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Saturday, July 31, 2010

A model player: Dale Murphy understands role as ex-Braves star

And in a pre-steroids era, Murphy hit a career .265 with 398 home runs and 1,266 RBIs and was a member of the exclusive 30-30 (homers and stolen bases) club.

Yet despite being widely considered one of the best players of the 1980s, Murphy has yet to get the call from Cooperstown.

“I don’t know about the Hall of Fame,” Murphy said. “You have to get 75 percent (of the vote) to get in and I’m getting 12-13 percent.

I’m not campaigning, nor should I—it’s hard to get in for a reason.”

As players from the steroid era become eligible, Murphy could get a longer look. Long an opponent of performance-enhancing drugs, Murphy is glad baseball has toughened its stance but isn’t holding his breath that the backlash will help him in the polls.

“I think steroids made people look at the ‘80s differently,” he added. “But there were other things that also contributed to those (later) home run numbers besides steroids.”

!...Well knock me upside the head with a rolled up Nauvoo Expositor! Bravo, Murph!

Repoz Posted: July 31, 2010 at 01:37 PM | 16 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: braves, history, steroids

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1. Esoteric Posted: July 31, 2010 at 02:48 PM (#3604677)

I know it's posh for Primates to hate on Murphy for some reason, but I have nothing but good words to say about the man.

2. flournoy Posted: July 31, 2010 at 03:50 PM (#3604728)

Why would anyone say something negative about Dale Murphy?

3. Tuque

Posted: July 31, 2010 at 03:56 PM (#3604741)

I’m not campaigning, nor should I—it’s hard to get in for a reason.”

This already makes me think he's more worthy than Jim ####### Rice and his endless self-aggrandizing crusade. I immediately find myself not liking anyone who says they deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, even if it's true.

4. Steve Treder Posted: July 31, 2010 at 04:20 PM (#3604782)

I know it's posh for Primates to hate on Murphy

Huh?

5. YR Denies Jesus Montero Posted: July 31, 2010 at 05:30 PM (#3604836)

I'd vote for Murphy before I'd vote for Jim Rice.

6. Swoboda is freedom Posted: July 31, 2010 at 05:43 PM (#3604842)

I know it's posh for Primates to hate on Murphy

Huh?

I'd vote for Murphy before I'd vote for Jim Rice.

See? Damning with faint praise.

7. Esoteric Posted: July 31, 2010 at 05:44 PM (#3604843)

Huh?

I take it you don't remember many of our PED threads? Murphy's spoken out on the subject several times, and it's attracted some nasty commentary from the usual suspects, sometimes even tinged with a bit of additional anti-Mormon snark.

8. Chipper Jonestown Massacre Posted: July 31, 2010 at 05:46 PM (#3604846)

#2, #4 - I think he means just in the sense that many Primates think he's not Hall of Fame worthy. I don't think anyone could "hate", to use his word, on Murphy, the man.

EDIT: Well, and his harsh anti-PED's stance...

9. Vaux, A.B.D. Posted: August 01, 2010 at 09:15 AM (#3605381)

It's hard not to look at former players who bellow about the evils of steroids and hear them saying "Hey, look at me! I was better than you think I was! If they hadn't taken those nasty steroids, who knows--they might not have even been as good as I was!"

It's an inherently self-serving stance.

10. kthejoker Posted: August 02, 2010 at 04:21 PM (#3606132)

#9: So at one point is anyone allowed to have any moment of righteous indignation? Is there really not such a beast in your mind?

11. Martin Hemner

Posted: August 02, 2010 at 04:49 PM (#3606166)

I re-read the earlier thread. Here's what Murphy said to the AJC:

“If you’re asking me if I think Clemens took steroids or something — yes, I think he took them,” Murphy said. “I don’t have any proof. I’m just giving you my opinion, and that’s my opinion. I’m like everybody else. This isn’t a court of law. I don’t see all the evidence. Why would Brian McNamee just throw [Andy] Pettitte and Clemens out there? What does he have to benefit from it?

There were a lot of anti-Mormon comments in that thread. After re-reading them, while many are unfortunate, I think it is because writers often use religion to prop up Murphy's credibility, and that bothers people who don't agree with Mormon views. It's not his fault, and the Mormon stuff should stop both as a positive and negative.

However, there were some people who bashed Murphy for this quote. I think it's legitimate to question whether contributing to speculation was helpful to his cause of reducing steroids in the game.

12. SoSH U at work Posted: August 02, 2010 at 05:01 PM (#3606180)

There were a number of Murphy on steroids threads for a few years.

This short
thread begins to confirm what Eso was getting at.

13. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: August 02, 2010 at 05:03 PM (#3606182)

This short
thread begins to confirm what Eso was getting at.

My guess is that was just the latest in a long line of Dale Murphy threads repoz was serving up at the time and everyone was pretty sick of the whole thing.

14. SoSH U at work Posted: August 02, 2010 at 05:10 PM (#3606192)

My guess is that was just the latest in a long line of Dale Murphy threads repoz was serving up at the time and everyone was pretty sick of the whole thing.

I'm sure, but it just shows that Eso's Post 1 wasn't out of leftfield.

15. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless Leader

Posted: August 02, 2010 at 05:28 PM (#3606210)

I'm sure, but it just shows that Eso's Post 1 wasn't out of leftfield.

But it completely ignores the context leading up to that epic 9 post thread you linked.

16. Der Komminsk-sar Posted: August 02, 2010 at 05:33 PM (#3606222)

I've seen Dale get hit pretty hard in these parts (over the PED stance and perceived hypocrisy, not over religion), whilst also acknowledging that he probably deserved a better HOF showing than he's gotten. This seems about right to me (note: Dale was my first favorite player and, in many respects, appears to be a really good guy - probably a 'better individual' than many of the more usually beloved players here...).

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A model player: Dale Murphy understands role as ex-Braves star

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