William R.W. Murphy (born May 9, 1981) is an American professional baseball left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, with an 0–0 record in the Major Leagues. He has also played in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

being one of the most highly known pitchers in Japan during the 2010 season. Murphy and

Yu Darvish , more commonly known as Yu Darvish (ダルビッシュ有), is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Darvish has also played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and ...

were both the top leading Aces in Japan for the 2010 season, yet Murphy being the dominant force for his team, the

to win the 2010 Japan Series. He has also played in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

. Bill Murphy is the only player in Major League Baseball history to be traded three times in less than a 24-hour time period, in the Paul Lo Duca, Brad Penny, Hee-seop Choi, Juan Encarnacion and Guillermo Mota trade. Murphy attended Arlington High School in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. After graduating from high school, Murphy was granted a baseball scholarship to CSU Northridge. Before attending college, he was drafted by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

in the 24th round (738th overall) in the

1999 Major League Baseball draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

, but did not sign with them. After attending

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

for three years, Murphy was selected as the 98th overall pick in the third-round of the 2002 famous

Moneyball ''Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'' is a book by Michael Lewis, published in 2003, about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane. Its focus is the team's analytical, evidence-based, sabermetric approa ...

draft.

Career

Oakland Athletics

He was drafted again by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

in the third round (98th overall) of the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

" draft. He spent two seasons in the Athletics organization, pitching for the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium. ...

(2002),

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...

(2003) and

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, whic ...

(2003). On June 10, 2003, Bill pitched a no-hitter for the

Florida Marlins

On December 23, 2003, he was sent to the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

as the player to be named later that had sent

Mark Redman Mark Allen Redman (born January 5, 1974) is an American former professional baseball left-handed starting pitcher. Early career A 1992 graduate of Escondido High School in California, he played baseball and football before attending The Master's ...

to the Athletics and

Mike Neu Michael David Neu (born December 29, 1970) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current head football coach of the Ball State Cardinals. He played college football at Ball State for Paul Schudel from 1990 to 1993 and ...

to the Marlins in a trade on December 16, 2003. Murphy began the 2004 season with the

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games a ...

, the Marlins Double-A affiliate. In 20 starts with the Mudcats, he was 6–4 with a 4.08 ERA.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On July 30, 2004, Murphy was traded along with

Hee-Seop Choi Hee-seop Choi (; Hangul: 최희섭; Hanja: 崔熙燮; ; born March 16, 1979) is a South Korean former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, and Los Angeles Dodgers ...

and

Brad Penny Bradley Wayne Penny (born May 24, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Penny played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida / Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardi ...

to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

for

Paul Lo Duca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972) is an American retired professional baseball player and television personality. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers (–), Florida Marlins (2004–, ), New York Met ...

Juan Encarnación Juan De Dios Encarnación (born March 8, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1997 to 2007 for the Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dod ...

, and

Guillermo Mota Guillermo Reynoso Mota (born July 25, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. In his career, he pitched for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, Cleveland Indians, New Yor ...

. The next day, on July 31, 2004, he was traded once again, this time to the

along with

Koyie Hill Koyie Dolan Hill (pronounced 'Koy') (born March 9, 1979) is an Americans, American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, and ...

and

Reggie Abercrombie Reginald Damascus Abercrombie (born July 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins and Houston Astros. Professional career Abercrombie graduated from Colum ...

for

Steve Finley Steven Allen Finley (born March 12, 1965) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for eight teams between 1989 and 2007, most notably the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks; he is one of only two play ...

and

Brent Mayne Brent Danem Mayne (born April 19, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 2004 for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, ...

. He finished the season with the Double-A

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, whi ...

. Murphy spent the whole 2005 season with the Triple-A

Tucson Sidewinders , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

but performed poorly as he had a 5.65

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 23 games (21 starts). He began the 2006 season back in Double-A with the

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off Int ...

. He was later promoted back up to Triple-A. In 2007, Murphy once again began the year in Triple-A. He started nine games in which he went 2–2 with a 4.05 ERA. He was mainly a relief pitcher however as he pitched 45 games out of the bullpen. He went 1–1 with a 3.35 ERA with 1 save out of the bullpen. His good performance earned him a September 1 call-up by the big league club. He made his Major League debut against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

on September 3, working 1.2 innings in relief and allowing three earned runs on 3 hits and 3 walks. In 10 games for the Diamondbacks in 2007, he had a 5.68 ERA. In , during spring training, the Diamondbacks designated Murphy for assignment and placed him on waivers.

Toronto Blue Jays

The

claimed him off waivers on March 17. Murphy did not make the 25-man Toronto 2009 roster out of spring training, and was assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. On April 14, 2009, Murphy was called up to the Toronto Blue Jays to replace the injured

Jesse Litsch Jesse Allen Litsch (born March 9, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. After working as a batboy for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he was drafted in the 24th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in , and played from 2007 to 2011, when ...

.Murphy fills Jays' bullpen void
/ref> Murphy made his Toronto debut on April 15 in relief, in a win over the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. On November 3, 2009 he was designated for assignment to make room for

Jarrett Hoffpauir Jarrett Lee Hoffpauir (born June 18, 1983) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He is a distant cousin to Micah Hoffpauir, who is also a baseball player. Hoffpauir was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 6th round of ...

. In 8 games with the Blue Jays, he worked in 11.1 innings with a 3.18 ERA.

Chiba Lotte Marines

On November 15, 2009, it was announced that Murphy would take a tryout for the Japanese team

. In 2010 Murphy led the Chiba Lotte Marines to the Japan World Series helping the team to win the championship along with being one of the top pitchers starting off the year undefeated 6-0 until his first loss against Yu Darvish. In 2010 Murphy eventually held one of the best records finishing with 12 wins and 6 losses, with a better record than most in Japan including pitchers like Yu Darvish, with a 3.75ERA on the season. He played with the Marines in 2010 and 2011, appearing in 48 games, with 30 starts. In both seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines he finished with a combined 14–11 record and an overall 3.81 ERA. He made history in 2010 by winning 6 consecutive games in Japan without a loss.

Return to the Blue Jays

He returned to the Blue Jays on a minor league contract on January 17, 2012 and was assigned to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. Murphy spent the entire 2012 season with the Las Vegas 51's with another winning record of 8-5 and an overall 4.38 ERA. Being one of the top pitchers with innings pitched in the PCL that season, Murphy was not granted a September call-up though his performance as starter/reliever is difficult in itself in the Pacific Coast League Triple-A, leaving many second guessing the Major League Affiliated Club of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Long Island Ducks/Camden Riversharks/7-Eleven Lions

Murphy played the 2013 season for the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

, helping lead them to yet another championship. In August 2014, it was announced that Murphy signed with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In 2 starts of the 2014 season, Murphy has started 2 games, pitched 10 innings with 0 runs, 0.00 ERA and is 1–0 on the year in the 2014 Atlantic League. After performing 2 scoreless starts with the Riversharks, going 1–0 with 10 scoreless innings, the

of Taiwan purchased his contract for the remainder of the 2014 season in hopes of obtaining another championship.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Bill 1981 births American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Living people Baseball players from Anaheim, California Major League Baseball pitchers Vancouver Canadians players Midland RockHounds players Cal State Northridge Matadors baseball players Kane County Cougars players Carolina Mudcats players El Paso Diablos players Tucson Sidewinders players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Azucareros del Este players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Tennessee Smokies players Arizona Diamondbacks players Syracuse Chiefs players Las Vegas 51s players Toronto Blue Jays players Chiba Lotte Marines players Long Island Ducks players Camden Riversharks players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players