Many/a lot(?) of us were around when Thurm was playing. He was a great catcher, a great leader, and a hard-nosed ballplayer who got things done. He was a huge part of whatever it was that got the Yanks back into prominence, and was beyond clutch in the post-season...yet, once again, when stats are shown, the first one is WAR. WAR is a goddamn theoretical stat. It seems the people who constantly trot it out are those who have never stepped onto a baseball diamond in their life, and base everything on what a computer tells them. I much rather listen to the guys who played with and against Munson to get the measure of him as a player (Here is where some snarky contrarian will jump in to quote a Yankee who had something less than stellar to say about him. Whatever.).
When he was playing (and admittedly statistically declining) he was thought of as a sure fire HOFer. That's important in his case, as he was looked at as one of the best around by both players and fans alike.
End of rant.
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