1987 Donruss Diamond King
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| Here are ten reasons you should be a Dale Murphy fan: 10 - As his skills declined, rapidly, he went to Braves management and convinced them to trade him and give a young kid the chance to play every day. The kid who moved to right field was David Justice and he would win Rookie of the Year in 1990. 9 - Dale was brought up to the Braves as a catcher and first baseman. Let's just say he struggled a bit. Manager Bobby Cox decided to give Dale a shot in center field. Dale would go on to win five gold gloves, all of them in center. He would move to right full time in 1987. 8 - There was a Sports Illustrated cover article on Murph in 1983 where it was proclaimed that if Andre Dawson was any better, he would be Dale Murphy. 7 - He and his wife have somewhere between eight and four thousand children. 6 - Dale's son Shawn is a Guard on the practice squad for the Carolina Panthers. He got to play in a single NFL game for the Bucs at the end of last season. Much like his Dad, Shawn seems to be a really good guy. 5 - In fact, Dale Murphy managed to pull off the feat of appearing both "pure" and "wholesome" without ever coming off as preachy or condescending. A pretty good trick if you ask me. 4 - Unlike a certain pitcher who made his mark with the Twins, Murphy has never whined publicly about his exclusion from the Hall of Fame. Me? I think he belongs and do many other people across the country thanks to them being able to witness Murph's accomplishments daily on WTBS. If you don't agree, that's your right of course. 3 - Even during his best years, Murphy was as much fun to watch when he struck out as when he connected. Murphy would swing at anything! 2 - After winning the 1982 NL MVP award with a .282 batting average, Murphy decided to enter the Arizona fall league to improve his performance. In his 1983 MVP year, he would hit .302. How many superstats can you imagine doing that today? 1 - During a period of time where the Braves were the worst team in baseball, and thanks to TBS, the most visible bad team (after all, even the Cubbies had more good years in the 80s), Dale Murphy because a superstar and a household name thanks to his work ethic, his performance on the field, and his famous smile (featured in milk ads regularly throughout the southeast). Are you a Dale Murphy fan? Do you have a favorite Dale Murphy memory? |
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1 comment:
He should be in the Hall. He's by no means a first tier HOF-er, but Dawson is an apt comparison. There's some statistical argument to keep him out, but I'd give him the bump because of the intangibles like contribution to the game, his team, city, etc. He was a top-5 player in the game for almost a decade. It seems like Murphy and Alan Trammell are casualties from that era; they seemed like sure HOF-ers when I was growing up, but today's bloated stats make theirs look worse.
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