About Dale
Dale Bryan Murphy was the dominant baseball star of the mid 1980s, an offensive and defensive force who excelled in an era dominated by pitching, with durability and character combined with accomplishments that shine across eras.
He captured two National League MVPs, two National League home run championships, and two RBI championships – the latter two accomplishments across four different seasons. He registered one of only five 40-homer National League seasons of the 1980s (44 in 1987), and one of only five 30-30 seasons (36 HR and 30 stolen bases in 1983) in the league that decade.
He posted a 47.1 WAR (wins against replacement) in the 1980s. Those ranking 1-9 are Hall of Famers. From 1980-1990, no man in baseball hit more home runs (332). Only one drove in more runs (1,012 – trailing Eddie Murray).
Across his peak years of 1982-1987, he simply had no peers among position players in baseball. Over those six seasons he averaged 36 home runs, 105 RBI, and batted .289 – while taking home five Gold Gloves and making the All-Star Game each year. The latter part of his career was marred by injuries, while the statistics he posted would later be overshadowed by the skewed competition that was soon to come.
When the catcher-turned-outfielder retired from baseball in 1993, Dale Murphy was No.27 on the all-time home run list. Twenty-four of the twenty-six players above him at that time are currently in the Hall of Fame (all except for David Kingman and Darrell Evans).
His career HR total of 398 is greater than 87% of hall-of-famers, and his 1,266 RBIs put him ahead of 70% of those enshrined in Cooperstown.
He is one of 14 MLB players in history to win back-to-back MVPs. Of those currently HOF-eligible, only three have not been inducted – Dale Murphy, Roger Maris, and Barry Bonds (Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, and Shohei Ohtani are not yet eligible).
His career featured a three-HR game, a two-HR inning, a five-hit game, and a consecutive-game-played streak that stretched across six seasons. His Atlanta Braves won the National League West in 1982 – and reached untold millions via national broadcasts on TBS, which built a national following for both the franchise and the game.
The story of baseball is incomplete without “Murph.” He defined an era and stood as a powerful example for the fans of the franchises he played for, and across the baseball landscape.