"Munson was hobbled by injuries, aches and pains for much of '78, yet in the clutch he's still one of the players the Yankees look to. He's the team captain and perhaps the most indispensable man on the club.
'Thurman is the best I've ever seen at handling pitchers,' says Billy Martin. Born in Akron, Ohio, Munson has hit .300 five times. Among catches, only Ernie Lombardi and Bill Dickey reached that plateau more often. Thurman would like to be traded to a team closer to his Canton, Ohio home.
'One of the greatest players I've seen in 50 years,' says former Yankee president Gabe Paul."
-Phil Pepe and Jim Hawkins, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1979 Edition
"Stern, glaring looks greet the opposing pitcher as Thurman twitches and prepares himself at home plate. According to many prominent baseball people, the best pure hitter in the American League is now ready to do business. In his nine seasons, Thurman Munson has exceeded the magic .300 mark five times, driven 100 runs three times and appeared in six All-Star games.
Thurm hit .297 last season, ninth best average in the league. His 183 hits were fourth in the league behind such notable hitters as Rice, LeFlore and Carew even though he played with nagging injuries. During the off-season, surgery was performed on his right shoulder to alleviate friction. Playing with pain, Thurm still threw out 42% of the baserunners and caught 127 games.
And talk about clutch hitting! During three years of postseason play, the Yankee captain has hit safely in 27 of 30 games, batting a hefty .341. His mammoth two-run homer in Game Three of last year's ALCS gave the Yanks the win, 6-5, and turned the playoffs around. In the World Series, Thurm drove in seven runs, had eight hits and batted a healthy.320.
While some feel that their best is enough, Thurman feels that giving 110% is the only way to play."
-The New York Yankees Official 1979 Yearbook
"The Yankee captain, appointed at the start of the 1976 season, had another fine year in 1978. His .297 average, although it broke his streak of three straight years over .300, was still the ninth best in the American League. He was eighth in the league in at-bats with 617, and his 183 hits ranked him fourth, behind only Rice, LeFlore and Carew. He had a 12-game hitting streak last year, and at one point in July, hit in 21 of 22 games. Thurm continued to be a good clutch hitter, with eight game-winning RBIs and a .303 average (90-297) with men on base.
Thurman appeared in 13 games in right field last year and was used as a DH in 14 games, batting .298 (17-57) in the DH role. He played in pain most of the year, suffering from torn knees, a beaning, and a foul ball in the throat. He had off-season surgery on his right shoulder to alleviate friction in the acromioclavicular joint. Thurman still managed to catch 127 games and threw out 42% of the runners attempting to steal on him.
Munson continued to be hot in postseason play. He has hit safely in 15 of the 16 World Series games he has played in, batting .373. He has hit safely in 12 of 14 ALCS games, batting .339. Overall in postseason play he has hit in 27 of 30 games, batting .341. Thurman hit a mammoth two-run homer in Game Three of last Tear's ALCS to give the Yanks a 6-5 win and put them up 2-1 in the Series. He had five RBIs in Game 5 of the World Series, tying 10 other players for second place in World Series history; Bobby Richardson holds the single-game record of six. Thurman set a World Series record in 1976 for the highest average by a player on a losing team (.529).
Thurm is the first Yankee to have the captain's title since Lou Gehrig. 1977 was Thurman's third straight year of batting over .300 and driving over 100 runs; in doing so he became the first major leaguer since Bill White (1962-1964 Cardinals) and the first American Leaguer since Al Rosen (1952-54 Indians) to accomplish that feat. A seven-time All-Star, Thurm was the 1976 American League MVP. He had a 16-game hitting streak in 1977, the longest of his career. The American League's Rookie of the Year in 1970, he was the first Yankee ever to win both the Rookie and MVP awards. Thurman has batted over .300 in five of his nine full seasons with the Yankees and was the league's third leading hitter in 1975, ninth in 1976, thirteenth in 1977 and ninth last year. He had 11 game-winning hits in 1977 and led the Yanks with 17 in 1976.
Thurman had a four-hit game last year, giving him 18 in his career. He had five RBIs in a game in 1974 and two home runs in a game in 1973.
In 1975 he became the first Yankee in 11 years to drive in 100 runs. Thurm's .292 lifetime average is now 12th on the all-time Yankee list.
Durable and rugged, and a great all-around athlete, Thurman has played in more than 140 games seven years in a row. A three-time Gold Glove winner (1973, 1974, 1975), he has also played first, third and the outfield for the Yanks. In 1971 Thurman made only one error all season, tying Elston Howard's .998 catching record by a Yankee. He has carried on the Yanks' glorious catching tradition of Dickey-Berra-Howard-Munson.
A former All-American catcher at Kent State and the Yankees' top draft pick in 1969, Thurman reached the majors after only 99 minor league games. He has a strong arm and a quick release, along with lightning-fast reflexes. Possessing good speed for a catcher, he stole 14 bases in 1976.
Thurman is involved in real estate investments in his native Ohio."
-New York Yankees 1979 Media Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment