Dale Murphy

At the time of his retirement, he was 27th on the all-time home run list and 4th among active players, two behind Andre Dawson of the Boston Red Sox.

Murphy finished his career with 398 home runs, 1,266 RBI, and a .265 lifetime batting average.

Dale Bryan Murphy (born March 12, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player.

Dale Murphy was born in Portland, Oregon, on March 12, 1956, to parents Charles and Betty.

He had a sister, Sue.

Murphy played American Legion Baseball and attended Woodrow Wilson High School.

During an 18-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 to 1993, he played as an outfielder, catcher, and first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Colorado Rockies; Murphy is best noted for his many years with the Braves.

In 1976, Murphy began his major league career with a nineteen-game stint catching with the Atlanta Braves.

He appeared in only eighteen games the following season.

In 1978, Murphy played first base mostly; at the plate he had a .226 batting average, though he also showed hints of his future power by hitting 23 home runs.

In 1978, Murphy led all National League first basemen in errors.

Murphy switched to the outfield in 1980, a move that would help initiate a decade of highly productive play in the National League.

Beginning in left field, he soon switched to center field, the position at which he would find his greatest success.

His entire MLB career was spent in the National League (NL), during which time he won consecutive Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards (1982–1983), the Silver Slugger Award for four straight years (1982–1985), and the Gold Glove Award for five straight years (1982–1986).

Murphy is a member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, and World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.

By 1982, the most decorated year of Murphy's career, the former catcher had transformed himself into an All-Star MVP outfielder who appeared in each of Atlanta's 162 games.

His turnaround as a fielder was equally stark.

In 1982, spending time at each of the three outfield positions, he won the first of five consecutive Gold Gloves, as well as the first MVP award by a Brave since 1957, when Hank Aaron won the award with the then-Milwaukee Braves.

Playing in the decade before the Braves began their dominance of the National League East, Murphy also made his only postseason appearance in 1982.

Although he performed well, the eventual World Series-champion St. Louis Cardinals eliminated the Braves in the 1982 National League Championship Series.

The league's most valuable player failed to translate his regular season preeminence into October success, hitting safely only three times and scoring one run.

Each year during the four season span from 1982 to 1986 he won a Gold Glove, appeared in the All-Star Game, and placed in the top ten in MVP voting.

His MVP awards in 1982 and 1983 make him one of only four outfielders in MLB history with consecutive MVP years; at the time, he was the youngest to have accomplished the feat.

His many honors include seven All-Star appearances, five Gold Gloves, and four Silver Sluggers.

Murphy rebounded from the postseason sweep with another MVP award in 1983.

This time period ultimately proved the high-water era of Murphy's career.

Murphy saw his batting average free-fall from .295 in 1987 to .226 in 1988.

In 1988, however, despite being voted to what would be his final All-Star appearance, Murphy's production began a slide downward.

During his 15th season with the Braves, Murphy was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on August 3, 1990.

Murphy's time with the Phillies was mostly uneventful.

Only once more, in 1991, would Murphy bat above .250.

Once a consistent source of power at the plate, he never again hit 25 home runs or more in a season.

A degenerative, arthritic condition in his left knee limited Murphy to only 18 games in the 1992 season with the Phillies, although he did hit two home runs in that time to bring his career total to 398.

He was released by the Phillies at the end of 1993 Spring Training and, on the same day, signed a Minor League contract with the Colorado Rockies for their inaugural season.

He was used mostly as a pinch hitter.

After going 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the Rockies' 8-0 road loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 21, 1993 (a rare start and, even more rare, only the fourth time all season he was in a game from the first pitch to the final out), Murphy did not play in the next 4 games.

On the morning of May 27, 1993, while the Rockies were in Houston to begin a series with the Astros, he suddenly announced his retirement from baseball at age 37.

He explained the Rockies were needing to make a 25-man roster move and informed him ahead of time he was going to be released.

The team gave him the chance to retire instead of being released, which he did.

Murphy finished at 398 career home runs, failing to homer for the Rockies in 49 plate appearances and reach the 400-homer milestone.