Braves to honor Murphy July 11

Dale Murphy’s career spanned 18 years in the major leagues, 15 of which were spent with the Atlanta Braves.

Credit: Hyosub Shin

Credit: Hyosub Shin

Dale Murphy’s career spanned 18 years in the major leagues, 15 of which were spent with the Atlanta Braves.

Braves to honor Murph: The Braves will pay tribute to two-time former MVP Dale Murphy on July 11 with a ceremony before a Thursday night game against Cincinnati at Turner Field. The first 20,000 fans through the gates will get Murphy bobblehead dolls.

Murphy, who turned 57 on Tuesday, played 15 seasons for the Braves and was a seven-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. He finished 12th or higher in the National League MVP balloting six times from 1980-87, winning the award in 1982 and ‘83.

A former catcher who was converted to a center fielder by the Braves, Murphy had seven seasons with 29 or more homers in an eight-year span, including four consecutive seasons with at least 36 homers and 100 RBIs.

He had 36 homers and 30 stolen bases in 1983, one of only six players to have a 30-30 season in the 1980s.

Murphy, now a part-time Braves broadcaster, ranks second in Atlanta franchise history in home runs (371), RBI (1,143), hits (1,901), runs (1,103) and games played (1,926), and was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2000.