Braves great Dale Murphy falls short in Baseball Hall of Fame voting

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Dale Murphy, a standout for the Atlanta Braves and a prominent figure in 1980s baseball, fell short Sunday of the votes needed for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.

Murphy, who was voted on by a 16-man committee made up of former players, executives, sportswriters and historians from around the game, received six of the needed 12 votes for induction.

Jeff Kent received the necessary number of votes needed for induction (14), and will be formally inducted into Cooperstown alongside those who get inducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in January.

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Don Mattingly, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela didn’t earn the required votes needed for induction.

Murphy, 69, was drafted by the Braves as a catcher in 1974. A lanky prospect with a good bat, Murphy reached the major leagues in September 1976. He struggled evidently behind the plate, accruing -0.8 career WAR in 1,160 plate appearances as he headed into his age-24 season in 1980 and moved to first base before Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox recommended Murphy play center field.

From there, Murphy quickly became one of the most dominant forces in Major League Baseball.

Over the next eight seasons, Murphy became the face of baseball, earning consecutive NL MVP Awards (1982-83) and finishing in the top 10 of MVP voting in four consecutive years (1982-85).

Murphy’s 32.4 fWAR ranked ninth in MLB from 1982-87, and he produced the second-most home runs (308) and RBIs (929) during the 1980s.

“I can’t imagine Joe DiMaggio was a better all-around player than Dale Murphy,” Hall of Fame right-hander Nolan Ryan said.

But after a career-high 44 home runs in 1987 -- one of only 12 players to record a 40-home-run season in the entire decade of the 1980s -- Murphy’s Hall of Fame candidacy weakened, hitting just .238 with 86 homers and a .715 OPS from 1988-91. He played just 44 games from 1992-93, recording -1.6 WAR over that span.

Knee injuries ultimately got the best of him, as he underwent surgery to repair structural damage after the 1989 season. But all in all, Murphy was a seven-time All-Star, a five-time Gold Glove Award winner, a four-time Silver Slugger and the Clemente Award recipient in 1988.

When Murphy retired, he ranked 27th on the all-time home run list with 398.

But Murphy never topped 23.2% of the votes (75% required for election) during his 15 years on the baseball writers’ Hall of Fame ballot. He’s been considered three more times by other Hall of Fame committees but never reached the required votes.

With Sunday’s vote, Murphy will have to wait until 2028 to be considered for the Hall once more.

Off the field, Murphy has been celebrated as a world-class humanitarian. He and his wife, Nancy, lead the Dale Murphy Foundation, which strives to make a lasting impact in communities worldwide.

“If you’re a coach, you want him as a player,” Hall of Famer Joe Torre said. “If you’re a father, you want him as a son. If you’re a woman, you want him as a husband. If you’re a kid, you want him as a father. What else can you say about the guy.”

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote will be revealed Jan. 20. Andruw Jones, who racked up 10 Gold Gloves and 368 home runs with Atlanta, sits at 66.2% of the vote in his ninth try on the ballot and is in prime position for induction this summer.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

Braves’ Dale Murphy among 8 names up for Hall of Fame consideration

Former Braves LHP Billy Wagner joins Ichiro, CC Sabathia as part of the 2025 MLB Hall of Fame class