Orioles Honor Murray In Pregame Ceremony Aaron On Hand To Witness Event

It was a ceremony that some thought would never take place, not in Baltimore and certainly not in September 1996.

Eddie Murray was honored Sunday at Camden Yards before the Baltimore Orioles’ game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Hank Aaron, Cal Ripken and Bobby Bonilla were the featured speakers at the event in which the Orioles paid homage to their returning hero.

Murray walked onto the field on a red carpet as streamers floated down around him. The crowd gave him a standing ovation while chanting “Eddie! Eddie!”

Murray hit his first 333 homers with the Orioles from 1977 to 1988, but his relationship with the team soured after then-owner Edward Bennett Williams criticized the first baseman’s leadership. Murray was traded to the Dodgers, where he played for three seasons, then played two years with the Mets before signing as a free agent with the Indians in 1994.

He returned to the Orioles in a trade for Kent Mercker on July 21 and hit career homer No. 500 on Sept. 6 at Camden Yards in a game against the Detroit Tigers.

After thanking his deceased mother, father, Orioles owner Peter Angelos, general manager Pat Gillick and his agent, Ron Shapiro, Murray said, “Now that I have this feat behind me, it’s just been great. I never thought it would happen here in Baltimore. It’s just been fantastic, the reception that I’ve gotten here since I’ve been back. It’s just been fun wearing this Oriole uniform again.”

Murray made his speech while standing behind 500 baseballs lying on the ground. Each was inscribed with the name of the pitcher he hit a homer off and the date it happened.

Aaron presented Murray with a bat that was inscribed with the names of the only three players in baseball history to have 3,000 hits and 500 homers - Aaron, Murray and Willie Mays. He also gave Murray a gold ring from the Orioles with the number “500” on the face in diamonds.

Murray also received a gold-plated bat from the Orioles.

“It’s just too bad that the other half (Mays) is not here with me,” Aaron said. “But I can handle it. This is a tremendous feat for anyone to do, what Eddie Murray has accomplished.”