Careers cut short: Thurman Munson

Thurman Munson was a gifted catcher for the New York Yankees in the 1970s who hit for average and power while driving in runs along with playing strong defense. Munson’s career came to an end when he died in a tragic plane crash on August 2, 1979. Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images.

Jack Butler

In 1968, the New York Yankees were awarded the 4th pick in the MLB June Amateur Draft after going 72-90 in the 1967 season – the fourth-worst record that year. New York selected Thurman Munson out of Kent State University and was hoping that the pick would lead them to the success they experienced in the 1950s and early 60s. At the time, the Yankees had not had a winning season since the second half of its back-to-back pennant years in 1964 and had three consecutive losing seasons from 1965-67, averaging 73 wins and 88 losses a year.

Munson played 99 games in the minors before making his MLB debut on August 8, 1969, against the Oakland Athletics, going 2-3 with a pair of singles and 2 RBI. The young backstop only played in 25 more games that year for cumulative stats of a .256 BA, 1 HR, and 9 RBI, but suited up for an entire season in 1970. In 132 games, Munson racked up 137 hits, 6 HR, 53 RBI, and a .302 BA – the first of 5 .300 or better BA seasons. Those numbers earned him the AL Rookie of the Year honors over Cleveland’s Ray Foster.

Munson had down years the following two seasons where he collected 256 hits, 17 HR, 88 HR with a 7.6 WAR, and averaged 128 hits 8 HR, 44 RBI, and a .266 BA, but made his first All-Star team in 1971. In 1973, he put up career highs in doubles, SLG, OPS, and OPS+ with 29 2B, .487 SLG, .849 OPS, and 142 OPS+, finishing 12th in AL MVP voting, earning his first of three consecutive Gold Gloves. Munson posted the lowest batting marks of his career in 1974, hitting .261, a .316 OBP, and a .697 OPS, where he received a 2% share of the MVP. 1975 was when he put it all together, hitting .318 with 190 hits, 12 HR, 102 RBI which was good for 7th in the AL MVP vote. The Yankee catcher put up similar numbers to the 75 campaign the following season with a .302 BA, 186 hits, 17 HR, 105 RBI that earned him the 1976 AL MVP and led the Yankees to their first World Series since 1964 where they lost to Cincinnati Reds in a four-game sweep. In the losing effort, Munson hit .529 with 2 R and 2 RBI, including a 4-hit performance in Game 4.

The Yankee Captain enjoyed his last 100 RBI campaign in 1977 to go along with 18 HR and a .308 BA where he guided the Yankees to a World Series Championship over the Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 2 for George Steinbrenner’s first of seven championships owning the team. Munson still hit for a high average the next year and had 183 hits but dipped in production with just 6 HR and 71 RBI, despite being the three-hole hitter for 146 of the team's 163 regular-season contests. In a rematch of the 74th World Series, Munson led the Yankees offensively alongside Bucky Dent and Reggie Jackson and collected 8 hits and drove in 7 runs in the series win over the Dodgers.

Munson was the game’s best catcher with the reigning champs; however, his career took a downturn in 1979. After starting 1,175 games at catcher from 1969-1978 and playing 1,105 complete games at the position his body started to wear down and according to “Catcher Thurman Munson, The Captain, was heart and soul of the NY Yankees” by NJ.com, states that he was growing tired of being a Yankee, wanted to be traded to the Cleveland Indians to spend more time with his family (2009). He never got that chance...well he attempted following a 9-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on August 1, 1979, at Comiskey Park, he flew his plane to Canton to see his family while his teammates flew back to New York to enjoy an off day. Munson died in his plane that crashed during a practice landing at the Akron-County Regional Airport, which struck the baseball world and most importantly the Yankee organization. The Yankees promptly retired his number the following day and put him into Monument Park on September 20, 1980.

Munson’s life ended at the young age of 32, so he had more good years in him, but don’t know how many games behind the plate. Possibly the Yankees play him at DH most of the time to rest his body to catch some of the time, which we’ll never know for sure. Thus, let's appreciate the wonderful life and career of the great Yankee Captain Thurman Lee Munson.

Sources

ABC 7 NY. (2021, August 2). Vault: Yankees great Thurman Munson dies in plane crash in 1979. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://abc7ny.com/thurman-munson-yankees-mlb-catcher/10925115/#:~:text=Vault%3A%20Yankees%20great%20Thurman%20Munson%20dies%20in%20plane%20crash%20in%201979,-WABC&text=NEW%20YORK%20(WABC)%20%2D%2D%20The,resonates%20all%20these%20years%20later.

Klein, Moss. (2009, August 2). Catcher Thurman Munson, The Captain, was heart and soul of the NY Yankees. NJ.com. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://www.nj.com/yankees/2009/08/catcher_thurman_munson_the_cap.html

Maiorana, Sal. (2020, August 2). Thurman Munson: Forever the captain of the Yankees. SportsRaid. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://medium.com/sportsraid/thurman-munson-forever-the-captain-of-the-yankees-8c55a1901c76