MVP Profile: Dale Murphy, 1983

Outfielder, Atlanta Braves

Age:  27

7^th season with Braves

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 210 

Prior to 1983:

A native of Portland, Oregon, Murphy was a catcher in high school who batted .465 as a senior. Tall, fast, and with impressive power potential, he was chosen by the Braves fifth overall in the 1974 amateur draft, passing up on Arizona State to turn pro. Initially assigned to Kingsport of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, he hit .254 in 54 games with 5 home runs and 31 RBIs. Moving on to Greenwood of the Class A Western Carolinas League in 1975, Murphy batted .228 with 5 home runs and 48 RBIs. He converted to Mormonism after the season which fit his puritanical values. With Savannah of the Class AA Southern League in 1976 he hit .267 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs before moving on to Richmond of the Class AAA International League, where he batted .260 in 18 games, prior to receiving a late-season call-up to the Braves. He started 17 games at catcher and hit .262. Back with Richmond in 1977, Murphy’s batting improved to .305 with 22 home runs and 90 RBIs. His defense went bad as his strong throwing arm proved to be erratic from behind the plate. He received a trial at first base before receiving another September call-up to the Braves where he was utilized as a catcher. He stuck with the Braves in 1978 as a first baseman, where his throwing problems persisted. Murphy hit .226 with 23 home runs and 79 RBIs while leading the NL in batter strikeouts with 145. He was hindered by a knee injury that required surgery in 1979 but, appearing in 104 games and helped by a hot start at the plate, his batting average improved to .276 along with 21 home runs and 57 RBIs. He started the season at catcher and was back at first base following his return to the lineup. Murphy had a new position in 1980, thanks to the acquisition of veteran first baseman Chris Chambliss. Shifted to center field, he adapted well and was an All-Star for the first time on his way to batting .281 with 33 home runs and 89 RBIs. Murphy’s production dropped off during the strike-interrupted 1981 season to .247 with 13 home runs and 50 RBIs. The soft-spoken, clean-living, and even-tempered center fielder was very much a player on the rise by 1982, although his disappointing 1981 performance led to a pay cut with many incentives added to his contract. The Braves won the NL West in 1982 and Murphy had his first MVP season as he led the league with 109 RBIs while batting .281 with 36 home runs, a .378 on-base percentage, and a .507 slugging percentage. He also received his first Gold Glove for his play in center field.

1983 Season Summary

Appeared in 162 games

CF – 136, LF – 28, RF – 2, PH – 2

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 687 [5]

At Bats – 589 [13]

Runs – 131 [2]

Hits – 178 [6]

Doubles – 24

Triples – 4

Home Runs – 36 [2]

RBI – 121 [1]

Bases on Balls – 90 [4]

Int. BB – 12 [11, tied with six others]

Strikeouts – 110 [8, tied with Pedro Guerrero]

Stolen Bases – 30 [18, tied with Jose Cruz, Omar Moreno & Ken Landreaux]

Caught Stealing – 4

Average - .302 [6, tied with Keith Moreland]

OBP - .393 [3, tied with Tim Raines]

Slugging Pct. - .540 [1]

Total Bases – 318 [2]

GDP – 15 [13, tied with Steve Yeager]

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 6 [16, tied with ten others]

 

League-leading RBIs were +8 ahead of runner-up Andre Dawson

League-leading slugging percentage was +.001 ahead of runner-up Andre Dawson

 

Midseason snapshot: HR – 19, RBI – 58, AVG – .324, SLG - .592, OBP – .415

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. San Francisco 6/11, (in 6 AB) at Chi. Cubs 8/21, (in 4 AB) vs. San Diego 9/16

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

HR at home – 17

HR on road – 19

Most home runs, game – 2 on six occasions

Multi-HR games – 6

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. San Francisco 8/11

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 2 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 389

Put Outs – 373

Assists – 10

Errors – 6

DP – 0

Pct. - .985

 

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

Gold Glove

Silver Slugger

All-Star (started for NL in RF)

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Dale Murphy, Atl.: 318 points - 21 of 24 first place votes, 95% share

Andre Dawson, Mon.: 213 points – 1 first place vote, 63% share

Mike Schmidt, Phila.: 191 points – 1 first place vote, 57% share

Pedro Guerrero, LAD: 182 points – 1 first place vote, 54% share

Tim Raines, Mon.: 83 points – 25% share

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Braves went 88-74 to finish second in the NL Western Division, 3 games behind the division-winning Los Angeles Dodgers while leading the league in runs scored (746), RBIs (691), batting (.272), and OBP (.341). The fast-starting Braves got off to a 14-5 start in April which included a seven-game winning streak. 49-31 at the All-Star break, they were in first place by 6.5 games over the Dodgers by August 13, two days before slugging third baseman Bob Horner went down with a broken wrist. With Murphy doing his best to maintain good production in Horner’s absence, Atlanta still fell off the pace and behind the Dodgers, finishing in a solid second place.

Aftermath of ‘83:

“The Murph” was solid again in 1984, hitting .290 with 100 RBIs and tying for the league lead in home runs with 36 while again pacing the circuit in slugging percentage (.547). He placed ninth in league MVP voting. While the Braves were sinking in the standings, Murphy continued his strong production in 1985, leading the NL in runs scored (118), home runs (37), and walks drawn (90), as well as batter strikeouts (141), while batting .300 with 111 RBIs and a .388 on-base percentage. He remained a Gold Glove performer in center field and finished seventh in MVP voting. In 1986, he hit .265 with 29 home runs and 83 RBIs. He slumped badly in July as Atlanta toppled out of contention and sat out a game, closing out a 740-consecutive games streak. Murphy had one last big year in 1987, batting .295 with 44 home runs and 105 RBIs. He was shifted to right field and remained an All-Star who finished eleventh in league MVP balloting. With a 106-loss, last-place club in 1988, his production dropped off to .226 with 24 home runs and 77 RBIs. Murphy’s situation was no better in 1989 as he batted .228 with 20 home runs and 84 RBIs. He lasted 97 more games with the Braves in 1990 and was hitting .232 with 17 home runs and 55 RBIs when he was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies in August as part of a five-player trade. The Phillies signed him to a two-year contract following his arrival and he improved to .266 with 7 home runs and 28 RBIs in the last 57 games of the season. His 1991 production was .252 with 18 home runs and 81 RBIs. Limited to 18 games by injury in 1992, Murphy failed to make the team in 1993. He finished his career with the expansion Colorado Rockies, where he played in 26 games and hit .143 before calling it quits. For his major league career, Murphy batted .265 with 2111 hits that included 350 doubles, 39 triples, and 398 home runs. He scored 1197 runs and compiled 1266 RBIs and a .346 OBP. With the Braves he posted a .268 average with 1901 hits, 1103 runs scored, 306 doubles, 37 triples, 371 home runs, 1143 RBI, and a .351 OBP. The 1982 NLCS marked his only postseason appearance. A seven-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner as well as a two-time MVP, the Braves retired his #3. An outspoken critic of steroid users after his playing days, Murphy created an organization called I Don’t Cheat that warns young athletes against using performance-enhancing drugs. He has also been involved in charity work.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.