Its been 30 years since the death of the captain

[R68 Subway Car 254]

Thurmon Munson died on August 2, 1979 in a tragic plane crash in Ohio. He will always be remembered by many baseball and Yankees fans for his great efforts on and off the field.

[Shortline Bus 1,121]

Thurmon Munson died on August 2, 1979 in a tragic plane crash in Ohio. He will always be remembered by many baseball and Yankees fans for his great efforts on and off the field.

 

I know some diehard Yankee fans state he belongs in the HOF since like Roberto Clemente since his carrer/life was also cut short in a plane crash. I never saw Munson play myself, but based on chats i had with my Father and Older sister who did both see him play, he needed at least couple of more go years to make the HOF. Rumors have floated for years that George refused to trade Munson to be home in Ohio with either the Reds or Indians following the 1977 World Series win. That rumor states the reason, he learned to fly a plane.

 

Big difference why Clemente is in the HOF and Munson is not is that Roberto got 3,000 hits back in the 1970's, was an unoffical and still is almost gurantee entry by the writers.

Munson sadly needed another 3-4 years from time of death to make the HOF and while his numbers for only 9 full years in MLB for a catcher was very good including winning the 1976 AL Regular Season Most Valuable Player Award, his little bit short to make it to Cooperstown. Here his lifetime numbers.

 

 

Here is his brief bio/MLB stats from MLB.COM and wikipedia.

 

 

Thurman Munson

MLB Catcher

Born: June 7, 1947(1947-06-07)

Akron, Ohio

Died: August 2, 1979 (aged 32)

Canton, Ohio

 

playing carrer

Batted: Right Threw: Right

MLB debut

August 8, 1969 for the New York Yankees

Last MLB appearance

August 1, 1979 for the New York Yankees

 

Career statistics

Batting average .292

Hits 1,558

Home runs 113

Runs batted in 701

Teams

New York Yankees (1969–1979)

 

Career highlights and awards

7x All-Star selection (1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)

2x World Series champion (1977, 1978)

3x Gold Glove Award winner (1973, 1974, 1975)

1976 AL MVP

1970 AL Rookie of the Year

Defensive Catcher of the decade (1970's)-MLB-Associated Press

New York Yankees #15 retired

 

Guys with those stats does Munson should be in the HOF? IMO sadly i have to say "NO." Munson has imo better stats to make the HOF than "Donnie Baseball" Mattingly though.

[Aqueduct 1]

Munson was a clutch player and the type of player a club should build around. As for the HOF, who cares the all time hit king isn't in and as soon as the current sports writers get alzhiemers a few decades down the road they will probably vote in Barriod Bonds unfortunately.

[Shortline Bus 1,121]

Here some youtube clips for those who dont know much about Thurman Munson.

 

 

1)Marty Appel Yankees Press Sectatry in 1970's on his recent book about Munson appearing on ESPN Baseball Tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgZJeVCZ8Ls

 

2)Video tribute featuring music from Creed.

 

 

3)Channel 11 in NYC(Wpix-tv)10pm newscast from august 2, 1979.

 

[nel070 0]

as a yabnkee fan i was 9 ys old it was just an awful day rained all day just went food shopping wit my mom in whitestone came back and found out the captain was dead along with reggie jackson he was the reason i liked baseball there will never be another captain like thurman munson and such a clutch player rip thurman and ironically enough 2 days later i got his baseball card if it wasnt for his death i think he would be in the hall of fame

[Shortline Bus 1,121]

as a yabnkee fan i was 9 ys old it was just an awful day rained all day just went food shopping wit my mom in whitestone came back and found out the captain was dead along with reggie jackson he was the reason i liked baseball there will never be another captain like thurman munson and such a clutch player rip thurman and ironically enough 2 days later i got his baseball card if it wasnt for his death i think he would be in the hall of fame

 

 

 

I am a few years younger than you bro and did not see Thurman. However my older sister and Father did see him and called him a clutch player and the best defensive catcher in MLB in 1970's. Munson offense was really good too by the championship years of 1977-78.

 

Other than HOF's Bench and Fisk, Thurman Munson was the best catcher of his era.

[EE Broadway Local 18]

I was just thinking about The Captain today. Good catcher who played on some good Yankee teams in the 1970's.

 

Thurman Munson, Horace Clarke, Bobby Murcer, Mel Stottlemyer and Willie Randolph were some of my favorite Yankees in the 1970's.

 

What a joy it was to watch the 1976 season.