THURMAN MUNSON (Situational Baseball: Less Than 2 Outs/Runner on 3rd)
by Gary Kaschak of the Munson HOF Committee
***
Obscure statistics exist in baseball. This is one.
The interesting thing about statistics such as this one, is that no matter its significance, no matter how obscure or relevant, Thurman Munson is on the list— and very near the top.
What makes it so special is not the names that come before his, or those coming after, but all the names. And when we see Thurman Munson’s name in the mix of such greatness and ranked where it is, well, fill in the blank on how it feels.
This obscure statistic is yet another example of Thurman Munson’s greatness and why he belongs in the HOF.
The 33 Hall of Fame players (and Thurman Munson) whose careers overlapped Munson’s are listed here. The number is the percentage driving in a runner from 3rd with less than 2 outs.
George Brett 59.0
Robin Yount 58.1
Rod Carew and Dave Winfield 57.3
Carl Yastrzemski 56.4
Paul Molitor 56.3
Eddie Muray 55.6
Al Kaline 55.0
Roberto Clemente 54.5
Jim Rice 54.3
Billy Williams 53.9
Lou Brock 53.7
Thurman Munson 52.9
Gary Carter 52.6
Bill Mazeroski and Joe Morgan 50.6
Hank Aaron 49.9
Carlton Fisk 49.1
Tony Perez 49.0
Orlando Cepeda 48.6
Brooks Robinson 48.1
Ron Santo and Ernie Banks 47.9
Rickey Henderson 47.8
Eddie Mathews 47.5
Frank Robinson 46.9
Willie McCovey 46.7
Willie Stargell 46.1
Johnny Bench 46.0
Willie Mays 45.7
Mike Schmidt 45.5
Mickey Mantle 44.8
Reggie Jackson 43.7
Harmon Killebrew 39.4
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