Thurman Munson

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1969-1979)

AVG .292
HR 113
RBI 701
H 1,558
OPS .756
PIV 8,466
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 190 lb
Born
6/7/1947 in Akron, OH, USA
Died
8/2/1979 in Summit County, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1969-08-08
Last Game
1979-08-01
Awards
7× All-Star · MVP · Rookie of the Year · 3× Gold Glove

Full name: Thurman Lee Munson

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,423 5,344 696 1,558 229 32 113 701 48 438 571 .292 .346 .410 .756 8,466

Career AVG .292 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — +14.0% above league average.

Career OBP .346 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — +7.2% above league average.

Career SLG .410 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — +8.9% above league average.

Career OPS .756 vs. league average .699 across their career seasons — +8.1% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1969 NYA AL 26 86 6 22 1 2 1 9 0 10 10 .256 .248 (+3%) .320 (+3%) .369 (-6%) .689 (-2%) -18.6
1970 NYA AL 132 453 59 137 25 4 6 53 5 57 56 .302 .253 (+19%) .325 (+18%) .385 (+8%) .711 (+13%) 1292.9
1971 NYA AL 125 451 71 113 15 4 10 42 6 52 65 .251 .249 (avg) .316 (+6%) .365 (+1%) .682 (+3%) 366.8
1972 NYA AL 140 511 54 143 16 3 7 46 6 47 58 .280 .243 (+15%) .310 (+10%) .353 (+3%) .664 (+6%) 697.0
1973 NYA AL 147 519 80 156 29 4 20 74 4 48 64 .301 .256 (+17%) .325 (+11%) .378 (+29%) .703 (+21%) 2044.8
1974 NYA AL 144 517 64 135 19 2 13 60 2 44 66 .261 .256 (+2%) .324 (-3%) .369 (+3%) .693 (avg) -39.3
1975 NYA AL 157 597 83 190 24 3 12 102 3 45 52 .318 .257 (+24%) .327 (+12%) .374 (+15%) .701 (+13%) 1553.4
1976 NYA AL 152 616 79 186 27 1 17 105 14 29 38 .302 .255 (+18%) .320 (+5%) .360 (+20%) .681 (+13%) 1366.0
1977 NYA AL 149 595 85 183 28 5 18 100 5 39 55 .308 .264 (+16%) .329 (+7%) .401 (+15%) .730 (+11%) 1321.1
1978 NYA AL 154 617 73 183 27 1 6 71 2 35 70 .297 .257 (+15%) .323 (+3%) .378 (-2%) .702 (avg) -14.7
1979 NYA AL 97 382 42 110 18 3 3 39 1 32 37 .288 .265 (+8%) .329 (+3%) .397 (-6%) .727 (-2%) -103.1
Career · 11 seasons 1,423 5,344 696 1,558 229 32 113 701 48 438 571 .292 — — — — 8,466

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
30 129 19 46 9 0 3 22 5 19 .357

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1978 ALCS NYA 4 18 2 5 1 0 1 2 0 0 .278
1978 WS NYA 6 25 5 8 3 0 0 7 3 7 .320
1977 ALCS NYA 5 21 3 6 1 0 1 5 0 2 .286
1977 WS NYA 6 25 4 8 2 0 1 3 2 8 .320
1976 ALCS NYA 5 23 3 10 2 0 0 3 0 1 .435
1976 WS NYA 4 17 2 9 0 0 0 2 0 1 .529

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1422 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home708254133875142312.296
Away714279835880671388.288

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1979-08-01 NYYCHWW 110000011
1979-07-31 NYYCHWW 500000000
1979-07-30 NYYCHWW 501000100
1979-07-29 NYYMILL 411010000
1979-07-27 NYYMILL 400000000
1979-07-24 NYYLAAW 200000011
1979-07-23 NYYSEAW 310000010
1979-07-22 NYYSEAW 302100210
1979-07-21 NYYOAKW 411000000
1979-07-20 NYYOAKL 402000100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 5 5 43 0 0 3
3B 1 1 0 0 0 0
C 1278 1265 6253 742 127 82
OF 27 24 46 0 3 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1969 NYA C 25 24 119 18 2 0
1970 NYA C 125 119 631 80 8 11
1971 NYA C 117 114 547 67 1 4
1971 NYA OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1972 NYA C 132 132 575 71 15 11
1973 NYA C 142 142 673 80 12 11
1974 NYA C 137 137 743 75 22 10
1975 NYA 1B 2 2 20 0 0 1
1975 NYA 3B 1 1 0 0 0 0
1975 NYA C 130 129 700 95 23 14
1975 NYA OF 2 2 5 0 0 0
1976 NYA C 121 118 537 78 12 8
1976 NYA OF 11 9 9 0 2 0
1977 NYA C 136 136 657 73 12 4
1978 NYA C 125 126 666 61 10 4
1978 NYA OF 13 13 32 0 1 0
1979 NYA 1B 3 3 23 0 0 2
1979 NYA C 88 88 405 44 10 5

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Catcher 1277
First Base 5
Third Base 1
Left Field 3
Right Field 24
Designated Hitter 77

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1976 Most Valuable Player
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-07-23
1976 TSN All-Star C
1976 TSN Player of the Year
1975 Gold Glove C
1975 Player of the Week Week of 1975-05-01
1975 TSN All-Star C
1974 Gold Glove C
1974 TSN All-Star C
1973 Gold Glove C
1973 TSN All-Star C
1970 Rookie of the Year

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Kent State University Kent OH 1967, 1968

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1978 Most Valuable Player AL 22th 9.0 392 0
1977 Most Valuable Player AL 7th 70.0 392 1
1976 Most Valuable Player AL 1st 304.0 336 18
1975 Most Valuable Player AL 7th 69.0 336 0
1974 Most Valuable Player AL 26th 6.0 336 0
1973 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 43.0 336 0
1970 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 15.0 336 0
1970 Rookie of the Year AL 1st 23.0 24 23

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Thurman Munson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jonathan Lucroy
    .274 avg, 108 HR
  2. 97
    Jack Clements
    .287 avg, 77 HR
  3. 96
    Don Slaught
    .283 avg, 77 HR
  4. 95
    Smoky Burgess
    .295 avg, 126 HR
  5. 94
    Tim McCarver
    .271 avg, 97 HR
  6. 93
    Terry Steinbach
    .271 avg, 162 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Thurman Munson

What years did Thurman Munson play?
Thurman Munson played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1979.
Was Thurman Munson a pitcher?
No. Thurman Munson was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Thurman Munson hit?
Thurman Munson hit 113 career home runs with 1558 hits.