Larry Murray (baseball)
Larry Murray (born April 1, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played all or part of six seasons in the majors, two for the New York Yankees and one for the Oakland Athletics.
| Larry Murray | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: April 1, 1953 Chicago, Illinois | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 7, 1974, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 23, 1979, for the Oakland Athletics | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .177 |
| Home runs | 3 |
| Runs batted in | 31 |
| Teams | |
Yankees
Murray was drafted by the Yankees out of high school in the 3rd round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his major league debut in 1974, and played a handful of games in the majors in the next two seasons as well.
A's
Murray's big break came during the early part of the 1977 season. With Charlie Finley's dismantling of the team in full swing, the A's shipped Mike Torrez to the Yankees in exchange for Dock Ellis, Marty Perez, and Murray. While Ellis was fairly quickly shipped off himself to the Texas Rangers, Murray was given a chance to establish himself with Oakland. In 90 games, however, Murray batted just .179, with just 9 RBI in 179 at bats. He did steal 12 bases.
After spending most of 1978 back in the minor leagues, Murray got another chance in 1979, but fared little better, batting a paltry .186. Even his speed seemed to desert him, as he stole just 6 bases in 12 tries, and he was soon benched in favor of Tony Armas. That would be the end of Murray's major league career.
Murray played one more season of professional baseball with the Ogden A's in 1980, then retired.
Sources
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Pura Pelota