Murray May Have Played His Last
Eddie Murray, a sure-bet future Hall of Famer, was released Thursday by the Anaheim Angels in a move that could end his outstanding 21-year career.
Murray, one of three players in major league history with more than 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, was let go by the Angels to make room for outfielder Rickey Henderson.
Anaheim acquired Henderson, baseball’s career stolen base leader, from the San Diego Padres on Wednesday for three minor leaguers.
Henderson made his debut with the Angels on Thursday and went 0 for 5 with a stolen base in Anaheim’s 5-1 victory over the Brewers at Milwaukee.
“I spoke to Eddie. He said he was prepared for this,” Murray’s agent, Ron Shapiro, said by telephone from his office in Baltimore. “We did not discuss anything more than Eddie’s going home and thinking about things.
“He’s had a great career. He’s aware this might be an end to it. He’s going to spend some time thinking about his life and where it goes from here.”
Murray, 41, played in only 46 games for the Angels this season - his only year with the team. He had 35 hits in 160 at-bats for a .219 average, with three home runs, 15 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
“He was disappointed,” Angels manager Terry Collins said. “Disappointed it didn’t work out like it could have. But he handled it like he handles everything, he said, ‘Thanks for the opportunity.’ It was a pleasure to be around him and a pleasure to have him on my ballclub.”
A native of Los Angeles, Murray began his major league career with the Baltimore Orioles in 1977, hitting .283 with 27 homers and 88 RBIs to earn A.L. Rookie of the Year honors. He ranks 10th on the career hits list, 15th in home runs, seventh in RBIs, fifth in at-bats, sixth in games played, second with 19 grand slams; 13th in doubles, and seventh with 5,395 total bases.
The only other players to collect more than 3,000 hits and 500 home runs are Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Murray has 3,253 hits and 504 homers.
Poll backs realignment
A poll taken for baseball owners showed fans favor realignment by a 2-1 margin and casual fans would go to games more often if the leagues were radically revamped.
“The prospective shift to the geographic realignment plan is in sync with major league baseball’s overall strategy and goal of reaching out to casual fans, minorities and younger fans,” concludes the 37-page report, presented to owners July 30 by Penn, Schoen & Berland, the polling firm used by the Clinton administration.
Owners are expected to try to decide the issue when they meet in Atlanta from Sept. 16-18. No team may be forced to shift leagues against its will, meaning any one of 17 teams can block the proposal.
“Its logic is overwhelming when you think about it,” acting commissioner Bud Selig said. “Like everything in life, it has its pluses and minuses. We believe the pluses far outweigh the minuses. This is returning to our roots. This is the way it was.”
Nine teams would shift from the A.L. to the N.L. and eight would move the other way. Each team would play about 93 games against teams within its division, about 48 games against the other division in its league, and 21 against teams in the other leagues.
Another Cuban defects
One of Cuba’s top baseball players defected in Mexico and plans to play in the United States after a brief stint in an international winter league, according to sports agent Joe Cubas.
Cubas flew to Mexico to meet 21-year-old outfielder Osmani Santana, who won Cuba’s equivalent of the Golden Glove in 1996.
Davis comes back again
The Milwaukee Brewers acquired 1989 Cy Young Award winner Mark Davis from the Arizona Diamondbacks for a player to be named.
Davis, a 36-year-old left-hander, last appeared in the major leagues with the San Diego Padres in 1994. He was out of baseball for two years before signing a minor-league contract with Arizona, which begins play in 1998.
Davis has been pitching for Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate at Tucson on loan from Arizona, which doesn’t have a Triple-A team. He appeared in 17 games with an 0-2 record, two saves and a 3.57 earned run average.