Information AboutDale Murphy |
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His professional baseball career began in 1976 and ended in 1993 ; he also played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies franchises. He finished his career with 398 home runs and a .265 Batting Average . He reached the playoffs only once, in 1982, where the Braves were eliminated in the first round by the St. Louis Cardinals . His jersey number "3" was retired by the Atlanta Braves in 1994. Murphy's squeaky-clean habits off the diamond were conspicuous in a league racked by Illegal Drug s and salary controversies. A devout Latter-day Saint , commonly known as a " Mormon ", Murphy did not drink Alcohol , would not allow women to be Photograph ed embracing him, and paid his teammates' dinner checks (as long as alcohol was not on the tab). For several years, the '' Atlanta Constitution '' ran a popular weekly column, where Murphy responded to young fans' questions. Murphy's TV commercials usually had him advertising milk, ice cream, and Canon cameras. In a scene reminiscent of '' The Pride Of The Yankees '', Murphy once promised a disabled girl in the stands he'd hit a home run for her - and actually knocked out ''two''. In 1987 , he shared '' Sports Illustrated '' magazine's " Sportsmen And Sportswomen Of The Year " award with seven others, characterized as "Athletes Who Care," for his work with numerous charities, including the Make-a-Wish Foundation , the Georgia March of Dimes and the American Heart Association . Despite his career accomplishments, Murphy has become a highly debated candidate for the and Steroids . Perhaps the prevalence of such drug use may cause the Hall of Fame voters to look again at the comparably amazing statistics of players such as Dale Murphy and contemporaries such as Tim Raines , Andre Dawson , and Jim Rice . Interestingly, Murphy did not begin his career as an outfielder. He began as a Catcher , but had difficulties throwing out runners attempting Stolen Base s. He was moved briefly to First Base and Left Field before reaching the peak of his success playing center field and eventually Right Field , being widely considered the best all-around player in the major leagues for the 6-year span between 1982-1987. |
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