By Marty Appel
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\tThe story of Thurman Munson\u2019s rookie season with the New York Yankees – 1970 – is significant, because not only did it lead to his being the first catcher in American League history to win the Rookie of the Year award (and only Johnny Bench had done it in the National League), but because of what was to come with his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tIndeed, two years later Boston catcher Carlton Fisk would win the award, and the Munson-Fisk rivalry – Yankees-Red Sox – took form and continues today. Arguably, before those two came along, the \u201crivalry\u201d was in name only, and plenty of good seats were available on game days for most of their matchups over the years, save for a few in the Ted Williams-Joe DiMaggio years. For a rivalry to take hold, both teams need to be good. The Red Sox have generally been \u201cgood\u201d since their Impossible Dream season of 1967, and the Yankees \u201cgot good\u201d with Munson\u2019s arrival. By 1972, when Fisk came along, the two were off to the races, (pennant races), and the rivalry remains intense to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tEveryone saw Munson coming, even though his All-American honors at Kent State were a little suspect, largely due to Kent State playing a very short schedule against generally weak opponents. One had to listen to the scouts describe Munson to fully appreciate him. They would observe his throwing arm and his general attitude during practices and batting practice, in addition to games. His playing time, compared to players in the south or on the west coast, was quite limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tHe played only three of the team\u2019s eleven games in his freshman year. The Golden Eagles played 23 games in his sophomore year and 25 games in his junior year. (Future Cy Young winner Steve Stone was his batterymate). But he spent his summers in the high-profile Cape Cod League to gain experience. The league had a heavy scouting presence. He was noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tYankee scout Gene Woodling, (who owned five Yankee world championship rings), simply wrote \u201cGet Him!\u201d on his scouting report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThe Yankees made him their number one pick (number four overall) in the June 1968 draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tAt the time, Jake Gibbs was the team\u2019s regular catcher. The former All-American quarterback at Ol\u2019 Miss was converted from third base to fill a gap in the Yankees lineup after Elston Howard was traded. Jake might have been a better player had he remained at third, but he did what the team asked. It effected his hitting and it was never a natural position for him. Clearly he was a stopgap during a tough time for the Yankees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tOn August 8, 1969, after only 99 minor league games, (and only 28 at Triple-A), Munson joined the Yankees and caught 25 games for the remainder of the season. It was a good showcase. He hit his first home run in his second game, but hitting wasn\u2019t the big thing. The Yankees desperately needed a solid defensive catcher and someone who could \u201ctake charge\u201d behind the plate. Those were the characteristics that defined Munson, and that would come to define him in his major league career, even as he hit .300 and drove in over 100 runs in three straight seasons, becoming the first player since Bill White a decade earlier to do that, and the first American League since Al Rosen, two decades earlier, to do it. (White was by 1971 a Yankee broadcaster; Rosen became the Yankees president in 1978). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tIn spring training of 1970, it was obvious that Munson was going to be the team\u2019s regular catcher. Still, certain protocols needed to be observed. There was to be a section in the Yankee Yearbook where, instead of a team photo, the players were grouped by position and photographed in smaller gatherings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThere were three catchers on the roster for that photo. Munson was one, Gibbs was another, and John Ellis, a powerful catcher from Connecticut, was another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t\u201cPut Gibbs in the front with the other two behind him,\u201d said Bob Fishel, the team\u2019s PR Director, who was setting up the shoot. \u201cIt\u2019s only right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tSo the photo was set just like that. No one, it seemed, saw what was coming that spring. Ellis was the one who had the monster spring and wound up winning the James P. Dawson Award as the best rookie in camp. He would play first base and bat cleanup on Opening Day with Munson catching and batting second. Mrs. Lou Gehrig sent a good luck note to Ellis, and there was actually more attention on him than on Munson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tBecause of his 25 game trial in 1969 (although he still qualified as a rookie), there wasn\u2019t a great deal of pressure on Munson. It wasn\u2019t as if he needed to prove himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tStill, he went 0-for-3 on Opening Day and then 1-for-4 in the second game, hitting a single to left off Boston\u2019s Ray Culp in the sixth inning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tAnd that would be his only hit in his first nine games. He was 1-for-30, an .033 average. Pathetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tAs baseball fans know, a long April slump forces the player to seemingly play catchup all season. It\u2019s as though you never dig out. If you have a July slump and drop from .282 to .267, hardly anyone notices. But those April slumps are deadly, not just to fans, but to the player himself, even in the days before batting averages were displayed 20 feet high in lights on scoreboards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\tMunson came to be seen as never lacking in self-confidence. He was cocky and it showed in his on-field style. The veteran pitching staff – Mel Stottlemyre, Fritz Peterson and Stan Bahnsen, marveled at his commanding presence behind the plate, and at his maturity at calling games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tBut .033? It was killing him. And he couldn\u2019t help but harbor doubts about whether he belonged, whether he was ready. Maybe he hadn\u2019t played enough at the Triple-A level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tIt took a visit with his manager, Ralph Houk, to help turn things around. Houk, a former third-string catcher with the Yankees, called him into his office after that 1-for-30 start, ostensibly to review that day\u2019s starting pitcher. But casually, Houk said, \u201cLook, don\u2019t even think about your hitting. You\u2019re here to handle the pitching staff. The hits will come, I\u2019m not worried about that. Just give me your best effort behind the plate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThis is what managers do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tIt would be easy to say that the talk worked – because it did. Munson admitted later that it did relax him. He went 3-for-4 in that next game, and he hit .322 for the remainder of the season, finishing at .302. He got to .300 in the team\u2019s 147th<\/sup> game and stayed there the rest of the way. Given his start – which everyone kept referencing all season – it was a remarkable achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tTwenty-four sportswriters voted on Rookie of the Year, and Thurman was named first on 23 of the ballots. It was a landslide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tBut there was an oddity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tThe Sporting News annually selected its own Rookies of the Year (with Rookie Pitcher of the Year as a separate honor). For this, they had the players vote. Their local correspondent handed out the ballots. One could argue that the players vote was more meaningful, but The Sporting News award never surpassed the BBWAA Award for prestige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tIn any case, The Sporting News Rookie of the Year for 1970 went to a Cleveland outfielder named Roy Foster. Foster had batted .268 but had hit 23 home runs to Thurman\u2019s six. (He received the one BBWAA vote that Munson didn\u2019t get).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tRoy Foster?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\u201cRoy was a quiet person and I roomed with him when I came up to Cleveland in 1971,\u201d recalls Chris Chambliss, who won the BBWAA Rookie of the Year Award that year. \u201cHe was a good outfielder – he was our starting left fielder. I don\u2019t know why he didn\u2019t play longer with his talent. I know he played in Mexico later on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tFoster died in 2008, and of course, Munson died in a plane crash in 1979, after adding an MVP Award to his Rookie trophy. He became the first captain of the New York Yankees since Lou Gehrig, and played in three World Series, winning two World Championships. He made seven All-Star teams and won three Gold Gloves. The suddenness of his passing still moves Yankee fans to tears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \tBut before all of those accomplishments, came that 1-for-30 debut, and the calming talk by Ralph Houk. From that point on, he became a Yankee immortal. By Marty Appel The story of Thurman Munson\u2019s rookie season with the New York Yankees – 1970 – is significant, because not only did it lead to his being the first catcher in American League history to win the Rookie… Continue Reading
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