Tuesday, August 03, 2004
We Interrupt This Program... See you next week. 10:18:10 PM  Go ahead, make my day [] trackback []
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Thurman Munson25 years ago yesterday Thurman Munson took off in his Cessna Citation to practice takeoffs and landings. He never came back. Now, looking back over a quarter century, it's a hard pill to swallow not seeing his plaque up there in Cooperstown next to his old Red Sox nemesis, Carlton Fisk. Much as the debate raged the last few years over whether Jeter or Garciapara was the better shortstop, so it was back in the 70's. For me there was never a doubt. Munson was the best, hands down. Now, his lifetime stats don't look that impressive, especially compared to the gaudy numbers being put up in this watered-down pitching and steroid infested time. A lifetime .292 average with 113 home runs and 701 RBI's. But he only played for 11 years. It's hard to realize that because he was such a fixture, it seemed like he'd been with the Yankees much longer than that. But Thurm packed a lot of accomplishments into that short time. Between 1975 and 1977 Munson batted over .300 and drove in over 100 runs for three consecutive years. Nobody in the majors had done that since Bill White. Munson was the AL MVP in 1976 when he batted .302 with 17 home runs and 105 RBI's. He played in all but 10 of the team's games. Though much was made of Johnny Bench's performance in the World Series sweep of the Yanks that year, Munson batted .529 for the series. In the 3 LCS' and World Series' he played in, his career stats for 30 games were a .357 average with 3 home runs and 22 RBI's (that works out to 16 home runs and 119 RBI's for a season). He always saved his best for when it counted. One of my most vivid memories of him was a game I didn't see. I was on the train coming home from work in the City and the conductor was giving us periodic updates on the playoff game against the Royals. It looked like the Yanks were done for until Munson hit a home run into the bullpen in left field. In those days, left field was 430 feet. Munson creamed the ball. In 11 years, Thurman Munson was an All-Star 7 times. That's 7 consecutive years from 1971 to 1978. He was AL Rookie of the Year in 1970. He won 3 straight Gold Gloves in 1973, 1974 and 1975. He was in the top 10 in MVP voting 3 times. He was in the top 10 in batting average 5 times. He was in the top 10 in hits for 3 straight years and in RBI's twice. All of this for a right handed batter in a park which, at that time, had dimensions that literally strangled right handed hitters. And he did all of this playing the roughest position in baseball. I hadn't realized how much catching had changed until I looked at Munson's equipment in some old photos. No helmet, just his hat turned backwards. The chest protector looks laughable compared to the body armor Jorge Posada wears. The mask had nothing to protect the neck area and really wasn't much different than what catchers wore when I played in Little League. Munson was one tough S.O.B. He didn't back down from anybody. You can't even measure what he brought to the team just from his stats. Only 14 catchers are enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and of those, only Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter don't predate Munson's career. I'm sure he didn't have many more games behind the plate left in his body, but he could've continued on as a first baseman or DH and hit over 200 home runs and driven in over 1000 runs. His lifetime average would probably have ended up higher than guys like Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk or Gary Carter. Injuries are a part of the game. A plane crash isn't. Mickey Mantle was always my favorite Yankee. But from his time on the only guy I'd place that high is Thurman Munson. He left us far, far too soon. I still miss him. File under From The Sports Desk. 2:48:35 AM Go ahead, make my day [] trackback []
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Sending This Dedication Out To......Gnome Girl. Our weather isn't quite as nice here on the East Coast, so here's a song from Pete Townsend called Blue, Red and Grey: Some people seem so obsessed with the morning Get up early just to watch the sun rise Some people like it more when there's fire in the sky Worship the sun when it's high Some people go for those sultry evenings Sipping cocktails in the blue, red and grey But I like every minute of the day I like every second, so long as you are on my mind Every moment has its special charm It's all right when you're around, rain or shine I know a crowd who only live after midnight Their faces always seem so pale And then there's friends of mine who must have sunlight They say a suntan never fails I know a man who works the night shift He's lucky to get a job and some pay And I like every minute of the day I dig every second I can laugh in the snow and rain I get a buzz from being cold and wet The pleasure seems to balance out the pain And so you see that I'm completely crazy I even shun the south of France The people on the hill, they say I'm lazy But when they sleep, I sing and dance Some people have to have the sultry evenings Cocktails in the blue, red and grey But I like every minute of the day I like every minute of the day File under Around The Blogosphere. 2:24:47 AM Go ahead, make my day [] trackback []
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Last update:
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