Murphy = Bench?

Johnny Bench was not only a great hitter, but also one of the greatest catchers of all time, perhaps second only to the great Yogi Berra.

 

Bench is justifiably in the baseball hall of fame. He batted in the middle of one of the most formidable lineups in baseball history, the Big Red Machine of the 1970’s. Pete Rose. Joe Morgan. Tony Perez. George Foster. Ken Griffey. Dave Conception. Caesar Geronimo. A murderer’s row of all-stars all, if not hall of famers.

 

While Dale Murphy often batted ahead of Bob Horner, for most of his career he played on much less talented teams. In spite of this Murphy won just as many MVPs as Bench, while compiling career stats practically identical to the Hall of Famer.

 

To be sure, Bench played the most physically demanding position in baseball, though Murphy won five Gold Gloves in centerfield after moving there from behind the plate. Just as Bench was one of the most dominant players of the 1970’s, Murphy was one of the top two or three players of his generation. This usually earns a player a trip to Cooperstown, though Murphy has eluded induction into the baseball hall of fame.   

 

YR…GP….PA...runs...hits..2B..3B..HR..RBI...SB

17 2158 8674 1091 2048 381 24 389 1376 068 JB

18 2180 9041 1197 2111 350 39 398 1266 161 DM

 

avg.OBP.SLG.OPS.BB…K.

267 342  476 817 891 1278 JB

265 346  469 815 986 1748 DM

 

The hall of fame is obviously biased toward players on winning teams. While it’s hard to compare a catcher to a centerfielder, the nearly identical offensive numbers for the two Gold Glovers lend credence to Murphy’s ever-crumbling hall of fame candidacy. As a rookie Murphy was converted to Mormonism by fellow Brave Barry Bonnell.  As a player he once was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year, joining other winners like Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, etc.

ME: Worked past 6:30 Thursday night. Stopped by for a RaceTrac refill and BP gas. Bypassed Wendy’s and Taco Bell due to their super-long drive-thru lines. Good thing – C had cooked BBQ chicken, sweet potato fries, and spinach. Researched cars on line. Watched some of the DNC but did not see Isabel.

 

Didn’t feel like Cheerios this morning so I cashed in a coupon at Burger King. The hash brown tater tots were piping hot, but could they make those crossandiches any smaller? Tried to substitute a soft drink for the coffee, but it was going to be extra. Fair enough. As usual, almost all visits to fast food restaurants end up disappointing – with the exception of Chickfila.

I try to always remind myself that as much as I do at work and at home (which isn’t much), there are many people around me much busier, suffering hardship and taking care of much more. In Jefferson that’s Teresa and Susan. Claire surely qualifies. You’d never know what all some people do because they never complain or make a big show of telling those around them. Some call it humility. After I do something I don’t take time to tell people, usually because I have another ten or twenty more things to do. Reminds me of the scene within a scene sequence on an episode of MASH, where in the mind of Frank Burns those around him cower at all the great acts he performs. I need to dig up that clip on YouTube.

Taking off Monday to take Anna to Athens.