Dale Murphy

For the professor, see Dale D. Murphy.

Dale Murphy
Dale Murphy meeting fans at the CNN Center.
Center fielder / Right fielder
Born: (1956-03-12) March 12, 1956 Portland, Oregon
Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
September 13, 1976, for the Atlanta Braves
Last appearance
May 21, 1993, for the Colorado Rockies
Career statistics
Batting average	.265
Home runs	398
Runs batted in	1,266
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Atlanta Braves (1976–1990) Philadelphia Phillies (1990–1992) Colorado Rockies (1993)
Career highlights and awards
7× All-Star selection (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987) 5× Gold Glove Award winner (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986) 4× Silver Slugger Award winner (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985) 2× NL MVP (1982, 1983) 1988 Roberto Clemente Award 1985 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award Atlanta Braves #3 retired

Dale Bryan Murphy (born March 12, 1956 in Portland, Oregon) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman. During an 18-year baseball career, 1976–1993, he played for three different teams, but is noted for his time with the Atlanta Braves. Murphy won consecutive National League Most Valuable Player Awards (1982–1983), the National League's Silver Slugger Award four straight years (1982–1985), and the National League's Gold Glove award five straight years (1982–1986).

Baseball

Playing career

In 1976 Murphy began his major league career with a nineteen game stint catching with the Atlanta Braves. He appeared in only eighteen games the following season. In 1978, Murphy played first base mostly. At the plate, he slumped to a .226 batting average, though he also showed hints of his future power by hitting 23 home runs.

Murphy switched to the outfield in 1980, a move that would help initiate a decade of highly productive play in the National League. Beginning in left field, he soon switched to center field, the position at which he would find his greatest success. By 1982, the most decorated year of Murphy's career, the former bench-riding catcher had transformed himself into an All-Star MVP outfielder who appeared in each of Atlanta's 162 games. His turnaround as a fielder was equally stark. In 1978, as a first baseman, Murphy had led all National League first-baggers in errors; in 1982, spending time at each of the three outfield positions, he won his first of five consecutive Gold Gloves.

Playing in the decade before the Braves began their dominance of the National League East, Murphy also made his only postseason appearance in 1982, though the eventual World Series-champion St. Louis Cardinals eliminated the Braves in the first round of the playoffs. The league's most valuable player failed to translate his regular season preeminence into October success, hitting safely but three times and scoring only one run. Murphy rebounded from the postseason sweep with another MVP award in 1983. The period ultimately proved the high-water era of Murphy's career. Each year during the four season span from 1982 to 1986 he won a Gold Glove, appeared in the All-Star Game, and placed in the top ten in MVP voting.

In 1988, however, despite being voted to what would be his final All-Star appearance, Murphy's production began an inexorable slide downward. Never a particularly high average hitter, Murphy saw his batting average free-fall from .295 in 1987 to .226 in 1988. Only once more, in 1991, would Murphy bat above .250. Once a consistent source of power at the plate, he never again hit even 25 home runs in a season. This fall off in production accompanied increased fragility. In the nine year span beginning with his first MVP season in 1982, Murphy missed an average of only three games each year; the final five years of his career found Murphy sitting out an average of over 90 games each season.

The Braves traded Murphy after fifteen seasons to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1990. Murphy's three seasons with the Phillies were mostly uneventful. In 1993, his final season, Murphy took a pay cut of over $2,000,000, down to the major league minimum, to join the Colorado Rockies for their inaugural season. During his last two years in the majors Murphy's batting average lingered well beneath baseball's Mendoza Line.

Career Summary and Honors

Dale Murphy's number 3 was retired by the Atlanta Braves in 1994.

Murphy finished his career with 398 home runs (19th in MLB history at the time of his retirement) and a .265 lifetime batting average. His MVP awards in 1982 and 1983 make him one of only four outfielders in major league history with consecutive MVP years; at the time, he was the youngest to have accomplished the feat. His many honors also include seven All-Star appearances, five Gold Gloves, and four Silver Sluggers. Murphy led the National League in home runs and RBI twice; he also led the major leagues in home runs and runs batted in over the 10-year span from 1981 to 1990.

One of the most productive and decorated players of the 1980s, Murphy led the National League in games, at bats, runs, hits, extra base hits, RBIs, runs created, total bases, and plate appearances during the decade. He also accomplished a 30-30 (30 home runs with 30 stolen bases) season in 1983. Murphy played in 740 consecutive games, at the time the 11th longest such streak in baseball history. His jersey number ("3") was retired by the Atlanta Braves on June 13, 1994. In 1997, Murphy was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame & Museum

Public persona

Murphy's clean-living habits off the diamond were frequently noted in the media. A devout Latter-day Saint, or Mormon, Murphy did not drink alcoholic beverages, would not allow women to be photographed embracing him and paid his teammates' dinner checks as long as alcoholic beverages were not on the tab. He also refused to give television interviews unless he was fully dressed. Murphy had been introduced to the church by Barry Bonnell, a teammate early in his career.

For several years, the Atlanta Constitution ran a weekly column, wherein Murphy responded to young fans' questions and letters. Murphy both advocated and financially profited from his reputation with frequent endorsements of family-friendly products such as milk, ice cream, and cameras in television commercials. In 1987, he shared Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsmen and Sportswomen of the Year" award with seven others, characterized as "Athletes Who Care", for his work with numerous charities, including the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the Georgia March of Dimes and the American Heart Association.

One of his more memorable incidents was reminiscent of a scene from the classic black-and-white baseball film The Pride of the Yankees:

Before a home game against San Francisco on June 12, 1983, 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.

Hall of Fame candidacy

Dale Murphy first appeared on the writers' ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, the earliest possible year of consideration. He has failed to gain election, joining late New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris and recently eligibile Juan Gonzalez as the only three Hall of Fame-eligible recipients of multiple MVP awards not in the Hall. His failed candidacy has drawn particular notice due to his reputation as a clean-living player whose career was immediately followed by baseball's scandal-plagued "steroids era".

Baseball writer Rob Neyer feels that the former MVP's candidacy has been hurt by a career that "got a late start and suffered an early end." Stuart Miller, baseball writer for the New York Times, also notes the "sharp decline" in production that plagued Murphy after the age of 31 in arguing, "Players who were great for a short time do not receive much [Hall of Fame] recognition." Finding "one of baseball’s best players in the 1980s" to be "undervalued," Miller nonetheless writes that the Brave great "is typically considered a 'close but no' guy." Bill James, father of sabermetrics, says of Murphy, “It certainly wouldn’t offend me to have him in the Hall of Fame. I just wouldn’t advocate it.” James' "current metric for Hall induction was 300 Win Shares (a complex mathematical equation weighing what players contribute to their team’s victories)...." Murphy stands at 253 Win Shares. James ranks eight Hall of Famers below Murphy.)

However, others contend, "Murphy's incredible nine-year run in Atlanta was every bit as good as anyone else during his era." Neyer notes that the explosion of power during the steroids-fueled era that began after Murphy's retirement may have caused Murphy's numbers to pale in comparison for many voters. Some have argued that Murphy's reputation for clean-living may encourage voters to "look more favorably on what Murphy did without using performance-enhancing drugs." (Murphy weighed in on the steroids issue in asserting that career home run leader Barry Bonds "without a doubt" used performance-enhancing drugs.) Sports Illustrated's Joe Posnanski has endorsed Murphy as an "emotional pick . . . a larger-than-life character who signed every autograph, spoke up for every charity and played brilliant baseball every day for mostly doomed teams."

Nonetheless, though he continues to earn the requisite 5% to remain on the ballot, Murphy averaged only 13.6% average over the first twelve years of voting. (Election to the hall requires 75%.) In the first decade of his eligibility, he "peaked at 23% in 2000 and fell to 11.5% in 2009." Moreover, as writers may only vote for ten players each year some have argued that the candidacy of stars from the 1980s—such as Murphy, pitcher Jack Morris, and outfielder Tim Raines--will become imperiled as a wave of more recently retired players with more statistically impressive credentials become eligible in the 2010s. Noting his low vote totals, Murphy has said, “Since I’m not that close [to election] ... I don’t think about it that much."

Post-baseball life

Murphy served from 1997 to 2000 as president of the Massachusetts Boston Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Murphy was at one point said to be considering a run for Utah governor in 2004, but failed to generate enough interest within the Republican Party.

In 2008, he was appointed to the National Advisory Board for the national children's charity Operation Kids. He currently lives in Alpine, Utah. Murphy serves as a National Advisor to ASCEND: A Humanitarian Alliance.

In 2005 Murphy started a non-profit organization called the iWontCheat Foundation to promote ethical behavior, and deter steroid use and cheating in youth athletics. Since 2008 all players from the participating teams at the Little League World Series wear the "i WON'T CHEAT!" embroidered patch above the Little League Baseball logo on the left sleeve of their jerseys.

For the 2012 MLB season, Murphy is a part of the Atlanta Braves TV broadcasting crew and is scheduled to participate in the telecast of at least 14 games.

Author

Murphy has written three books. The first, The Scouting Report on Professional Athletics, elaborates details of the professional athlete's lifestyle. Murphy discusses balancing career and family, working with agents, managing business affairs, serving one's community, and preparing for retirement. In his second book, an autobiography entitled Murph, he talked about his religious faith. He discussed the struggles of his early baseball career and how he overcame problems. In 2007 Murphy wrote his third book, The Scouting Report for Youth Athletics, in response to what he saw as the increase in negative behavior in youth sports resulting from poor examples set by professional athletes. Included with each book is a 50-page insert which includes contributions from, among others, Peyton Manning, Dwyane Wade, Tom Glavine, and Danica Patrick. In a question-and-answer format, they discuss the lessons they learned from youth sports and how they apply the lessons today. There is also a physician-penned section about illegal performance-enhancing drug use in sports.

Personal life

Murphy and his wife, Nancy, have 8 children. They are sons Chad, Travis, Shawn, Tyson, Taylor, Jake, McKay and daughter, Madison. His son Shawn has played American football for the National Football League. His son Jake currently plays college football at the University Of Utah.

Major league statistics

Career Hitting

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2,180	7,960	2,111	350	39	398	1,197	1,266	161	986	1,748	.265	.346	.469	.815

See also

• 30-30 club
• List of Major League Baseball home run champions
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
• MLB consecutive games played streaks

External links

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
• Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
• IMNO interviews Dale Murphy
• The I Won't Cheat Foundation

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Bob Horner Gary Matthews Mel Hall Keith Moreland Eric Davis	National League Player of the Month August 1980 April 1982 September 1983 September 1984 & April 1985 August 1986	Succeeded by Gary Carter Tim Wallach Tony Gwynn Dave Parker Steve Sax
Preceded by Mike Schmidt	National League RBI Champion 1982-1983 (1982 with Al Oliver)	Succeeded by Gary Carter & Mike Schmidt
Preceded by Mike Schmidt	National League Most Valuable Player 1982, 1983	Succeeded by Ryne Sandberg
Preceded by Mike Schmidt	National League Home Run Champion 1984–1985 (1984 with Mike Schmidt)	Succeeded by Mike Schmidt
Preceded by Steve Garvey	Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1985	Succeeded by George Brett