Dwayne Keith Murphy (born March 18, 1955) is an American former player who spent most of his career playing for 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 ...

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) as an outfielder. During much of his time in Oakland, Murphy batted second in the lineup behind hall-of-famer

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...

. He was one of the best defensive outfielders of his time, receiving six consecutive

Gold Gloves The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

from 1980 through 1985. He is currently the minor league assistant hitting coach and outfield coordinator for the Texas Rangers, after previously serving as a coach in 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 ...

organizations.

Playing career

Oakland Athletics (1978–87)

Murphy was born in

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up ...

, about 120 miles from

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

. After graduating from

Antelope Valley High School Antelope Valley High School is located in Lancaster, California, and is part of the Antelope Valley Union High School District, in northernmost Los Angeles County, California. It was founded in 1912, and had its first graduating class in 1912. I ...

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 173,51 ...

, Murphy was drafted in the 15th round in the 1973 draft by the

, after turning down a football scholarship from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. He came up to the majors for the first time in 1978 at age 23. He would spend the large bulk of his career with Oakland. Murphy struggled in his rookie year. While he only played in 60 games that season, he managed to collect just 10 hits in 52 plate appearances (giving him an .182 batting average) and he did not hit a home run. His numbers improved as he became the A's everyday

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

. His power numbers grew as well. The Athletics in the early 1980s had an outfield of Murphy,

, and

Tony Armas Antonio Rafael Armas Machado (born July 2, 1953) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1976 to 1989. He is the father of pitcher Tony Armas Jr. and the older brother o ...

, and many saw it as the best young outfield in baseball. The A's made the playoffs in 1981, where they lost to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

. In those playoffs, Murphy hit .421 and hit one

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 ...

in six games. Murphy's biggest offensive year came in 1984, where he batted .256, hit 33 home runs and recorded 88 RBI in 153 games. Murphy also drew many walks which led to a very high on-base percentage, and had excellent speed on the base paths. He stole 26 bases in both 1980 and 1982. Murphy was also one of the best defensive players in the game, winning an incredible six straight

from 1980 to 1985. His signature play became a trademark of sorts for him – his hat blowing off his head on virtually every play he made, from tracking down routine fly balls to making spectacular catches deep in the Valley. Murphy hit second in the lineup throughout most of his career with the A's batting behind Rickey Henderson. Henderson credits Murphy for helping him set the single-season stolen-base record of 130 steals in 1982. After Henderson stole his 119th base that season, he pulled the base up out of the ground and kept it. Afterwards, in an interview, he said, "If I could break this base in half, I'd give the other half to Dwayne Murphy." Murphy also credits Henderson with helping him have a good career. "I took a lot of pitches for him", Murphy said. "He made my career, I believe, because I let him steal and that put me in a position to knock in runs. I loved to watch him play. Let him steal second, let him steal third, knock him in. It gave me a respectable career." During his nine years with the Athletics, he played under managers

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

and

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...

Detroit Tigers (1988) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989)

After ten seasons in Oakland, he spent his final two seasons with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. He played in 49 games with the Tigers in 1988, batting .250 with four home runs and 19 RBI. In his final season with the Phillies, he hit just .218 with nine home runs and 27 RBI.

Yakult Swallows (1990)

In 1990, he joined the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

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 ...

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

in Japan. Injuries limited his effectiveness, and the Swallows released him in August.

Coaching career

Following his playing career, Murphy began a coaching career. He coached with the

from 1998 to 2003, including serving as hitting coach in 2001, when the Diamondbacks won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

. In 2005, he was hired by the

as a hitting coach, first for the Blue Jays' triple-A affiliate, the

Syracuse SkyChiefs The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which open ...

, and then later as a "roving" instructor, visiting all the team's minor league clubs to help players with hitting. Murphy held that position when he was named the team's first base coach on June 20, 2008, in the wake of

Cito Gaston Clarence Edwin "Cito" Gaston (; born March 17, 1944) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. His major league career as a player lasted from 1967 to 1978, most notably with the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves. He spent his en ...

's nomination to replace the fired

John Gibbons John Michael Gibbons (born June 8, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Gibbons briefly played in the Major Leagues as a catcher with the New York Me ...

as Blue Jay manager. Blue Jays' outfielder

Adam Lind Adam Alan Lind (born July 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals. Lind has a ...

revealed at the time that he had an intimate relationship with Murphy, "He keeps me loose", Lind said. "He can dish it out and take it, too. Some coaches you have more of a formal, professional relationship with. With him, you have fun. He talks about how good he was, and I tell him how bad he is. Yeah, he had a good career. At least that's what he keeps telling me." On October 30, 2009, Murphy became the Blue Jays' hitting coach, following the retirement of

Gene Tenace Fury Gene Tenace (; born Fiore Gino Tenacci; October 10, 1946), better known as Gene Tenace, is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher and first baseman in Major League Baseball from through , most n ...

. Along with Cito Gaston, Murphy was credited with helping

José Bautista José Antonio Bautista Santos (born October 19, 1980), nicknamed "Joey Bats", is a Dominican special advisor for the general manager of the Leones del Escogido and former professional baseball right fielder and third baseman. He played in Majo ...

's transformation into a superstar by changing his swing. On November 24, 2012, after John Gibbons was re-hired as the team's manager, Murphy was appointed as the Blue Jays' first base coach and outfield coach. Murphy announced his retirement following the 2013 season. However, on January 13, 2015, he was hired by the Texas Rangers to be their new minor league assistant hitting coach and outfield coordinator.

Personal life

Murphy is an avid

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

player. He helped fund

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...

's first label "Bust It Records" and first album ''

Feel My Power ''Feel My Power'' is the debut studio album by M.C. Hammer released in 1986 by Bustin’ Records. The album was produced by Felton Pilate of Con Funk Shun. ''Feel My Power'' sold over 60,000 copies, a considerable success for a small independen ...

''. His brother, Rod Murphy, played minor league baseball for the Victoria Mussels,

Utica Blue Sox The Utica Blue Sox was the name of two minor league baseball teams based in Utica, New York. In the 2010s, the ''Utica Blue Sox'' is the name of a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) based in ...

and Modesto A’s.

References

External links

RetrosheetVenezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Dwayne 1955 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Antelope Valley High School alumni Arizona Diamondbacks coaches Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Oakland, California Burlington Bees players Chattanooga Lookouts players Detroit Tigers players Fresno Suns players Gold Glove Award winners Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Lewiston Broncs players Madison Muskies players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Minor league baseball managers Modesto A's players Oakland Athletics players People from Merced, California Philadelphia Phillies players Record producers from California Tacoma Tigers players Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Blue Jays coaches Tucson Toros players Vancouver Canadians players Yakult Swallows players 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people