Lost Ballparks

Best of Lost Ballparks: Dale Murphy (Braves HOF)

• Mike Koser • Season 2 • Episode 2

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(This episode was recorded in 2022). 

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Dale Murphy was a 7X All-Star, 2X NL MVP, 5X Gold Glove winner, 4X silver slugger award winner. He finished his 18 year career with 2,111 hits and 398 home runs and is a member of the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame.

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Mike Koser:

Hi, I'm Mike Koser, and welcome to the Lost Ballparks Podcast.

Announcer:

Podcast Open

Mike Koser:

Dale Murphy was a seven-time All-Star, two-time NL MVP, five-time gold glove winner, four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, finished his 18-year career with 2,111 hits and 398 home runs, and is a member of the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame. And he is our guest today on the Lost Ballparks podcast. Dale Murphy.

Dale Murphy:

Hello. There you are.

Mike Koser:

Hey Murph, how are you?

Dale Murphy:

Good, good. Thanks for having me on.

Mike Koser:

Thanks so much for doing this. I got to tell you, so when I was probably eight, nine, ten years old, my cousin lived in uh Atlanta. And we used to drive down from Ohio. I'm originally from uh Mansfield, Ohio, right in between Columbus and Cleveland. We would drive down to Atlanta and we would drive past Fulton County Stadium. And I would say to my dad and mom as we were in the car, hey, that's where Dale Murphy lives. He lives. I wonder he's probably there right now. That's where he lives. And I could see because my my cousin Jimmy was such a huge fan of the Braves and a huge fan of uh of you. And so I can remember again as a young guy going to McDonald's and they had uh, I think at the time like these specialty cups.

Dale Murphy:

Oh, yeah, they had cups. They had uh well, someone had lids. That was 7-Eleven. 7-Eleven had slurpy lids.

Mike Koser:

I can remember getting one of those cups and thinking, okay, this is the coolest thing ever. I'm taking this back to Ohio. Let's jump into it. You grew up in Portland, Oregon. Where and when did you attend your first major league baseball game? I mean, I know your dad for a short time worked in Morago. Is that how you pronounce it, California?

Dale Murphy:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. My first one would be Candlestick Park. Okay. And uh my dad had tickets. He worked for Westing House, and I remember sitting in some of those boxes up there, uh suites, I guess you'd call them, and uh yeah, watching Willie Mays and Willie McCovey and Gaylord was probably there. Um that would be my first big league, major league game. The only thing I remember is hoping for extra innings. You know, I was like, man, I wish I could stay here longer. Now, my dad shared a story one night. Uh, he might have been speaking or given an interview somewhere. He said that I told him when we were driving up to Candlestick Park one day that I'm gonna work there someday. And you did? Yeah, I did. And my I think my dad said, you know, I thought he was gonna be a peanut vendor, but uh and uh, you know, of course I don't remember, but yeah, you know, my first professional game that I remember is going to Portland Beaver games. Uh Sam McDowell, Chico Simone, and Louis Tiant. It's so weird to think. I faced Louis Tian in spring training and seeing those big ballparks like that. Then we moved back to Portland, Oregon. You know, that was fifth and sixth grade, moved back to Portland, and I was telling my friends, man, these these major league ballparks, you would not believe them. I'd be trying to explain it to them. Great memories from candlestick and from the Coliseum.

Mike Koser:

Well, and you know, in the 60s and early 70s, both those ballparks were uh wide open in the outfield. I mean, they eventually closed them off for football and added, you know, other decks. That was a kind of a neat view uh of candlestick. I'm sure it made it colder.

Dale Murphy:

Now that you mentioned that, yeah, I remember when I was there going to games in the 60s as a kid, yeah, candlestick was not enclosed. The wind was always a little tricky, even when they enclosed it, because I don't know, maybe it was a little more predictable uh if it was open. Sometimes you close it and then you get kind of swirls. All right. We used to look at which uh right field corner or left field corner had accumulated the most garbage, and that's how we figured which way the wind was blowing. Remember back in the day, I mean, I was talking with this about somebody else. They said, remember how much trash used to fly around ballparks? And you see some old some old video, and you're like, Yeah, I mean, guys were always picking it up, putting it in their pocket, but candlestick was always a little tricky. But back in the day, yeah, definitely open.

Mike Koser:

And speaking of trash, they had a chain link fence in the outfield, so the trash would like stick to the back of the front of the fence, depending on which way the wind was blowing.

Dale Murphy:

I think Johnny Bench was a little ahead of me in in visiting home runs in candlestick park. I can't remember exactly, but the ball carried good to right field, and people were like, Well, why does the ball carry so good to right field? I think it it typically the uh the wind came in from left field and then circled back out to right. So you could catch a little bit of a jet stream to right.

Mike Koser:

Uh it's interesting you should say that because we were talking with Jon Miller, uh longtime play-by-play guy for the Giants a few weeks ago, and he was telling us that Willie Mays had trouble hitting home runs his first year there, but then changed his stance a little bit, his second year candlestick, to hit more balls out to right because he said the ball would get caught up in that jet stream and carry.

Dale Murphy:

Yeah, absolutely. And I'd heard that about Willie, so that kind of confirms what I had heard. But I remember Jack Clark hitting some blasts left field.

Mel Allen:

And there goes a long drive deep to left field, going, going, and it is gone. A great souvenir for the kid. Remember that name, Jack Clark.

Dale Murphy:

I think the prevailing wind was in from left, and then it would come in and and sling out to right. So I liked hitting there. It was kind of weird. Not everybody liked playing there or hitting there, but I liked hitting there. You know, when I played them early in the year, early in my career, they still had fight the blue, uh, but he wasn't throwing like a young Vida blue. I I felt comfortable there, and I usually had family or friends down from Portland. And so it's a weird thing. I have pretty good numbers at Candlestick Park. Let's go!

John Sterling:

To deep left field. It is high. Far and gone. Dale Murphy connects on a home run with two on. The Braves lead it four-nothing. And how did the Braves ever need that!

Mike Koser:

You get called up to the big league September 13th, 1976. The Braves are visiting Dodger Stadium. Okay, so walk me through the moment that you put on that big league uniform for the first time and you're walking out.

Dale Murphy:

Yeah, and and a young kid from Portland, Oregon just watched the 74. I, you know, I was drafted in 74. So I think I think they played the A's at 74. Right. So this is 76. Two years after I get drafted, I got called up a September call-up as a catcher. So I was just shaken. I mean, I don't know how else to say it. My catching was was a little funky at that time. Uh, my throwing went, you know, that's the reason why I I ended up at first base and then the outfield. Definitely intimidated. Rick Roden was pitching, and uh, you know, I took the first pitch and I was like, man, I could have hit that one. What am I, you know? I might as well start swinging. So it was it was pretty nerve-wracking. La Sorda was down there yelling at me, and we're gonna run on you, Murphy. And uh Davey, Davey Lopes probably had at least three stolen bases that day. I don't even remember. I want to say Jamie Easterly might have started that game. I know he came in that game. I I don't even remember he started that, but I got I got an infield infield hit my first at bat and got down to first base, and Steve Garvey said, Hey, nice going, kid. You know, hope you get hope you get a lot more.

Mike Koser:

Well, yeah, and you did. Uh, in fact, you in that game, I think you got two hits in that first game. Did I?

Dale Murphy:

I don't even remember the second one.

Mike Koser:

Yeah. It's all blurred. When you get called up in 76, I'm sure you're aware that in the ballpark that you're gonna play at Fulton County Stadium, just two years earlier, Hank Aaron hits number 715, breaking Babe Ruth's home run record. Okay, wow. Look where I'm at. Look where I'm playing on the same, you know, the same field where that happened.

Dale Murphy:

In April of 74, I was at home. I can't remember if the game was on tape delay or what, but I was outside playing and my mom came in and and I remember she said, Hank here, and it hit 715. I I think I was mad at her because I wanted to watch the replay. And uh yeah, and then it was really surreal. Hank wasn't there. Yeah, he's back with the brewers. So I mean, it was still that mystique. If Hank had been there, I I don't know what I would have done.

Mike Koser:

Well, you played most of your career at Atlantis Fulton County Stadium. What were some of the things about that ballpark that you liked?

Dale Murphy:

You know, it's called the the launching pad for reasons, great place to hit. They brought the fence in. I mean, it was one of those round multi-purpose stadiums that most of them had a big concrete wall down the line was probably, you know, 340 or 350. And most of those ballparks that I can remember now is I'm thinking the round stadiums, riverfront, three rivers, Atlanta Fold County Stadium, um, the vet, they put a fence, they brought a fence in. So I think it was 320 down both lines. It was symmetrical, the ball carried well. Wind never really affected us because if a thunderstorm came through Atlanta, you know, we were enclosed and it might blow in for a while, but we never had any wind problems. And a lot of people don't realize the altitude. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it I think it was over a thousand feet, which you you don't realize that all the a lot of the ball parts are at sea level. Maybe there's a little difference there, but the ball always carried well. So uh that's what I remember. We changed our fence a few times. I did cut my hand on a plexiglass, plexiglass fence. When I first got there, there's cyclone fences. We didn't have any other uh technology at the time. You could see the ball well. I wasn't an infielder except for one year, and it wasn't known for being very smooth. Again, we didn't have the technology, and the Falcons played there, and they did a lot of multiple, you know, a lot of events there, and the infield was not always really good. We just did not have the technology to keep the grass, uh the dirt wet and uh rakable and smoothable uh like they do now. They it's just different mixtures, you know. Yeah, and uh so the infield was kind of tough. It was a hitter's ballpark all the way, and uh fast outfield, fast infield, and it all carried well. So I loved it. I mean, I talk to fans now and they go, People love Fulton County State. I mean, I it's definitely the memories of 80s baseball. And I was just gonna say something else about Fulton County State. Oh, just about the time we played, people always say, Oh, Murph, if you played the best time to watch baseball in Atlanta. I always go, Well, what do you mean? We you know, we didn't play that good. We had a couple, you know, a few good years. They go, No, that's not what I mean. You can play a buy a five-dollar ticket in the outfield, and by the third inning, you could sit behind the dugout. So that's what they mean.

Mike Koser:

That's great. Yeah, you know what? You talk about it being called the uh the launching pad, and for good reason, May 18th, 1979, you hit three home runs in one game against the Giants, two off Vida Blue, and then one off Tom Griffin. Tom Griffin, who actually is the an usher at my church now. I gotta bring that up to him. But yeah, that was funny. Three home runs in a game. Talk about feeling it.

Dale Murphy:

I I felt good in 79. I uh I ended up getting hurt sometime that year and missed a lot of that year, but I got off to a really good start. And I could never hit Vida when I saw him on TV as a kid. Uh but Vida was still throwing pretty good. I mean, but he just wasn't, you know, flamethrower like he was. So he was left-handed, and you know, he got a couple balls up to me, and I remember the game, and I I was saying, oh, this game's kind of easy, you know, like typical stuff. And I never did three again, you know. Uh of course I played with Bob uh Horner with four, and that's remarkable. Crazy. Uh I I just want to say one thing. You reminded me about Hank Aaron. I was thinking about he came back with Al Downing on a 10-year anniversary in 84, right when they recreated his 715th home run.

Mike Koser:

Oh, wow.

Dale Murphy:

And Al Downing was pitching, and Hank was hitting, and he hit one about 10 feet away from where he hit 7.15.

Mike Koser:

Hank and uh at 84 is 50. I mean, think about that. 50 years old to hit a bomb like that? That's pretty impressive.

Dale Murphy:

No, they hit a ball out of a ballpark at 50. Uh you know, I mean, just to hit the ball. No, those old timers, like like Hank and all the grades, you know, they would pitch to each other in these old timers games. The pitchers would pitch, and these guys could still hit. It was it was really interesting to watch. They were a different breed.

Mike Koser:

In 1980, you made your first All-Star game.

PA Announcer:

From the Atlanta Braves, outfielder, Dale Murphy.

Mike Koser:

And I always like to hear about players' first experiences at All-Star games because I mean it's your first real opportunity to play with so many of the guys who just a few years earlier you're watching and admiring from your couch at home. Some of your teammates on that 80 All-Star team were, as you talked about earlier, being a fan growing up of Johnny Bench. So now Johnny Bench is a teammate. Dave Parker, Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Gary Carter, Dave Winfield, I think, was on that team. Steve Carlton. What was that like walking in the locker room that time?

Dale Murphy:

Yeah, it was really crazy. It wa it was really crazy. It was at Dodgers Stadium, and of course I had been there and you know played there, but the first All-Star game is we always say surreal, but yeah, there's really no other word to that sums it up. You walk in the locker room and you see all those guys, and you're going around shaking hands. It it was just um unreal feeling. Chuck Tanner got me in the game for two innings, and I got in a bat, and I Jose Cruz didn't play. And so I felt kind of bad, you know. Uh, they had a veteran like Jose Cruz, and Chuck got me in there in the the bottom of the eighth and ninth, and I got another bat off of Gossage. The first pitch from Gossage, uh I I hit I hit a long uh foul fly ball, pulled it, but then he threw me another slider and I hit it off the end of my bat and grounded it out. Man, it was just crazy. But uh one little anecdote, I'm walking from the tunnel to the dugout on our on our way to the dugout, and I'm with Ray Knight. Pete Rose walks by us and he goes, Hey, congratulations, you two. Uh, now if you get in the game, don't do anything different out there than what you would do in a regular season game. Yeah, and I just watched on TV, you know, him ending Ray Fosse's career.

Mike Koser:

The 1970 All-Star game.

Dale Murphy:

And I don't think he ended his career, but I think Ray Fosse was hurt the rest of his career after that. But I felt like, okay, this is like this is serious business. It's kind of fun for us rookies. We're not starting or anything, but uh, you know, it was serious business because we didn't play the American League except in the World Series. The we had uh league presidents that didn't they wanted to beat each other, yeah. And it was a chance to prove that you were better than the American League, other than the World Series. So, you know, there was a little people say, Well, you seemed like it used to be better. And I say it's still a good game. Baseball's a good game because you can't really uh, you know, basketball and football, no one wants to play defense, and I don't blame them. You know, it's they're not out there to to play defense, right? And they're they're just exhibitions. And yeah, our all-star game is an exhibition, but everybody wants to play good defense, nobody wants to miss the ball. Pitchers want to strike guys out, so it it lends itself to a good game. But I there was a little bit more on it when they didn't have interleague play, and it was a chance to prove that you were better. And you hadn't seen some of these guys before. And now with interleague play, you usually have seen you know the American League. So it's a little different now.

Mike Koser:

Well, and some of those guys you may never see again, maybe at the end of their career in their American League or the whole time.

Dale Murphy:

Yeah, uh, yeah, absolutely. I'd have to go through and see all who I faced, but I remember Dave Steib striking me out. I grounded out off of Clemens. I hit my only home run off of Willie Hernandez. That was in candlestick.

Announcer:

In weather like this, there's a lot of bees in the band.

Dale Murphy:

And so it was really had this mystique to it, you know, and what who who was on our pitch instead?

Mike Koser:

So in the 1980 All-Star game, Jerry Reuss was the winning pitcher. J.R. Richard was the starting pitcher of that game. Uh you had Vida Blue, Steve Carlton, Kent Tekulve, who had that wicked, you know, sidearm. Bob Bob Welch pitched, some good players.

Dale Murphy:

Some some big guys, yeah.

Mike Koser:

You know, one of the things that very unique things about those 1980 Braves teams was that you were on every night on TBS across the country.

Announcer:

Super station TBS presents, the Atlanta Braves, America 's team.

Mike Koser:

Now, even though me lived in Mansfield, Ohio at the time, I could see you, could see Bob Horner, Glenn Hubbard, Chris Chambliss, Rafael Ramirez, Butler, Claudell Washington. I could watch you guys play from my living room in Ohio. So I bet, I mean, you can tell me if this is true. Would you go across the country and find that you had fans in just about every city that maybe you wouldn't otherwise have if not for TBS?

Dale Murphy:

I still do. Yeah, right? Absolutely. You know, we get to Atlanta a lot. I live in 30 minutes south of Salt Lake City. I was just with somebody the other day from Elko, Nevada. He goes, I can name your whole lineup, just like you did. Bruce Benedict. Oh, yeah. You know, you see Bob Horner, how's Rafael Ramirez? You know, it's like we're still we're still all playing together, you know. Right, yeah. Yeah. But no, I I just have to say, and uh, you're exactly right, uh, Fargo, North Dakota. I gave a speech up there. It was a baseball fundraiser, so there were a lot of baseball fans there, but probably a hundred Braves fans. And so there's a hashtag that that's kind of started, TBS kid. And on Twitter, people say I'm a TBS kid. And that's what you are. You're a TBS kid. Yeah. Uh it was it was on, so it was baseball, and you watched it. We weren't always that good. We had a couple good years, and our announcers, uh Ernie Johnson, Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren were the main three. We had some others, but those are the main three guys. They brought you a hometown broadcast.

Pete Van Wieren:

There's a two-two on the way....

Dale Murphy:

You weren't seeing a national broadcast. You they endeared you to us because they were our guys.

Skip Caray:

Murphy has hit many a pitch like that into the seats somewhere.

Dale Murphy:

They weren't a national announcer that was just analyzing the game. You know, Skip Caray would say something crazy about me, and I was eating donuts on the bus or something. I think it was a really fun, unique thing to experience.

Mike Koser:

Again, growing up a Cleveland fan, I could name you more guys from those 80s Braves teams than I could from my own team.

Dale Murphy:

No question about it. We we started playing well, and if we weren't playing that well, our announcers made it entertaining. They were fun to listen to.

Skip Caray:

Now, what are we waiting for? Does anyone know? I think waiting for the ESPN cue to begin. So as soon as some little nerd says we can play, we'll play.

Dale Murphy:

I think Ted and those three announcers should be in the Hall of Fame for growing the game of baseball. Yeah, okay, you say, well, they grew Braves fans. Well, I will say that they grew baseball fans. Yeah, they did. Yeah, there are some Braves fans. It was it was our broadcast, but people will still love the game because of those days. It was a fun time to play, I have to say.

Mike Koser:

Well, I can think of the one team that really stood out to me as a kid that was particularly fun to watch was 1982. The Braves go on a tear when the first 13 games of the season went on to win the West, finishing 89 and 73. You ended the year with, I think, 36 home runs, 109 RBIs, and won your first NL MVP trophy. That that was a fun year.

Dale Murphy:

Well, it was, no question about it. Little known fact. We started out 13-0. Guess what our record was from there on out? Three games over 500. Stuff like that.

Mike Koser:

Was it really? Oh, that's right, because if you finished 89 and 73, you're what 16 games over. Yeah. 16 over for the season. But you yeah, you're right. You're three games over the rest of the way.

Dale Murphy:

We played 500 ball the rest of the day. The way it was the way. We just, if we hadn't got off that start. And so, yeah, we uh Nuxe had 17 wins. Pascual Perez, I don't know, we probably won 12-14. And but we weren't very deep. I mean, we had some good offense, but pitching staff, we just weren't deep. And so that's why next couple of years we were competitive, but we weren't really set up for the for the long term. But but that was kind of fun. That was a fun year. People in Atlanta still say that was the most exciting thing ever, the first two weeks of 82. Because it was so unexpected.

Mike Koser:

Oh, yeah, it's just crazy. And 82 was great, uh, but for you, 83 was even greater. You hit 36 home runs again, and this time finished with 121 RBIs picking up your second straight NL MVP. And now, and by the way, you're the only player in Brave's history, I think, to win two MVPs. And at this point, are you just thinking, wow, this is just uh yeah, just par for the course. This is just what happened.

Dale Murphy:

Well, you know, you gotta have pretty good time. You look at some of Hank Aaron's years and who he was competing against. And if he was playing in the 80s, he probably had four or five straight MVPs. You know, really uh 82, it was kind of up for grabs. Yeah, 83. I I had my best year ever, and very fortunate to win back to back. I mean, it it is kind of a timing thing. It it it worked out. I'm very thankful for it. We had a fun team to play for. It was fun to play for Joe Torre during the time, and it was fun to show up to the ballpark. I mean, we started drawing fans and it was fun. And and Fulton County Stadium was full a lot. So that makes you you know, you're fired up to play.

Mike Koser:

Did you uh is there anything that you say from the 82 or 83 season? Do you have any bats from those years? Obviously, you would have the NL MVP trophies, but I mean, is there anything that's special to you from those years, memorabilia-wise?

Dale Murphy:

Just probably the trophies, because you know, I some guys my age, they were getting signed bats by you know Pete and all the the players that they knew they that were getting ready to retire, but it wasn't a thing. You know, I had probably three or four uniforms during the year. If I if I ripped my pants, you know, they'd sew them up. If I ripped them slide, they'd sew them up. And uh, you know, we just were not into the idea that, man, I should have 81 home unis and wear one a night. I never even thought of that. So people say, Well, you got you got a bunch of stuff. I go, I really don't. I mean, I could go through my stuff and I think I have some a couple batting gloves and a jersey and things from those years, but even then it was like just for keepsakes, it wasn't a thought that, hey, this could be really good for your posterity someday to sell.

Mike Koser:

Nobody, nobody was thinking about that stuff. I I there's a picture uh of the polo grounds where the polo grounds came down after the Mets ended up playing there, and uh, maybe it was 63 or 64 when it was demolished. And there is a giant pile of polo ground seats, wooden seats, and some of them with the figure rolls on the side. By the way, those seats now could be $10,000. There's hundreds of them in a pile waiting to be taken to the dump. I mean, people just didn't know that one day. Yeah, what you know, yeah. To them, it's just like, oh, it's just junk, let's throw that away.

Dale Murphy:

Yeah. Why would you save old seats? What's the point? Right, right. So uh I don't have to be honest with you, I don't have a lot of personal game used quote unquote memorabilia. It's just kind of the nature of the time.

Mike Koser:

Hey, I'd love to talk to you real quickly about some of the ballparks you played in throughout your career. Wrigley Field.

Dale Murphy:

Well, you know, I wasn't that familiar with Wrigley, just didn't see it that much as a kid, you know, with no internet and no I I remember as a kid watching a replay of Ernie Banks, I think he had his 500.

Announcer:

Game audio . That's a fly ball, he's the left hack, crack, that's it, that's it, oh! He did it! Ernie Banks got number 500.

Dale Murphy:

Kind of had to rub your eyes when you went out. You're like, wait a minute, now this this is again playing in the 70s and 80s, and everywhere we go is a round ballpark, cookie cutter, if you will. Then all of a sudden you go to Wrigley. I mean, I loved it and I didn't like it so much. We'd take BP, and if the wind was blowing out, of course, it was coming from inland, going out to the lake, and it was warm, and balls would be you'd be hitting balls in the street all day in BP. Then we'd go up and at 49 minutes before the game, and the temperature would drop 10, 12 degrees, and it'd be blowing in off the lake. And so it was for me, I I don't know what my numbers are, pretty good there, probably, but it's tough to play outfield there with that wind. I did play some night games uh with Philly at the end of my career, so I experienced that, but the lights weren't really good those first few years. It was fun to play. I couldn't have done that all year. I don't know how those guys did it day games, you know, every day at home, but it was fun. Fans were really close to you, fans would really get on you. Pitcher seemed like he was right on top of you. I mean, it was you really had to adjust to it.

Mike Koser:

So, Murph, the 1986 All-Star game was at the Astrodome.

Al Michaels:

Houston entered the National League in 1962. The old Colt 45s played in an outdoor stadium that was hot and sultry and mosquito laden. But then the Astros moved in here to at that time what they called the eighth wonder of the world, the Astrodome.

Mike Koser:

What did you think about the eighth wonder of the world?

Dale Murphy:

Really tough, especially in the outfield with the glass, the way they had it painted the roof. You had to be careful not to take your eye off the ball. Like if the ball was in a gap and you put your head down and run, which you're kind of taught because you run faster without looking at the ball. So you kind of get a beat on where the ball's going to end up. You turn, you know, run as fast as you can, then you look up and recalibrate where the ball is, but you gotta be you had to be really careful there because you could lose the ball in the roof. And it wasn't that play great place to hit. I had a really weird year there, though. One year I hit I think I hit five home runs there or something. I mean, they had Nolan Ryan, Joe Niekro, J.R. Richard, his early years, and uh it wasn't a great place to hit. I think I hit okay there. Uh yeah I'd probably speak for everybody. We didn't like the play in the extra though. No right, you know, they had good teams. Remember those good teams in the 80s?

Mike Koser:

Yeah.

Dale Murphy:

And Mike Scott, and then they went to the playoffs 86 or whatever. So they had a lot of good teams there. And man, they would pound that ball down in the ground, Enus Cabell, they would run, Billy Doran. They just had a team like the like St. Louis. So they're really fast, tough to beat at home. And it was just the oddest place to play. I I don't know what else to say. It was the only domed field, and it it it was just a weird, you know, nothing had been updated since the 60s, and that scoreboard was weird. Yeah, and uh, I don't know what to say, and I can't believe it's still standing.

Mike Koser:

I can't either. So the 90 uh 1983 All-Star game at Comiskey Park. Uh yeah,

Dale Murphy:

that was fun.

Mike Koser:

Another ballpark with a lot of history. What did you think about uh Comiskey?

Dale Murphy:

Oh, my recollection of Comiskey was uh, you know, a little bit taller, as I recall, a little bit taller. Grandstand reminded me of Wrigley a lot. You could tell it was old. Clubhouse was was small. Everything in those ballparks back then was small. Faced Dave Steib, and I don't know who else I faced, but Steib was impossible to hit. All I remember is Fred Lynn hitting a grand slam over my head off of Atlee Hammacher.

Mike Koser:

Truly one of the great moments in All-Star Game history. Well, uh, anything else you remember from Comiskey Park and that 1983 All-Star game?

Dale Murphy:

Oh, aside from Comiskey, I met uh Joe DiMaggio at the All-Star Gala.

Mike Koser:

You gotta talk about that. What was that like? Well, Barry Halper, uh a longtime Yankee, he might even be an investor, but he had you know millions of dollars worth of memorabilia back before he was the first one that I recall. And I had met him, and then I he came up to me and goes, Hey Dale, Joe Demaggio, I'd like to meet you. I was like, okay, where is he? Let's go meet him. And uh man, did I get his autograph? I can't remember, but Nancy and I went over there. It was just it was really fun at All-Star Games because uh those guys would always show up. What's cool about that too is that later on, and I think this was in a sports illustrated article, and maybe that same year, might even have been 1983. Nolan Ryan was quoted as saying, I can't picture Joe DiMaggio being any better an all-around player than Dale Murphy. He's one of the toughest guys I've ever pitched to.

Dale Murphy:

I don't know. I I got known a couple times, but I think Nolan's being overgenerous there. But uh that was a really nice quote. I can't imagine hitting 56 games in a row, but uh I appreciate that that compliment. Yeah, it was a real thrill. He he is kind of bigger than light, you know. I grew up with watching his cop Mr. Coffee commercials.

Joe DiMaggio:

I'm gonna show you how to make the best cup of coffee you ever tasted in just seconds with Mr. Coffee, automatic drift coffee maker.

Dale Murphy:

And he was kind of a celebrity, uh, more than a baseball player to me, to my generation. Right. But it's still I knew what he represented.

Mike Koser:

And Murph, think about this. Like, how many people in the world can say there was this time where someone said to me, Joe DiMaggio would like to see you, right?

Dale Murphy:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, I I I what can I say? I was just like, you know, baseball it gave me a chance to some things that I just it really is hard to describe. Like, what did you feel? I don't know. I didn't know I was I was 27. I didn't know. I was probably I was probably looking for some more shrimp, you know, yeah uh to eat. Uh and then these things happened. And you know, I met Willie Mays, I mean, out of candlestick one night. I just like, yeah, I'm very, very grateful. The older I get, those things become more special, no question. But when you're a kid, I probably didn't appreciate it, but I knew it was cool. But man, now I gotta meet Ted Williams at the uh Hall of Fame exhibition game when they used to do that. Two teams would fly in, and I'll just share one story quickly. Uh yeah, but well, I went up to meet him. You know, they were exchanging lineups or something. He's an honorary captain So I said, Oh geez, I got I I gotta go meet Ted Williams. So I go up to him, I go, Hey Ted, Dale Murphy. He goes, Dale Murphy. I he guess what he watches on TBS every day. Yeah, I watch your games all the time. He goes, Dale, you gotta get a better pitch to hit. Oh my gosh. I you know, I struck out 140 whatever times a year. Ted probably struck out 15 a year. He probably didn't strike out that much his whole career. Yeah. And I I felt like saying, hey, Ted, I mean, I'm not Ted Williams, you know, I'm Dale Murphy. But I was like, yeah, you're right, Ted. I gotta, I gotta get a better pitch to hit.

Mike Koser:

That was the thing, that was the thing about Ted Williams, though. He was very direct. Like he would just he would just call like he sees him, you know.

Dale Murphy:

Yeah, and then I got I put spent a couple years with the Phillies and Ted lived in Clearwater or in that area. And I went in to get breakfast and he's sitting over there. And I'm like, oh man, I gotta go say hi to him. So I went over there. He said, Dale, good to see you. He scoots over. He goes, have a seat, have a seat. So uh, you know, I know I know his reputation and and all his history, and but with players, he was everybody said he had a you know, he just had a different relationship with the media and all that kind of stuff.

Mike Koser:

So you had you had breakfast with Ted Williams too.

Dale Murphy:

I know I couldn't stay because I had to I had to get to spring training. I had to I had to get there, but it was kind of weird. You're walking out, I'm like, dang, I just said you know, you're right, and yeah, I'm 65 now, and these memories, I I don't know what to say except that I'm just so grateful to be before.

Mike Koser:

Throughout uh most of the 1980s, you were one of the most feared hitters in baseball. There was a six-season stretch there where you averaged 36 home runs a year. And on August 21st, 1987, when you were only 31, you hit home run number 300 at Fulton County Stadium.

Pete Van Wieren:

3-2 Atlanta, two men out in the sixth. High and deep to Right Field. This could be number 300, and it is for Dale Murphy.

Mike Koser:

1987 was pretty special, too. You finished with 44 home runs that year. But do you remember number 300?

Dale Murphy:

Yeah, I do because it gets retweeted a lot. And I also I speak a lot, so I've included it in my little highlight reel introduction thing. So I see that one a lot. I believe it was against Brian Fisher. It was a fastball low and away, and I hit it to right center field, just like I had been doing. And then uh later on in my career, I just I didn't go the other way as much. And so that kind of hurt me because when I was going really well, I was hitting the ball the other way like like number 300.

Mike Koser:

Uh at the end of the 1990 season, uh, after 15 years with the Braves, you were traded to the Phillies. And then the following season, I want to say it was June 4th, 1991. It was when the Phillies were at Fulton County Stadium, your first time back, actually, at the old ballpark. Braves put on a pregame ceremony, and I kept because I was watching this video last night, like how awkward that must have felt. Okay, because you're now in a you're in a Phillies uniform with all of your new teammates, right? And here are here's the opposing team that you just want to beat their brains in that night, celebrating you before the game.

Dale Murphy:

It was really awkward, but you know, in hindsight, you know, what are you supposed to say to the Braves? We want to honor you. No, I do not want to do it now. I want to do it when I retire. I mean, they're like, no, we want to honor you. And we had a fight that night, too, with the Braves. Oh, that's right. I remember it. Yeah, we hit Otis Nixon, and uh, so it was very memorable for a number of reasons.

Mike Koser:

Well, I do want to ask you this. Who was the most intimidating pitcher that you I think I know what the answer is gonna be? In fact, why don't I guess?

Al Michaels:

And on the mound from the Houston Astros, James Rodney Richards. J.R. Richard. Yeah, and for those who don't remember J.R.

Mike Koser:

Richard, he pitched for the Astros, and he was I want to say either 6'7 or 6'8. And I talked with Dave Parker a couple weeks ago, and uh Dave said that when he would pitch, when he would release the ball, you felt like he was on top of you.

Dale Murphy:

All you gotta do is look at his his numbers, uh 300 strikeouts, and you know, and uh so people say, well, you know, more intimidating Nolan Ryan on all like Nolan was kind of an average-sized human being. This J.R. was 6'8, the ball, the ball looked like a little golf ball, and he was a little wild.

Mike Koser:

So you're like, yeah, because Nolan Ryan, look at Nolan Ryan was could consistently paint where he wanted the ball to go. You know what I mean? Like if he wanted to hit you, okay, he could hit you. But Nolan wasn't wild. Like J.R. Richard sometimes would let a ball go and not know where it was going.

Dale Murphy:

No, it he was very intimidating. He probably he probably didn't even know how intimidating he he was. I mean, you know, he would make a mistake. I mean, even Nolan would make a mistake. I mean, if if those guys didn't make a mistake, they'd throw no hitter. That's just all there was to it. But uh, yeah, J.R. Richard was just no day at the beach, as Bob Horner used to say.

Mike Koser:

Uh hey, listen, I'll wrap up with this. I just want to say uh Hank Aaron said about Dale Murphy, I'd say that he's probably the best all-round player in either league, probably the most valuable player in baseball right now. Joe Torre, your former manager, said all he does is play baseball better than anyone else. Seven-time All-Star, two-time NL MVP, five-time gold glove winner, Roberto Clemente Award winner, Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, and honestly, in my opinion, a lifetime of reasons why Dale Murphy should be in the baseball hall of fame.

Dale Murphy:

Well, thank you.

Mike Koser:

Just want to thank you for the time. It has been uh, you know, as a TBS kid.

Dale Murphy:

There you go.

Mike Koser:

It has been it's been an honor and a privilege to spend some time with you today and reflect back on a uh a great career.

Dale Murphy:

Well, it's been so much fun. Like I say, the the older you get, the the more we all appreciate those young, young uh days and opportunities that baseball so provided all of us. So I I I mean I love to talk about it. I wasn't a very good interview back when I played. I didn't say too much, but now the older I get, you know, uh I just shake my head at uh how lucky we were. So it's it's fun to reminisce with you. Thank you so much.

Mike Koser:

Yeah, and for those who don't know, the the website is DaleMurphy.com, and you do um speaking engagements throughout the country. And great, great talk. So if folks wanted to get in touch and maybe have you speak to their company, just go to DaleMurphy.com, correct?

Dale Murphy:

Yep, yep, Dale Murphy.com. We got a I got a few things going on. I have our MVP experiences that Nancy and I put on in Atlanta and talk about that because the MVP experience is pretty crazy.

Mike Koser:

You have a restaurant right near the new ballpark, Murph's.

Dale Murphy:

Right. Well, basically, we spend the day with you. I don't think we have much availability left. We are gonna do one for business leaders the for the first time this year, but uh for the fans, uh, I don't think we have much availability left. But yeah, you learn more on DaleMurphy.com. But yeah, we uh we start the day with uh lunch at Murph's and then we you know have a private room we go over to, I'll sign some things and talk about the old days and uh pick photo ops, and then we'll uh we'll go over and take a tour of uh of Truist Park and give everybody a chance to you know uh buy souvenirs and everything, and then I I meet them again in the Home Depot Clubhouse, which is a suite out in left center field. I spend the whole day with you. And Nancy and I are with you the whole time. Nancy has been my organizer and and uh has put this MVP experience together. So it's it's so fun to be you know with everybody. And Nancy came up with this our tagline is from fan to friend. And the people that have done it have kind of bonded together too. So we have a lot of fun. We have a lot of fun.

Mike Koser:

Yeah, I would encourage you to check that out. And uh just I know that I know a lot of your talks are on resilience and and uh it's you know, your story going from where you were in the early or late 70s and after you were drafted, you know, battling through a lot of adversity to become the player that you became. It is a great talk for for businesses who are looking for some motivation for you know, salespeople or whatever. I yeah, I encourage people to check that out, DaleMurphy.com.

Dale Murphy:

Thank you so much. Yeah, I love to speak, and you're right. You know, resilience is the best attribute for a baseball player. And it is, I think it's the best attribute we can all have, this especially the way things are going in our world now. We we gotta be resilient, we gotta bounce back.

Mike Koser:

Absolutely. Murph, thanks for the time, man. I so appreciate you. That was a blast.

Dale Murphy:

Thank you so much.

Mike Koser:

You know, it's interesting. Throughout the years, I've heard so many different folks from inside the world of baseball talk about how nice of a guy, how generous Dale Murphy is. And after spending some time with him, I can see exactly what they're talking about.

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Mike Koser

Host