Larry Murray (baseball)

Larry Murray
Larry Murray
	Outfielder
	Born: April 1, 1953 (age 71); Chicago, Illinois
	Batted: Switch Threw: Right
MLB debut
	September 7, 1974, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
	September 23, 1979, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average	.177
Home runs	3
Runs batted in	31
	Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
	New York Yankees (1974–76); Oakland Athletics (1977–79);

Larry Murray is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played all or part of six seasons in the majors, two for the New York Yankees and one for the Oakland Athletics.

Yankees

Murray was drafted by the Yankees out of high school in the 3rd round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his major league debut in 1974, and played a handful of games in the majors in the next two seasons as well. His greatest asset was his speed, as evidenced by his use mostly as a pinch runner, though he did also play some outfield.

A's

Murray's big break came during the early part of the 1977 season. With Charlie Finley's dismantling of the team in full swing, the A's shipped Mike Torrez to the Yankees in exchange for Dock Ellis, Marty Perez, and Murray. While Ellis was fairly quickly shipped off himself to the Texas Rangers, Murray was given a chance to establish himself with Oakland. In 90 games, however, Murray batted just .179, with just 9 RBI in 179 at bats. He did steal 12 bases.

After spending most of 1978 back in the minor leagues, Murray got another chance in 1979, but fared little better, batting a paltry .186. Even his speed seemed to desert him, as he stole just 6 bases in 12 tries, and he was soon benched in favor of Tony Armas. That would be the end of Murray's major league career.

Murray played one more season of professional baseball with the Ogden A's in 1980, then retired.

Sources

Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Pura Pelota