Dale Murphy Stats & Facts

 

Dale Murphy

Positions: Outfielder, First Baseman and Catcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-4, 210lb (193cm, 95kg)
Born: March 12, 1956  in Portland, OR
Draft: Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1st round (5th) of the 1974 MLB June Amateur Draft from Woodrow Wilson HS (Portland, OR).
High School: Woodrow Wilson HS (Portland, OR)
School: Brigham Young University (Provo, UT)
Debut: September 13, 1976 (13,827th in major league history)
vs. LAD 4 AB, 2 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: May 21, 1993
vs. LAD 3 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: Dale Bryan Murphy
Nicknames: The Murph
Twitter: @DaleMurphy3
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

 
 
 
 

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1976

Andre Dawson
Dale Murphy
Willie Wilson
Garry Templeton
Dennis Martinez
Bruce Sutter
Rick Sutcliffe
Joaquin Andujar
Mark Fidrych

The Dale Murphy Teammate Team

C:   Bruce Benedict
1B: Andres Galarraga
2B: Glenn Hubbard
3B: Bob Horner
SS: Rafael Ramirez
LF: Gary Matthews
CF: Claudell Washington
RF: Jeff Burroughs
SP: Phil Niekro
SP: Tom Glavine
SP: Andy Messersmith
SP: Pascual Perez
SP: Curt Schilling
RP: Gene Garber
M:   Joe Torre

Vintage Baseball HOT ON EBAY
Card Collections ENDING SOON ON EBAY
MOST WANTED ROOKIE CARDS
VINTAGE SPORTS TICKETS
Baseball Hall of Famers

Notable Events and Chronology for Dale Murphy Career

Major League Season Recap 1982

Major League Season Recap 1982

Major League Season Recap 1983

Major League Season Recap 1983

One of the most talented and complete players of the 1980s, Dale Murphy won two Most Valuable Player Awards and clubbed 398 homers while maintaining a squeeky-clean image. He was one of the most respected and popular stars of his era. He led the National League in homers, RBI, and slugging twice each. Though he declined rapidly late in his career, in his prime Murphy was compared to Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

Biography

Selected in the first round of the 1974 June draft by the Atlanta Braves, Murphy turned down a scholarship to Arizona State where he would have teamed up with Bob Horner. He began his career as a catcher, but had chronic throwing problems, occasionally hitting his own pitcher attempting to throw out runners at 2nd base.

The Braves then tried him as a first baseman, where in 129 games Murphy led the league in errors (23 in 1978). His career was in serious Jeopardy, until Bobby Cox took a chance and tried him in the outfield in 1980. The move proved to be genius.

In a six-year stretch (1982-1987) he led baseball in homers (218), and total bases while also ranking in the top three in runs, hits, RBI, and slugging. During that same period he won five Gold Gloves and stole 105 bases at a 73% success rate. That performance earned him two MVP awards (1982-1983) and established him as one of the best players of the 1980s.

What did Dale Murphy do between the end of the 1982 season and the announcement five weeks later that he was the National League MVP? He went to the Instructional League to work on his hitting. In 1983 that extra work paid off. Through June Murphy was chasing the Triple Crown. He shared the National League lead in home runs with 19, ranked second in RBIs with 55 and fourth in batting average at .326. His 69 runs put him on course to challenge the league record of 158 set by Chuck Klein in 1930. Of his 19 homers, 15 were hit to center or right field.

“He’s scary,” said Reds manager Russ Nixon. “Do they have something above MVP?”

Through June, Atlanta was 43-29, matching its 1982 pace; the only trouble being that the Dodgers were eight games better. No other team in the majors had a better record, which left the Braves second in both the division and the big leagues.

Before a home game against San Francisco on June 12, Murphy visited in the stands with Elizabeth Smith, a six-year-old girl who had lost both hands and a leg when she stepped on a live power line. After Murphy gave her a cap and a T shirt, her nurse innocently asked if he could hit a home run for Elizabeth. “I didn’t know what to say, so I just sort of mumbled ‘Well, O.K.,’ ” says Murphy. That day he hit two homers and drove in all the Braves’ runs in a 3-2 victory.

Murphy is of the Mormon faith, and set high standards of behavior for himself. He refused television interviews unless fully dressed, and also refused to allow female fans to put their arms around him for photos. He would only endorse wholesome products such a milk.

Murphy’s moral views sometimes got him some heat from feminist groups, such as when he refused to talk to women in the locker room. In fact he refused to talk to anyone in the locker room if a woman was present. In Murphy’s defense however he went out of his way to talk to female reporters outside the locker room.

Murphy often would pick up his teammates dinner checks, but would not buy their beer on moral grounds. The right-handed slugger is considered one of the nicest, most even tempered men ever to play Major League baseball. He almost never showed his anger on the field or off. He did once let his anger get the best of him on the field – in 1984.

“Murphy came up against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He faced Ken Howell in the bottom of the ninth with the tying run on third. He struck out for the the 100th time that season. To celebrate he drop-kicked the dugout water cooler. Smoked it too,” recalls Glenn Hubbard “ice went everywhere”. The players in the dugout were frozen, mouths agape.”

Murphy attended Portland Community College and Brigham Young University (1979) where he met his future wife Nancy, whom he married on October 27, 1979. Their children: Chad (7/80), Travis (10/81), Shawn (12/82), Tyson (12/85), Taylor (8/87), Jacob (9/89), McKay (9/91), and daughter Madison (10/93). Murphy is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@

Vintage Baseball HOT ON EBAY
Card Collections ENDING SOON ON EBAY
MOST WANTED ROOKIE CARDS
VINTAGE SPORTS TICKETS
Baseball Hall of Famers

Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Played For
Atlanta Braves (1976-1990)
Philadelphia Phillies (1990-1992)
Colorado Rockies (1993)

Similar: Duke Snider

Linked: Bob Horner… Alex Rodriguez wore uniform #3 because he was a big fan of Murphy as a child… It appeared that the Philadelphia Phillies would select Dale Murphy in the 1974 amatuer draft. But they chose Lonnie Smith instead. In 1982, Murphy won the National League Most Valuable Player Award and Smith was the runner-up. From 1988-1990, Smith and Murphy were teammates in the Braves outfield.

Best Season, 1983
Murphy had very similar seasons in 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1987. His best OPS (1.000) came in ’87, when he blasted a career high 44 homers. But he wasn’t as strong a baserunner or as good a fielder by that time, as he had been in his MVP years. Basically for six seasons (1982-1987), he was the best all-around player in baseball (one could argue Rickey Henderson, but we’d take Murph). In ’83 he led the loop in RBI for the second straight year (121), and in slugging (.540). He was excellent on the basepaths (30 of 34) and batted a career high .302 with a .396 OBP. He also won the Gold Glove Award as the best center fielder in the NL. He won his second straight MVP.

Awards and Honors
1982 NL Gold Glove
1982 NL MVP
1983 NL Gold Glove
1983 NL MVP
1984 NL Gold Glove
1985 NL Gold Glove
1986 NL Gold Glove

Post-Season Appearances
1982 National League Championship Series

Factoid
Jack Dunn, Dale Murphy’s high school baseball coach, is the one person Murphy credited the most for making him a big leaguer. Coincidentally, a man named Jack Dunn was responsible for discovering Babe Ruth.

Where He Played: Center field, though he broke in as a catcher and played first base in 1978-1979. Murphy was a right fielder in four of his last five regular seasons.

Minor League Experience
The athletic career of Dale Murphy got off to to a rocky start. Dale’s parents enrolled him in Little League baseball at age 10 and Dale collected a grand total of one hit his first season. Not quite what you’d expect from one of the greatest power hitters ever to play baseball. But with Dale, you never expect the norm.

With the support of his parents, Dale continued to play Little League (and other sports, including one season on his high school football team) and became a prep all-star and eventually the best high school talent in Portland, OR. By the time he was a high school senior, he was a 6′ 4″ catcher with a gun for an arm and a .400 batting average for good measure. The Phillies seemed the most interested in Murphy but the Braves chose Murphy in the June 1974 draft to be their catcher of the future. The press touted him as “the next Johnny Bench” but there would be many changes ahead for Dale.

Dale quickly climbed through the Braves minor league system. After 104 games in the Southern League with Savannah in 1976, Murphy was brought up to Richmond. He had a few defensive problems at first, but hit his way out of them. An extra-inning, pinch-hit grand slam helped the R-Braves to one of 12 victories in their last 16 games and earn a playoff berth on the last day of the season. Once the playoffs were over, Murphy was summoned to Atlanta to finish the season.

The Braves had drafted Murphy for his defensive abilities and athletic skills. Phillies scouts had said “It is doubtful that he’ll develop into a power hitter.” At this point it appeared both of these assessments were accurate (he averaged less than nine home runs in each of his first three seasons).

Dale’s quick progression through the Braves system appeared to be a sign Dale would be an integral part of the Braves for many years. In fact, the Braves projected him to be their everyday catcher in 1977. But adversity swiftly struck Dale.

The one thing he could depend on, his throwing arm, abandoned him and Dale found himself back in the minors. He could not throw out base runners anymore. One night he even hit his pitcher in the back while trying to throw out a baserunner. Dale became very disheartened and almost gave up baseball forever to become a missionary in the Mormon Church (of which he had become a member in 1975).

At the time, Murphy was unsure of his future. “I’m not happy about my baseball, but I’m trying not to let it bug me and let it get everything else in my life down. I try to forget (the problems) off the field, but it’s hard. “It’s come around,” he said. “It’s got to be in my head, not physical. It’s been discouraging, but something I’ve got to forget.” “I might have put the pressure on myself. I’ve got the talent and it’s no reason they shouldn’t say so.”

“Everybody was trying to help during spring training. I’m not really looking back, now. I know that isn’t me. I’m trying to look ahead.” At the urging of the Church and Braves owner Ted Turner, Dale stuck with baseball. “I decided it was best to stay in baseball. By so doing, I would be able to reach a lot of young people.”

However, 1978 was another trying season for Murphy. Though his power numbers were up so were his strikeouts and errors. 1979 wasn’t much better for “Murph”, except for his marriage to Nancy Thomas, who he had met while attending Brigham Young University a year earlier.

Finally, the time had arrived. Bobby Cox took over as Braves manager in 1980 and moved Murphy from catcher and first base to the outfield. Murphy responded immediately by gunning out numerous runners at the plate and being named a NL All-Star. He finished third in the NL with 33 home runs and the season was topped off with the birth of Chad, the first of his seven sons.

Feats: Hit home runs in six consecutive games in 1978… Belted two three-run homers in the same inning, July 27, 1989, vs. the Giants… Walked five times in a single game, May 23, 1987.

Milestones
Murphy hit his first home run on September 15, 1977, almost exactly one year to the day that he debuted in the big leagues. It came off Padre hurler Randy Jones.

Notes
Murphy’s Hobbies: gardening, chess, sailing, ham radio, reading, golf, eating… Favorite Food: Broiled Salmon… Favorite Book: Baseball’s A Funny Game… Favorite TV show: “The Dick Van Dyke Show”… Favorite Movie: “It’s A Wonderful Life”… Favorite Actor: Jimmy Stewart… Favorite Music: Easy Listening and Instrumental Jazz.

Injuries and Explanation for Missed Playing Time
From 1980 to 1989, Dale Murphy played in 1,537 games, the most in baseball over that span. He missed just 20 games in that decade, playing in 98.7% of the Braves games. He spent zero days on the disabled list. His durability streak of 98.7% ranks ninth on the all-time list for a decade. His 740 consecutive-games played (1980-1986) was the 12th longest in baseball history at that time.

Transactions
Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round (5th overall pick) in the 1974 June draft out of Woodrow Wilson High School in Portland, OR; Traded, along with Tommy Greene, to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jeff Parrett, Jim Vatcher, and Victor Rosario, August 4, 1990; Released by the Philadelphia Phillies, April 3, 1993; Signed by the Colorado Rockies as a free agent, April 3, 1993; Retired May 27, 1993

In 1990 the Atlanta Braves did the unimaginable – they traded fan favorite and team captain Dale Murphy. The trade to Philadelphia came on August 3, although it seemed like it had been coming for a few years. Murphy’s name cropped up in trade talk in each of the last couple winters. Atlanta dangled him in front of other organizations. Murphy’s statistics were down, and the team was worse. Murphy hadn’t even approached his standard eye-popping offensive statistics since 1987. The Braves hadn’t approached a pennant race in nearly a decade.

The Braves were in Houston when the unthinkable happened. The team left Atlanta with Murphy. It returned without him. At first fans in Atlanta were in disbelief, but then they became angry. General Manager Bobby Cox was blamed.

“We’ve got our fans so mad right now that I’m surprised you don’t see snipers in the stands,” an Atlanta starting position player said when the team returned to Atlanta. “Of course, if someone came with a rifle I’m sure you could spot him since we got about 300 angry fans showing up.”

The two Atlanta metropolitan newspapers were flooded with angry letters to the editor. Fans promised they would not attend another Braves game.

The outrage may have seemed surprising considering Murphy was batting .232 at the time with 17 home runs and 55 RBIs. But he had played his entire 13-year career in Atlanta and was 33rd on the all-time homer list at the time with 371. Atlanta fans took for granted that #3 would be in their outfield as long as he could swing a bat.

Murphy spent nearly as much time giving of himself to the community as he did at the ballpark: Co-chairman of the Braves’ “65 Roses Club” for Cystic Fibrosis research, chairman of the Atlanta chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, member of the national board of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, spokesman for the Georgia March-of-Dimes, the American Heart Association, the Georgia PTA, the Arthritis Foundation and the Atlanta school district’s drive to encourage reading and summer school enrollment.

He was the Most Valuable Player in the National League twice, in 1982 and 1983. He played in seven All-Star Games. He won five Gold Gloves. From 1982 to 1987, he averaged 36 home runs and 105 RBI per year.

“I feel like I haven’t produced like I feel I can in recent years,” Murphy said at a press conference after the trade. “Maybe with a new direction, I feel I can play a few more years.”

The Braves acquired pitcher Jeff Parrett and shortstop Victor Rosario for Murphy and pitcher Tommy Greene. In Parrot’s initial Brave appearance against San Diego on August 7 the crowd chanted, “We want Murph! We want Murph!”

His replacement, Dave Justice, squirmed.

“You know, you’d think I’d be happy because I get to play everyday with Murphy gone,” Justice said. “But I’m miserable. He meant so much to me. It feels strange without him.”

Murphy, meanwhile, is taking his hopes to Philadelphia. General manager Lee Thomas was only too happy to acquire him.

“He’s a good defensive outfielder, and he still has all of his hitting capabilities,” Thomas said. “We gave up a guy who won 12 games a season the last two years and a shortstop and got Murphy. A year or two ago, there’s no way we could have gotten him for that.

Data courtesy of Restrosheet.org

Factoid
In 1983, Dale Murphy became the second Brave (joining Hank Aaron) to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season. Murphy blasted 36 homers and stole 30 bases that season.

Quotes About Murphy
“If your a coach, you want him as a player, If your a father, you want him as a son. If your a woman, you want him as a husband. If your a kid, you want him as a father. What else can you say about the guy?” – Joe Torre

“He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever pitched to” – Nolan Ryan

“When Murphy hits a ball in Georgia, I get the idea it might land in Florida” – Grant Jackson

“These days, anytime one of my pitchers keeps Murphy in the ball park, I pat ’em on the fanny” – Pete Rose

“Just look at him over there, Doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t take greenies, nicest guy you’d ever want to meet, hits the hell out of the ball, hustles like crazy, plays a great center field and isn’t trying to get anything from anybody…Doesn’t he just make you sick?” – Terry Forster

“If you can’t be impressed by Murph, you can’t be impressed. What really impresses me is how he started out as a catcher a few years back and ends up in center field with a Gold Glove. You’ve got to appreciate that kind of talent.” – Andre Dawson

“I can’t imagine Joe DiMaggio was a better all-around player than Dale Murphy.” – Nolan Ryan

“The best player I’ve seen since Willie Mays.” – Billy Connors

“Last year he was our league’s most valuable player. And this year he may be the most improved player in the league. What does that make him?” – George Bamberger

“The guys respect him. He’s more than Most Valuable Player – he’s the Most Valuable Person.” – Jerry Royster

“The only way to stop him is to throw him balls. Throw away, away, away. Even then he might hurt you.” – LaMarr Hoyt

“You can put him in a class with a Mays and an Aaron because he can beat you with his glove, and he can beat you with a home run.” – Joe Torre

“Dale may be the only guy I know who could call 24 guys in one locker room a good friend.” – Don Sutton

“I’ve never known anyone like him. God only makes one like Dale every 50 years.” – Chuck Tanner

“There’s no doubt he’s a great hitter who will get his home runs and RBIs, but the best thing about him is he also plays a great center field. In this age of specialization, when you get some guys who can steal, some who can hit, and some who can field, it’s nice to see a guy who can play all the facets.” – Ron Darling

“I don’t challenge Murphy, even if he’s 0 for 20. Not him, not ever.” – Mario Soto

“I’d say he is probably the best all-around player in either league, probably the most valuable . . . in baseball right now.” – Hank Aaron, in 1982

“It would be a different team without him. I don’t think there would be too many people watching us play.” – Zane Smith

“What’s really special about him is that he knows how to run the bases. He gets up his speed, and he knows what his capabilities are. If he tries for a base, you know he’s going to make it.” – Hank Aaron

“If you could improve Andre Dawson, he would be Dale Murphy.” – Jerry Royster

Quotes From Murphy
“My heroes are people who are working hard and trying to make a good living for their families. My heroes are people who put their families first.”

“Whether I’m hitting .100 or .300, I have resolved myself to at least enjoy every game”

Home Run Facts
398 career home runs; 217 at home, 181 on the road; hit 205 in Atlanta’s Fulton-County Stadium; 199 solo homers (50% of total); 136 two-run (34%), 58 three-run (15%); five grand slams; 31 times he hit two in one game; once he hit three in a game (May 18, 1979 in Atlanta); he hit six extra-inning homers; one inside-the-park (1984); one pinch homer (1986); he blasted 278 homers off RHP (70%); 120 homers off lefties (30%); he victimized 210 different pitchers in 12 ballparks.

Matchup Data
Murphy’s number one home run target was Fernando Valenzuela, off whom he slugged eight career home runs. He also blasted eight round-trippers off Bob Knepper.

All-Star Selections
1980 NL
1982 NL
1983 NL
1984 NL
1985 NL
1986 NL
1987 NL

Replaced
In 1978 Bobby Cox made Murphy a full-time first baseman, replacing veteran Willie Montanez, who moved (wasn’t Montanez always moving on?) to the Mets. In 1980 Cox moved Murphy to the outfield, in his grand experiment. Murphy replaced Rowland Office in center field.

Replaced By
The Braves converted Ron Gant to the outfield in 1990, prompting the trade of Murphy to the Phillies. In Philadelphia he played regularly in 1990 and 1991, but was released in early ’93 when he struggled. After his retirement, the Rockies replaced him on their bench with Gerald Young.

Best Strength as a Player
Murphy was a very intelligent and thoughtful player, who approached the game with all of his faculties, not just his physical attributes.

“Baseball and chess are the two greatest games in the world<” Murphy said. “The strategy in both games is similar in a way. You never really hear about coaches in other sports maneuvering their players like chess pieces, but in baseball, that’s how a manager often describes his job.”

Largest Weakness as a Player
None, really, but even in his best seasons, Murphy struck out an awful lot.

Other Resources & Links

Coming Soon 

If you would like to add a link or add information for player pages, please contact us here.