Dale Murphy
| Dale Murphy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Dale Murphy meeting fans at the CNN Center, 2007
|
|||
| Outfielder | |||
|
Born: March 12, 1956 Portland, Oregon |
|||
|
|||
| MLB debut | |||
| September 13, 1976, for the Atlanta Braves | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 21, 1993, for the Colorado Rockies | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .265 | ||
| Hits | 2,111 | ||
| Home runs | 398 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,266 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
Dale Bryan Murphy (born March 12, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, catcher, and first baseman. During an 18-year baseball career, 1976–93, he played for three different teams, but is best noted for his time with the Atlanta Braves. Murphy won consecutive National League Most Valuable Player Awards (1982–83), the National League's Silver Slugger Award four straight years (1982–85), and the National League's Gold Glove Award five straight years (1982–86). He is an inductee to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, and World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.
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 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, as well as the first MVP Award by a Brave since Hank Aaron in 1957 with what were then the Milwaukee Braves.
...
Wikipedia