Today, the Southern legend named Dale most associated with the number 3 is Dale Earnhardt. However, only 25 years ago, there was a more legendary Southern icon named Dale associated with the number 3. The man’s name was Dale Murphy, the centerfielder for the Atlanta Braves. When Earnhardt finally sat in his famous 3 car for the first time in 1984, Murphy was fresh off his second consecutive MVP season, was arguably the best player in baseball and caused opponents such as Nolan Ryan to gush, “I can’t imagine Joe DiMaggio was a better all-around player than Dale Murphy.” Murphy seemed to be a surefire Hall of Famer. However, all these years later, Murphy is not in the Hall and most do not even remember that Murphy wore number 3. Earnhardt’s number 3, on the other hand, is an iconic symbol now prominently displayed on almost every pickup truck in the South.
Murphy’s chances of ever becoming a Hall of Famer seem slim to none because it is often said that Murphy had nothing other than his prime.
Hall of Fame voters should examine the cumulative effect of catching, woeful playing surfaces, long distance travel and the grind of playing every day on Murphy’s sudden decline.
Early in his professional career, Murphy caught more than 500 games as a 6’5″, long-limbed catcher. That total doesn’t include all the crouching he did as an amateur or in practice sessions over six professional seasons. The injury woes of Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer are an instructive example of the havoc wreaked internally on the bodies of tall, lean, young catchers. Most catchers suffer a decline in offensive productivity in their early thirties, and it’s more difficult for the tall guys.
Murphy spent most of his career in the outfield. The surface at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium was considered the worst grass surface in the majors. The ballpark where he played 960 games didn’t even have a full time grounds crew until 1989 – Murphy’s 14th season. He also played 700 games on the artificial turf that was prevalent during that era.
Murphy missed just 20 games throughout the entire decade of the 80’s. As a professional, he logged over 2,000 combined games either playing catcher or running around on turf fields and Atlanta’s shoddy sod. Voters should take special note of the typical decline in the physical health and per game averages of NBA players during their early thirties following years of pounding their bodies and legs on the hardwood.
Murphy also had the misfortune of being on an East Coast team that played in the NL West, at a time when long distance travel conditions were much less luxurious than teams enjoy now. Distances in miles from Atlanta: Cincinnati, 470; Houston, 800; San Francisco, 2,500; San Diego, 2,150; Los Angeles, 2,180. Atlanta was geographically isolated from the rest of the National League during that era as well.
Before next year’s election, voters hopefully will gain a better contextual understanding of the toll exacted on Murphy’s body due to catching, the turfs, the travel and playing every day. These factors explain why Murphy was unable to have a series of average seasons past the age of 35 that would have padded his counting stat totals.
Unfortunately, Murphy’s chances of making the Hall seem hopeless. Andre Dawson and Jim Rice, two comparable players to Murphy, on the other hand, seem bound for induction in the next few years. Here are the voting totals for these three since 1995:
| Rice | Murphy | Dawson | |
| 1995 | 29.8 | N/A | N/A |
| 1996 | 35.3 | N/A | N/A |
| 1997 | 37.6 | N/A | N/A |
| 1998 | 42.9 | N/A | N/A |
| 1999 | 29.4 | 19.3 | N/A |
| 2000 | 51.5 | 23.2 | N/A |
| 2001 | 57.9 | 18.1 | N/A |
| 2002 | 55.1 | 14.8 | 45.3 |
| 2003 | 52.2 | 11.7 | 50 |
| 2004 | 54.5 | 8.5 | 50 |
| 2005 | 59.5 | 10.5 | 52.6 |
| 2006 | 64.8 | 10.8 | 61 |
| 2007 | 63.5 | 9.2 | 56.7 |
| 2008 | 72.2 | 13.8 | 65.9 |
Compare those voting results with their career performances:
| G | PA | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS+ | RC/G | OWP | |
| Murphy | 2180 | 9040 | 1197 | 398 | 1266 | 161 | 0.265 | 0.346 | 0.469 | 121 | 5.7 | 0.629 |
| Dawson | 2627 | 10679 | 1373 | 438 | 1591 | 314 | 0.279 | 0.323 | 0.482 | 119 | 5.4 | 0.594 |
| Rice | 2089 | 9058 | 1249 | 382 | 1451 | 58 | 0.298 | 0.352 | 0.502 | 128 | 6 | 0.627 |
Then compare the voting results and their career totals with their offensive performance through the age of 35:
| G | PA | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | RC | |
| Murphy | 2136 | 8928 | 1191 | 396 | 1252 | 161 | 0.267 | 0.350 | 0.472 | 0.822 | 1305 |
| Dawson | 2018 | 8480 | 1130 | 346 | 1231 | 300 | 0.283 | 0.331 | 0.490 | 0.821 | 1241 |
| Rice | 2033 | 8830 | 1227 | 379 | 1423 | 57 | 0.300 | 0.357 | 0.506 | 0.863 | 1364 |
Murphy is as deserving of induction as Rice and Dawson. Rice was inferior defensively, benefited from resting as a designated hitter, was never a catcher and played his home games on a better surface at Fenway. Dawson padded his stats with average seasons after the age of 35, never played catcher, had many days off as a young player due to injuries and played the majority of his last 10 seasons on the grass surfaces of Wrigley, Fenway and Joe Robbie.
If you vote for Rice and the Hawk, you must vote for the Murph. All three deserve the Hall.
Tags: Andre Dawson, Atlanta Braves, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Murphy, Hall of Fame, Jim Rice
