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 ask him to have the Yankees support the #JusticeforThurman 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

ANALYTICS SUPPORTING MUNSON HALL OF FAME SELECTION

  • 10 consecutive seasons of WAR- 45.6 WAR
  • One of 10 Catchers in history to catch 1000+ games and produce 40+ WAR in 10 consecutive seasons (only 6 catchers higher-all HOFers)
  • 12th all- time in JAWS for catchers.
  • 14th all-time in WAR for catchers.
  • 7th in 7 year-peak War
  • 1 of 5 AL catchers with 9 consecutive years OPS% above league average (others HOFers).
  • 1 of 4 AL catchers with 4 top 20 finishes in OPS+ (I-Rod, Fisk, Mauer and Posada)
  • 3rd best WAR per 162 games with 5.25 WAR. (minimum 1,000 games caught)(Cochrane HOF. 5.69, Bench HOF. 5.65 Munson. 5.25, Dickey HOF. 5.05, Piazza HOF. 5.05, Carter HOF. 4.95, Campanella HOF. 4.55, Berra HOF. 4.54. Fisk HOF. 4.44, Rodriguez HOF. 4.38, Hartnett HOF. 4.35)

REGULAR SEASON TRADITIONAL BATTING STATISTICS SUPPORTING MUNSON HALL OF GAME SELECTION

  • 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
  • Hit .288 and .310 with 2 outs and RISP with a 46% caught stealing in 1979
  • 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
  • First AL ROY Catcher (1970)

POST-SEASON

  • Hit .357 in six post-season series (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

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
  • 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)

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

He was the leader of the team that had been to the WORLD SERIES 3 years in a row and won the last 2. He’d been the MVP in 1976 and was just a well respected player throughout the league and certainly one of the best competitors in the league. One of the best I’d ever played against. Definitely the leader of the Yankees.
Ken Singleton (2016)
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)
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)
Four of the top 21 catchers of all time were born in 1947” – Bench, Fisk, Boone, and Munson.
Bill James (2003)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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 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. Thank you #15. It was an honor.
Sparky Lyle
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

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