John Ryan Murphy

For the Massachusetts politician, see John R. Murphy.
John Ryan Murphy

Murphy with the Yankees in 2013
New York Yankees – No. 66
Catcher
Born: May 13, 1991
Bradenton, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 2, 2013 for the New York Yankees
Career statistics
(through April 29, 2015)
Batting average .254
Home runs 1
Runs batted in 11
Teams

John Ryan Murphy (born May 13, 1991), also known as J. R. Murphy, is an American professional baseball catcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on September 2, 2013.

Career

Murphy attended The Pendleton School at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.[1] He played for the school's baseball team a pitcher and third baseman in his freshman year of high school, moving to catcher for his sophomore season.[2] In his senior year, Murphy had a .627 batting average, with 11 home runs and 66 runs batted in (RBIs).[1]

Murphy committed to attend the University of Miami, where he would play college baseball for the Miami Hurricanes. However, he was drafted by the Yankees in the second round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft and signed with them for a $1.25 million signing bonus.[2] He played for the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2010, and returned to Charleston for the start of the 2011 season.[2] He received a promotion to the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League at midseason. The Yankees invited Murphy to spring training in 2012.[3]

Murphy began the 2013 season with the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League. On June 13, 2013, the Yankees promoted Murphy to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League, the highest level in minor league baseball.[4] Murphy had a .269 batting average with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs in Trenton and Scranton. On September 1, 2013, Murphy was called up to the Yankees when rosters were expanded,[5] pinch-hitting a single in his first major league at-bat on September 2, 2013, against the Chicago White Sox.[6] He made his first major league start on September 14.[7]

Murphy competed with Francisco Cervelli and Austin Romine to be the backup catcher for the Yankees in spring training in 2014.[8] Cervelli won the job, and Murphy was optioned to the minor leagues.[9] Cervelli suffered a hamstring injury on April 13, and was placed on the 60 day disabled list, resulting in the Yankees calling up Murphy to replace Cervelli as the backup catcher.[10] On April 26, 2014, Murphy hit his first career home run against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Yankee Stadium and also notched his very first multi-RBI game by driving in a total of three runs.[11] Murphy remained with the Yankees until June 17, when Cervelli was activated from the disabled list and Murphy was optioned back down to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.[12]

The Yankees traded Cervelli in the 2014–15 offseason, and Murphy competed with Romine in spring training to be McCann's backup for the 2015 season.[13] Murphy won the competition, and Romine was designated for assignment.[14]

Personal

Murphy grew up as a fan of the Boston Red Sox.[15]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lembo, John (June 7, 2009). "Pendleton School’s Murphy excited about MLB Draft". Bradenton Herald. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Miller, Andrew (June 1, 2011). "Charleston RiverDogs' J.R. Murphy just wants his shot: 'It doesn't matter where I play'". The Post and Courier. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Yankees invite 27 players to Spring Training" (Press release). MLB.com. February 8, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  4. ↑ DiPietro, Lou (June 13, 2013). "Yankees promote catcher J.R. Murphy to Triple-A". YES Network. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ Vitale, Josh (September 1, 2013). "Adams returns to Yanks, catcher Murphy also up". MLB.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  6. ↑ "With Eight-Run Fourth, Yankees Roll Past White Sox". The New York Times. September 2, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ Hoch, Bryan (September 14, 2013). "Murphy makes first big league start behind plate". MLB.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  8. ↑ McCarron, Anthony (December 2, 2013). "Yankees' Francisco Cervelli, Austin Romine ahead of J.R. Murphy in competition to be Brian McCann's backup | New York Daily News". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  9. ↑ Castillo, Jorge (March 24, 2014). "Yankees select Francisco Cervelli as backup catcher". NJ.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  10. ↑ Martin, Dan (April 15, 2014). "Yankees call up Scott Sizemore, John Ryan Murphy | New York Post". Nypost.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  11. ↑ McCarron, Anthony (April 28, 2014). "Catcher John Ryan Murphy a revelation for Yankees". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  12. ↑ Collier, Jamal; Kring-Schreifels, Jake (June 17, 2014). "Cervelli rejoins Yanks; Murphy optioned to Triple-A". MLB.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  13. ↑ McCarron, Anthony (February 14, 2015). "Austin Romine determined to be Yankees' backup catcher: Romine, 26, was once considered among the Yankees’ best prospects, but his stock has sagged since he made his big league debut in 2011. Injuries have limited him — he did not play in the majors in 2012 in part because of two bulging disks in his back and he suffered a concussion in September of 2013". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  14. ↑ Rieber, Anthony (April 4, 2015). "Yankees choose John Ryan Murphy over Austin Romine". Newsday. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  15. ↑ Araton, Harvey (September 27, 2013). "Young Catcher Can Help Tell Ending to Rivera’s Story". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Ryan Murphy.