The Case for Dale Murphy

By: William Robinson

When I was a kid there were two teams that I got to watch nearly every day on television. The Chicago Cubs lead by the amazing Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace and the Atlanta Braves lead by the most dangerous hitter in all of baseball Dale Murphy. In 1987 if you had me draft a professional baseball team and let me have the first pick, I probably would have chosen Dale Murphy. He didn’t even win one of his two MVP awards in 1987.

People, and by people, I mean writers and young folks, forget just how good of a baseball player Dale Murphy was. He was a tall, powerful, athletic outfielder who won multiple Gold Glove awards and Silver Sluggers and two NL MVP’s. He was the best player in baseball for a stretch of probably six years and then his career trailed off as age and time took its toll on him. Still, I myself would prefer my Hall of Famers to have been great even if for a short period of time rather than mediocre or good for a long period of time.

If I was choosing players for my team in 1987, who would I have chosen? Harold Baines or Dale Murphy that’s easy Dale Murphy. Alan Trammell or Dale Murphy that’s easy Dale Murphy. Tim Raines or Dale Murphy again easy choice, Dale Murphy. Jim Rice or Dale Murphy again easy Dale Murphy. It only becomes difficult if you ask me to choose between Andre Dawson and Dale Murphy. So, to help us clear up this situation more let’s do a side-by-side comparison of these players.

Looking at those basic numbers you can see a few things when you compare Murphy to recent Hall of Fame players in his generation. Number 1: He’s very comparable. His career batting average is nearly identical to Andre Dawson’s. His OPS is higher than Tim Raines, Andre Dawson and Alan Trammell. His WAR is better than Harold Baines and was similar to Jim Rice. His defensive metrics were better than most of the outfielders on this list.

If you look at his career awards this is where he stands out. Dale had two MVP awards, 7-time All-Star, 5-time Gold Glove and 4-time Silver Sluggers. This is more hardware than any of those players expect for Andre Dawson who was an 8-time All-Star and won eight Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers. Like I said if I was choosing a team, I would’ve chosen Dale Murphy especially between 1980-1987.

I don’t know what we need to do to get this guy in the Hall of Fame. Dale Murphy is a class act. I haven’t met him but I’ve listened to many of his interviews. He’s a great ambassador for the game of baseball, he’s humble and kind, and he works tirelessly in the community. He’s personable, friendly and I haven’t heard anyone say anything bad about him. He also has a heck of a restaurant that makes a killer hamburger in Atlanta. Me personally I’d rather put him in ten times than have Harold Baines in once, but I’m sure he’d rather get in on his own without comparing him to others. Still I’m begging you to read this article and put the word out. Dale Murphy belongs in Cooperstown, lets get him there sooner rather than later.