Daniel Francis Murphy (born August 23, 1942), is a retired American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player who played

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 ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

in the Major Leagues from 1960 to 1962 and in 1969–1970 for the Chicago Cubs and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. Murphy threw right-handed, batted left-handed, stood tall and weighed during his playing career. A native of Beverly, Massachusetts, Murphy signed with the Cubs for a $100,000

bonus Bonus commonly means: * Bonus, a Commonwealth term for a distribution of profits to a with-profits insurance policy * Bonus payment, an extra payment received as a reward for doing one's job well or as an incentive Bonus may also refer to: Plac ...

Terrell, Roy, "The Signing of Danny Murphy," ''Sports Illustrated'', June 27, 1960
/ref> as an

on June 15, 1960, following his graduation from St. John's Preparatory School after an illustrious career in youth and schoolboy baseball. Three days later, he made his professional and Major League debut as the Cubs' starting center fielder in a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field. He went hitless in four

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

against Jay Hook, but the following day, he took over from the Cubs' regular center fielder,

Richie Ashburn Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. (Some sources give his ...

, late in the game and collected his first MLB hit, a single against left-handed

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Bill Henry. He became the youngest Cub to hit a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

at the age of 18 years, three weeks, when he connected on September 13, 1960, off the Reds'

Bob Purkey Robert Thomas Purkey (July 14, 1929 – March 16, 2008) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball known for his use of the knuckleball. From 1954 through 1966, Purkey played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds / Redle ...

with two runners on base. However, Murphy would collect only 23 total hits in 49 games played during his Cub career, batting only .171 during his tenure. He was traded to the Houston Colt .45s during spring training in . Murphy then disappeared into minor league baseball for the next six full seasons, converting to pitcher in 1966 at the Double-A level in the White Sox' organization. After promising campaigns in the Southern and Pacific Coast leagues, the White Sox recalled Murphy in August , and he debuted as a relief pitcher against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

at Comiskey Park on August 11. He had a successful two months coming out of the White Sox bullpen, compiling a low 2.01

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

with four saves. Murphy then spent the entire campaign with Chicago, with markedly less impressive results. His ERA rose to 5.69 and he yielded 82 hits and 49 bases on balls in innings pitched—although Murphy connected for his fourth and final career

off Bill Zepp in a winning effort against the Minnesota Twins on June 28.1970-6-28 box score from Retrosheet
/ref> All told, he appeared as a pitcher in 68 games played and 112 innings, and gave up 100 hits and 59 bases on balls, with 58

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

and nine saves as a Major Leaguer. The following spring, Murphy was traded to his hometown Red Sox. He spent the 1971 season at Boston's Triple-A

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

affiliate before leaving baseball after 12 professional seasons.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Danny 1942 births Living people Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Evansville White Sox players Hawaii Islanders players Indianapolis Indians players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Lynchburg White Sox players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players Salt Lake City Bees players San Antonio Bullets players San Antonio Missions players Sportspeople from Beverly, Massachusetts Baseball players from Essex County, Massachusetts Tucson Toros players Wenatchee Chiefs players