Eddie Murray

Eddie Clarence Murray
Born: Feb. 24, 1956 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Debut: 1977 | Pos: 1B
Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 200 | B: B | T: R

>> Visit the Eddie Murray biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.

Eddie Murray was a man of few words when it came to dealing with members of the media. At times, he was labeled as a bad influence in the clubhouse by those members of the press. Those that were his teammate told a different tale -- Murray was a team leader.

Whatever difficulties existed between Murray and the media seems to have dissipated over the years. Murray was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first try becoming only the 38th player to accomplish that feat.

Murray never led the league in home runs or RBIS (he tied for the lead in the strike-shortened 1981 season). Yet, he managed to accomplish something only two other players have managed. Murray, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron are the only baseball players to ever collect 3,000 or more hits AND 500 or more home runs. Murray is the only member of that club who was a switch-hitter.

In his 22-year career, he hit .287 with 504 HRs and 1,917 RBIs. He played for the Orioles, Indians, Dodgers, Mets and Angels. He appeared in 8 All-Star games and hit 19 grand slams in his career -- second all-time to Lou Gehrig's 23. 

In 1977, he was named AL Rookie of the Year, earning the honor as a designated hitter. In 1978, he made it to his first All-Star game. 

Murray never won a league MVP but he was in the top 10 in voting for 6 consecutive years beginning in 1980. In his 11th season with the Orioles, Murray became Baltimore's all-time home run leader. During the 1980s, he drove in 966 runs -- more than any other player in baseball.

Murray played in 3 World Series - 1979, 1983 and 1995. He had 11 hits in 65 at-bats in the series, hitting 4 home runs and driving in 8 runs. He also had 4 home runs in 4 League Championship Series and drove in 13 runs in 19 LCS games.

Throughout his career, Murray turned down requests for interviews and would not field questions during batting practice.

"He was the best clutch-hitter that I saw during the decade that we played together. Not only on our team, but in all of baseball," said Mike Flanagan, former teammate, in a wire story.

Murray also earned a reputation for being less than stellar during batting practice. He said that he knew he could hit a fastball down the middle of the plate, so he used batting practice to work on other pitches.

He impressed his teammate's with his commitment on the field and his abilities.

   "Eddie was a huge part of the success of the Orioles for a lot of years," said Cal Ripken Jr. during his retirement ceremonies. "He was a great player and a great teammate."

In 1989, he was traded by the Orioles to the Dodgers where he spent three years. Later, when Murray was an Indian, the Orioles worked out a trade to bring Murray back to Baltimore in time to hit his 500th home run.

Murray works as a coach with the Cleveland Indians.