Posted on 01/04/2005 11:45:59 AM PST by Gucho
"Paging Margo Adams"
I remember that :)
But still.
Murph was more than just a great player. He was a great person. He won the 1985 Lou Gehrig Award as the major league player who best represented the character and sportsmanship of the late, great Yankee slugger. In 1988, he won the Roberto Clemete Award, given to the player who performed above expectations on the field, and made a significant contribution in the community. In 1987, he shared Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year Award. Murph was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in 1995.
Compare and contrast that with many of today's athletic "stars."
"He's [Murphy] the best I've ever seen, and I've seen Willie Mays." --Billy Conners, former Chicago Cubs pitching coach
Player Votes %
Wade Boggs 474 91.9%
Ryne Sandberg 393 76.2%
Bruce Sutter 344 66.7%
Jim Rice 307 59.5%
"Goose" Gossage 285 55.2%
Andre Dawson 270 52.3%
Bert Blyleven 211 40.9%
Lee Smith 200 38.8%
Jack Morris 172 33.3%
Tommy John 123 23.8%
Steve Garvey 106 20.5%
Alan Trammell 87 16.9%
Dave Parker 65 12.6%
Don Mattingly 59 11.4%
Dave Concepcion 55 10.7%
Dale Murphy 54 10.5%
Willie McGee 26 5.0%
Jim Abbott 13 2.5%
Darryl Strawberry 6 1.2%
Jack McDowell 4 0.8%
Chili Davis 3 0.6%
Tom Candiotti 2 0.4%
Jeff Montgomery 2 0.4%
Tony Phillips 1 0.2%
Terry Steinbach 1 0.2%
Mark Langston 0 0.0%
Otis Nixon 0 0.0%
"Nice guy, nice player, but not enough. Again, I'd be intrigued to compare his numbers to Dave Parker, a near-contemporary who was a similar player."
MURPHY STATS = http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/murphda05.shtml
PARKER STATS = http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/parkeda01.shtml
*sigh* Well, maybe Murph will have better luck with the Veteran's group voters. (3 votes for Chili Davis?)
You ask pitchers who played back then who they most feared as a batter, Wade Boggs, or Jim Rice.
I agree. If he'd finished the 80's like he started, so he had 10 or 11 really solid years in a row, he'd have been a lock.
6 or 7 isn't (and shouldn't be IMO) enough.
I saw freakin' Jim Rice break a bat simply by checking his swing. It snapped just because he had both increadible bat speed and then wrist strength enough to stop it all instantly. Was inhuman.
I remember that. Must have made an impression on the pitcher.
If by an impression you meant a stained uni, I'll bet you're right...
"I saw freakin' Jim Rice break a bat simply by checking his swing. It snapped just because he had both increadible bat speed and then wrist strength enough to stop it all instantly. Was inhuman."
I recall that one also - amazing. Think he also poked a golfball out of Montreal Stadium center field. (was a mammoth stadium) Olympic?
Actually I am pretty sure I could strike out my mother with a golfball, but you get my idea. And God help her if she tried to bunt on me....
Murphy was a regular for 14 seasons, '78-'91. Parker was a regular for 15 seasons, '75-'80 and '83-'91 (partial seasons due to injury, '81-'82). Same height (6'5"), Parker a little heavier and a few years older. Both NL outfielders for much of the same time.
Murphy: 398 HR, 1266 RBI, 161 SB, .265 BA, .346 OBP, .469 SLG
Parker: 339 HR, 1493 RBI, 154 SB, .290 BA, .339 OBP, .471 SLG
My recollection was correct. Very similar players. Neither quite good enough in enough seasons for the HOF.
"JIM RICE WAS ROBBED AGAIN!"
RICE STATS = http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/riceji01.shtml
A great site for baseball stats =
http://www.baseball-reference.com/
"Wade Boggs claimed to have got out of a serious bar brawl by willing himself invisible."
Yeah, the "accident" had a name: Margo Adams.
Chili got hosed. Sure, he's no Hall of Famer, but he deserved more than a paltry 3 votes, banishing him from the vote forever.
350 HR, 1,372 RBI (more than Orlando Cepeda, Brooks Robinson, Duke Snider, many more HOFers) should get a little more respect. Sad.
But no, I wouldn't have voted for him either, so meh.
Rice really tailed off badly and quickly after age 33. But his first 12 seasons were outstanding. If he could have kept it up another three, he would be a lock.
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