1971 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"From early last season through the end of the campaign, Thurman Munson was being touted as the Rookie of the Year in the AL. After a dreadful start (he went 1 for 30), the 22-year-old catcher began to prove he could hit major league pitching. Thurman wound up with a .302 average and 53 RBI's.
He knows how to hit to the opposite field, how to bunt and how to move runners up. And the stocky 5-11, 190-pounder is hard to catch in a double play, too. Munson has a superb arm and gets his throws off fast. An aggressive personality, he takes charge behind the plate, though he still has to learn the fine points of calling a game and handling pitchers.
He didn't start catching until his second year in college and the Yankees signed him the following season. Thurman spent one season (1968) at Binghamton, where he hit .301, and he might have stuck with the Yankees in '69 if he hadn't been called up for six months of military duty.
Many think he is the best all-around catcher in the league already."
-Brenda Zanger and Dick Kaplan, Major League Baseball 1971
"He's shaped like a chest protector and born to be a catcher.
'I don't have to squat down as far as some of the others,' he says. One of the best things to happen to the Yankees in years. Thurman has the quickest arm of any catcher in the majors and remarkable agility behind the plate - he's at his best on topped rollers and bunts. He batted second much of the season and is an aggressive baserunner.
'I like to run after being cooped up behind the plate,' Thurman says. He stole six bases.
Thurman has a cocksure attitude and leadership instincts. He began the season with a woeful 1-for-30 stretch, yet recovered to hit .300 and was named AL Rookie of the Year.
Born June 7, 1947 in Akron, Ohio, Thurman was the Yankees' first choice in the June 1968 free agent draft after attaining All-America status at Kent State.
An intense competitor nicknamed Turtle by his teammates, Thurman in married."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1971 Edition
"Thurman Munson, the Yankees' first choice in the June 1968 Free Agent Draft, was named American League Rookie of the Year in 1970 by a landslide margin, becoming the first A.L. catcher ever to win to the coveted award. Munson's first season started out as anything but award-winning. In April the 22-year-old backstop, who'd had only 99 games of minor league baseball before becoming the Yankees' starting catcher, was in a 1-for-30 slump that at one point was an 0-for-24 string.
'On our first homestand in Yankee Stadium I couldn't even see the ball,' Munson recalls. 'But I knew I could hit and Ralph Houk assured me he had confidence in me and that it was only a matter of time.'
On April 20 at Washington, Munson got three hits and raised his average from .033 to .118 in one night. For the balance of the season, he hit at a .322 pace with 136 for 423. Thurm drove in 53 runs, hit six homers in 132 games and ended the season with a club-leading average of .302. Thurman led all major league catchers with 80 assists and his lightning-quick release nailed 40 of 69 runners attempting to steal. He caught more games (125) than anyone in either league, although he was often absent for military service.
During the second game of an exciting doubleheader with Baltimore at the Stadium on August 9, the fans paid Munson a spontaneous tribute. Thurm was away on military service but, unknown to the fans and Yankee management, had finished drill at 5:00 P.M. and raced from Fort Dix to the Stadium. When he suddenly emerged from the dugout to pinch-hit, the place exploded. The roar that greeted his appearance was a striking tribute to a dedicated young ball player and a popular rising star.
Baltimore's Frank Robinson has no doubts: 'That boy will lead the A.L. in hitting one day,' says Frank. 'He'll be a good one, especially since he is a good breaking ball hitter.'
When he was named Rookie of the Year, Munson was asked about the '71 season.
'Everyone knows what a young ball club we have,' he said, 'but they don't realize how good we can be. I'm going to hit more and we'll have more pitching, so I think we could win it all. Don't forget, we have the best manager in baseball.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1971 Yearbook
"Rated as one of the coming stars in baseball, this fiery youngster not only became a Yankee regular in only his third year of professional baseball but also their leading hitter with a .302 average and was named American League Rookie of the Year. Highly competitive and confident, not even a horrendous start last season with just one hit in his first 30 at-bats, including an 0-for-24 streak, dimmed his spirits. Munson came on strong, hitting .322 for the rest of the year and .370 from July 21 on.
Munson has a strong, quick and accurate arm. He threw out 40 of 69 baserunners who attempted to steal while he was behind the plate, and also picked a runner off first base. A line drive type of hitter with good power who sprays the ball to all fields, Thurman hit in the second slot in the lineup and is adept at bunting and hitting behind the runner.
Thurman attended Kent State where he was named to the All-American Baseball Team of 1968. He is an avid and accomplished golfer."
-1971 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
MUNSON WINS AABC AWARD
"Thurman Munson, the Yankees' American League Rookie of the Year in 1970, will be the recipient of the American Amateur Baseball Congress Graduate of the Year award, it was announced by Lincoln Hackim, president of the AABC.
A graduate of the Stark County (Canton, Ohio) sandlots, Munson played in the Stan Musial and Connie Mack divisions of the AABC before being selected by the Yankees after starring at Kent State U."
-1971 New York Yankees Scorecard and Official Program
No comments:
Post a Comment