David Murphy (baseball)

Did You Know?

• Murphy was also drafted in the 2000 MLB draft (1439th overall) but did not sign.
• Since retiring, he has worked as a broadcaster for Fox Sports Southwest and as a color commentator for Frisco RoughRiders broadcasts.

Amateur career

Murphy was born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Spring, Texas. He played high school baseball at Klein High School alongside future MLB players Chris George and Josh Barfield, leading the team to a state title in 1998 as a pitcher and outfielder. He earned All-State honors and was a USA Today High School All-America Honorable Mention, hitting .500 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs as a senior while also being a National Honor Society member. Murphy attended Baylor University, turning down offers from the University of Texas, Rice University, and Texas A&M University.

As a freshman, he started in right field, batting .271 with five home runs; as a sophomore, he hit .318 with six home runs; and in his junior season, he batted .413 with 11 home runs. He played collegiate summer baseball for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2001 and 2002, earning an all-star selection in 2002.

Professional career

Murphy began his professional career in the Red Sox organization, playing for the Single-A Lowell Spinners, Single-A Sarasota Red Sox, rookie-level Gulf Coast Red Sox, Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, AFL Peoria Saguaros, and Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. In 2006, he played 42 games for Portland before a promotion to Pawtucket on May 26, recording 47 hits in 172 at-bats with 17 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 25 RBI, and 11 walks. Overall that season, he appeared in 84 games, going 85-for-318 with 23 doubles, 5 triples, 8 home runs, 44 RBI, and 45 walks.

Murphy made his MLB debut on September 2, 2006, hitting a single into center field at Fenway Park in his first major league at-bat. He hit his first MLB home run against New York Yankees pitcher Jaret Wright on September 17, 2006, at Yankee Stadium, finishing the season with 20 games played, a .227 average, one home run, and two RBI. In 2007, he began in the minors and played three games for the Red Sox, recording a triple in two plate appearances.

On July 31, 2007, he was traded to the Texas Rangers in a package sending relief pitcher Éric Gagné to Boston. For the rest of 2007, he played 43 games with the Rangers, batting .340 with two home runs and 14 RBI, and overall that season he played 46 games with a .343 average, two home runs, and 14 RBI. On April 25, 2008, Murphy hit his first career walk-off hit, an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th to beat the Minnesota Twins 6–5. On August 1, 2008, he capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off two-RBI single off B. J. Ryan as the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9–8.

On August 7, 2008, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list after a knee injury from a home-plate collision with Iván Rodríguez of the New York Yankees, and he did not play again that season due to swelling in his knee. For 2008, he played 108 games, batting .275 with 15 home runs and 74 RBI. In 2009, he played 128 games, batting .269 with 17 home runs and 57 RBI. In 2009, he also hit a walk-off single against Houston Astros closer José Valverde.