Murphy Mission (for '99) isn't Hall
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (1/5/99)
By Thomas Stinson
Dale Murphy had a question.
"And when is the announcement?" the bashful voice
inquired by telephone from Boston. "Tomorrow?"
The Baseball Hall of Fame's newest class will be announced at 2 p.m. Tuesday, and how perfectly for Murphy that the occasion sneaked up on him.
Murphy, a former Braves center fielder, is part of a
superior first-year group of candidates, including Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Robin Yount and Carlton Fisk. And if that bunch seems to have a higher pedigree, the first to agree is, of course, Murphy.
"The three obvious ones (Ryan, Brett and Yount) are going to be there," Murphy said. "And anyone else who gets in is going to be a real bonus and such a departure from the norm over so many years. I
really haven't felt much on it this year, except that I'm eligible and it's hard to believe."
The Baseball Writers Association of America, which has voted in five players in the last six years, is expected to crack open the door to Cooperstown a little wider. Only 26 players have been inducted on
the first ballot, and strikeout king Ryan, with seven no-hitters, 5,714 strikeouts and hitters Brett and Yount, each with more than 3,000 hits) would be the largest incoming group since 1991 (Rod Carew, Ferguson Jenkins and Gaylord Perry). It has been 44 years since four players were voted in at one time.
Other first-year candidates include George Bell, Mike Boddicker, John
Candelaria, Frank Tanana, Mike Witt and Charlie Liebrandt, another former Atlanta player. Among 17 holdovers from last year's ballot are Tony Perez, Steve Garvey, Keith Hernandez and Bruce Sutter. The
company makes Murphy uncomfortable.
"I've been asked about it since I retired, and I'm just honored to be
considered," said Murphy, who is 1 1/2 years into a three-year Mormon
mission, serving as a missionary supervisor for the church's Massachusetts region. "I was just talking with someone about an
article that said I might have a shot. To be honest, I've always felt there was maybe a shot, but that if it happened, it'd be somewhere down the road."
While Murphy's career .265 average will not help him, he is one of 19 players to win multiple most valuable player awards. Of the other 18, only two are not already in Cooperstown--Yount and Roger Maris. While Murphy failed to reach the 400-homer mark, his 398 home runs rank
23rd among all players currently eligible for Hall of Fame consideration. Of those 23, only Dave Kingman (442) and Darrell Evans (414) have not been inducted.
"If it does happen," Murphy said, "whenever, if it ever does, I would be more than ecstatic."
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