Dwayne Murphy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dwayne Murphy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Outfielder | ||
| Born: March 18, 1955 | ||
| Batted: Left | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| April 8, 1978 for the Oakland Athletics |
||
| Final game | ||
| October 1, 1989 for the Philadelphia Phillies |
||
| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | .246 | |
| Home runs | 166 | |
| RBI | 609 | |
| Teams | ||
|
||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
|
||
Dwayne Keith Murphy (born on March 18, 1955, in Merced, California) is a retired Major League Baseball player. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 1973. His Major League debut was in 1978. He is currently the hitting coordinator for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Murphy was primarily known for batting second behind Rickey Henderson while the two were teammates with the Oakland Athletics. Henderson credits Murphy for helping him set the single-season stolen-base record of 130 steals in 1982. After Henderson stole his 119th base that season, he pulled the base up out of the ground and kept it. Afterwards, in an interview, he said, "If I could break this base in half, I'd give the other half to Dwayne Murphy."
Despite being a second-place hitter, Murphy hit with power, posting such numbers as 26 homers in 1983 and 33 homers in 1984 with the Athletics.
Murphy was also known for his defensive flair playing center field, and was a fan favorite for the fact that the hat perched neatly on his afro blew off with nearly every fielding attempt. He earned six straight Gold Glove Awards with the A's from 1980 through 1985.
In 1990, he joined Yakult Swallows in Japan. Murphy was named 4th hitter in opening game, until May 9. However, he deteriorated the trouble of the knee and was not able to participate any game after May 25. Murphy was fired in August. In Japan , only 34games , hit 25 hits in 109 at bats (average .229). Hit 5 home runs, 22 RBI.
Murphy was embraced by the city of Oakland, and remained a local celebrity long after his retirement. An avid bass guitar player, he was also notable for helping fund and produce MC Hammer's first album.
