NEW YORK -- At the 43rd annual Thurman Munson Awards Dinner on Tuesday night, Munson’s widow, Diana, went on stage and told the crowd that her late husband should be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Thurman Munson passed away in a plane crash in 1979, and this week marked the first time since his tragic death that Diana made such a public statement. She said she started having those feelings two weeks ago when their son, Michael, was inducted into the Canton Amateur Hall of Fame, the same institution that enshrined Thurman in 1980.

“Over the years, I’ve been reluctant to talk about the fact that Thurman has not been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, even though every fiber of me believes that he deserves [it],” Diana told the audience. “It’s not because I love him; It’s because I truly believe he earned it.”

During his 15 years on the Hall of Fame ballot from 1981-95, Munson was never close to being enshrined in Cooperstown. The highest vote total he received from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America was during his first year of eligibility (15.5 percent; 75 is needed for induction). Munson also fell short in 2020 on the Modern Baseball Era Committee ballot that enshrined Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller.

Munson played 11 seasons with Yankees, and he had an unforgettable career. He is one of two members of the Yankees to win the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP awards (Aaron Judge is the other). With runners in scoring position, Munson was clutch, hitting .302 during his career. Let’s not forget that he was an integral part of the Yankees’ World Series titles in 1977 and ’78.

According to Baseball Reference, Munson’s Wins Above Replacement total was 46.1 -- higher than Hall of Fame catchers such as Roger Bresnahan (42.8), Roy Campanella (41.6), Ernie Lombardi (37.8), Ray Schalk (33.2) and Rick Ferrell (30.8).

According to MLB Network, Munson had a WAR average of 4.6 during his 10-year peak from 1970-79 -- higher than Ted Simmons’ mark (4.5) from 1971-80.

“Thurman was a tough competitor,” said Roy White, a teammate of Munson’s for the latter’s entire career. “He [played] hurt and was the best clutch hitter on the Yankees. If we had the winning run on second base and in the bottom of the ninth, I wanted Thurman up there because you knew he was going to get a hit somewhere.”

Former Major League outfielder Ron Swoboda played with Munson in the early 1970s, and he said Munson could do it all on the field.

“He could run. He stole 14 bases one year. Catchers don’t do that,” Swoboda said. “Plus, he hit, and he hit with power, and he could handle some really good arms. He probably had the quickest release behind home plate that I ever saw. He was amazing and unique.”