Dale Murphy

Biography

Dale Bryan Murphy is an American former outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for three National League (NL) teams, mainly the Atlanta Braves, from 1976 to 1993. A 7-time All-Star, he led the NL in home runs, runs batted in and slugging percentage twice each. Playing on frequently poor teams that posted only three winning seasons in his 15 years with Atlanta, he was named the NL's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1982 after leading the Braves to their first division title in 13 years, topping the league with 109 RBI. He was again named the MVP in 1983 after improving his batting figures in nearly every category, batting .302 with a career-high 121 RBI, and becoming only the sixth player in history with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season. A model of reliability in the Braves lineup, he played in 740 consecutive games from 1981 to 1986, then the sixth-longest streak in NL history. His 308 home runs in the 1980s were the second most by any major league player, behind only Mike Schmidt, and his 929 RBI in the decade tied him with Schmidt for the most in the NL, despite the Braves posting the league's worst record in that time. Highly regarded for his throwing arm, Murphy won five consecutive Gold Glove Awards as a center fielder, and his 99 assists and 21 double plays in the 1980s topped all NL outfielders.