All-Time Indians: Eddie Murray

The great Eddie Murray was one of many Hall of Famers to play with the Indians in the twilight of his career, but unlike others (like Steve Carlton and Hoyt Wilhelm), he remained a solid force in the lineup heading into his 40’s. Since he was 38 and had already spent 17 seasons with three other teams prior to joining the Indians, we won’t spend much time on his early years, but since they are what got him into the Hall of Fame (Class of 2003), those accolades need to be mentioned. From the very beginning, Murray looked like a star and he won the Rookie of the Year in 1977 with the Orioles as their DH/1B. In the seasons after he would play more time at first than at DH and while with Baltimore (where he stayed until 1988), he would go to seven All-Star Games, win three Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers, all as a first baseman. He also received MVP votes in eight of these seasons, finishing in the top five on five separate occasions and was second twice, losing to short stops each season. In 1982 he finished second to Milwaukee’s Robin Yount and in 1983, he lost out to his own teammate, Cal Ripken.

After his long tenure with the Orioles, Murray was traded to the Dodgers prior to the 1989 season (where he won another Silver Slugger, went to an All-Star Game and finished in the top five in the MVP voting), then signed as a free agent with the Mets in 1992. After two lackluster years in New York, he would finally come to Cleveland as one of the biggest free agents ever brought to the city, snaring a three year, $8M contract prior to the 1994 season.

The Indians were building on what was already the greatest offensive team in history and Murray was mostly needed as a veteran presence, but despite not being able to play the field, he performed at a higher level than expected. Joining Albert Belle, Jim Thome and rookie outfielder Manny Ramirez, the Indians had a true one through nine filled with superstars and Murray fit right in. In the strike shortened season, Murray was the starting DH and finished third on the team with 76 RBI and fourth with 17 home runs with 21 doubles and 57 runs to go with it as well. The Indians were surging late in the season and were set to be at least a Wild Card winner, but the player strike ended the season early, delaying the Indians return to the post season.

The strike lasted into the early part of the 1995 season, but eventually things got started and the Indians were even better than the year before. Murray was a huge part of this offense as, at the age of 39, he posted his best season since his MVP quality 1990 season in LA. With a line of .323/.375/.516, Murray finished fifth in the American League in batting with five of his teammates also finishing within the top 17. While Belle lead the way with a team record 50 home runs, Murray was one of five hitters with at least 20 home runs.

With an amazing 100-44 record, the Indians catapulted to their first Central Division championship, their first 100 win or .600 winning percent season since 1954. For Murray, it was his third trip to the post-season after two World Series with the Orioles (1979 and 1983). Because the team was generally home built, Murray was one of the very few players on the team with any play-off experience and it showed in the first series. Against the Red Sox, Murray batted .385 with a home run and three RBI, including the game deciding run in game one. Repeating this effort, he would go on to hit one home run and knock in three in each of the three post-season series. While the Indians would ultimately lose the World Series to the Braves, they looked stacked for another run in 1996 and Murray had already won his ring back in 1983.

Of course, things don’t always go the way they seem and after batting just .262 through 88 games in 1996, Murray was traded to the Orioles for Kent Mercker. Both players were in their final year under contract and neither were particularly helpful to their new teams. For Murray, the idea was likely for him to end his career where he started, but the slugger was not quite ready to hang up his cleats. At 41, Murray came back for one final season, playing for both the Angels, then after being released, the Dodgers. He would bat just .222 between the two teams and would officially retire at the end of the season.

While Murray had just a short career with the Indians, he remains one of the greatest designated hitters in team history, ending his career with more RBI (203) than all but two full time Indians DH’s (Rico Carty and Andre Thornton) and a higher average than all but Carty. He has since been surpassed by David Justice and Travis Hafner in most stats as a designated hitter.

After his short time away from baseball, Murray returned as a coach for the Orioles through 2001 and came back to Cleveland as the hitting coach in 2002. Under managers Charlie Manuel and Eric Wedge, Murray stayed in this position until 2005 when he was fired and replaced with Derek Shelton. While he did find another job quickly with the Dodgers, he wouldn’t find much more success there as he was fired again in 2007 after which he retired from baseball for good.