Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 10, 1995 TAG: 9506300008
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TERRY PLUTO KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: CLEVELAND LENGTH: Long
It isn't often that Eddie Murray talks, at least so the public can hear it. Behind clubhouse doors and with his teammates, it's another story.
Ask Cleveland Indians manager Mike Hargrove to name the leader of his team, and the first guy he mentions is Murray.
Ask the players whom they respect the most, and Murray's name is one of the first you hear.
Ask Murray about himself, and you don't always get an answer. He guards his privacy. He believes that a man should be judged far more by what he does than what he says.
But recently, Murray talked for a half an hour on a variety of subjects.
Listen in.
Want to know how Murray developed those quick hands and wrists?
Imagine trying to hit the lid of a Crisco can with a baseball bat. That is how the Murray brothers played their own game of baseball while growing up in Los Angeles.
``You could throw a pretty nasty curve with one of those lids,'' Murray said.
And there must be something to it. Five Murray brothers played professional baseball - Eddie, Rich, Charles, Venice and Leon. He is the eighth of 12 children of Carrie Murray.
``In our neighborhood, we always played baseball,'' he said. ``I bet I played against 15 or 20 kids in high school and in the summer leagues who eventually made the majors.''
The names include Ozzie Smith, Gary Alexander, Chet Lemon and Larry Demery.
``The games within our family were the toughest because everyone was trying to prove themselves,'' he said. ``My older brothers never cut me any slack.''
Rich Murray is now a coach in the Indians' farm system. He batted .216 with four homers in 57 games with San Francisco in the early 1980s. Charles Murray had 37 homers and 119 RBI in the Class A California League in 1964 and peaked at Class AAA. Leon and Venice Murray were Class A infielders in the San Francisco Giants farm system.
Murray, 39, made the Baltimore Orioles in 1977. He was only 21 years old, but he eventually took the first base job away from Lee May, who had been a star with the Orioles in the middle 1970s. May was moved to designated hitter to accommodate Murray.
``I learned so much about baseball and life from Lee May,'' he said. ``When I came up, he wasn't ready to give up the position. But he and his family never said a bad word to me. Instead, he helped me every way he could. The Orioles had a lot of leaders, but the one who meant the most to me was Lee May.''
Baltimore manager Earl Weaver was pleased to see Murray pattern himself after May - a quiet, no-nonsense man who put the team first.
Frank Robinson said that he sees so much of May in Murray.
``Eddie is like Lee in that he'll confront a younger player who isn't doing his job,'' Robinson said. ``With the Orioles, we weren't afraid to get in each other's faces, to challenge each other. Now everyone wants to be liked all the time. Hey, you can't always pat someone on the back. Sometimes, he needs a kick in the butt.''
Murray agreed.
``Some of today's young players will take the challenge when you talk to them, and some will lay down on you,'' he said. ``But you can't let little things go by. You can't have guys missing the cutoff man and just throwing the ball anywhere. You can't have guys not paying attention. If I see that, I'll speak up. Then it's up to the guy to listen.''
As Hargrove said: ``Sometimes, a player is more likely to listen to Eddie Murray than he is to a manager or a coach. That is why I want Eddie to speak his mind. He has tremendous stature among the players.''
Murray made seven All-Star teams with the Orioles (1978-86).
``I loved most of my years with Baltimore,'' he said. ``I enjoyed Earl Weaver. Earl knew who to yell at and who to leave alone. He left me alone. In all our years together, only once did he call me in for a meeting. He pointed out a mistake I made the field. He asked me if I knew what he was talking about. I said I did. Our one meeting lasted about five seconds.''
With the Orioles, he was the team's player of the year a record six times. He is the team's all-time leader in home runs. But in his last few years with the Orioles, Murray clashed with media.
As the team slipped, Murray's production dropped slightly. Instead of driving in his usual 110 runs (he averaged 113 RBI from 1980-85), he knocked in only 91 and 84 runs in his final two years with the club.
When he left, the parting was bitter. Weaver was gone. So were most of the players Murray considered true Orioles. Owner Edward Bennett Williams made some silly free-agent signings, and he also questioned Murray's desire.
Murray played three years with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1989-91), and then two more with the New York Mets (1992-93).
In New York, he was one of the Mets' few bright spots, averaging 22 homers and 96 RBI in his two seasons. He was named the team's MVP in 1993. He couldn't understand why some writers considered him a cancer in the clubhouse - when his teammates and managers had the completely opposite opinion.
Murray said that he doesn't like to put the world in racial terms, ``but, sometimes, there seems to be a difference in reporting between white and black players. It happens too often for it just to be [an accident]. But as I said, I've had no problems here in Cleveland. They just let me play ball.''
Murray, who has hit 467 career home runs as of Thursday, will be in the spotlight since he closing in on 3,000. He has tried to low-key it, and it is not something he will discuss daily with the media.
Nonetheless, the Indians have put up a banner in left field, counting down Murray's hits to 3,000.
Murray is proud that he remains a powerful, clutch hitter in this, his 19th season. Few people realize that he has a career batting average of .416 with the bases loaded.
``Cleveland is a fun place to play, and Mike Hargrove is a good guy to play for,'' he said. ``I don't think some of the young guys appreciate the freedom he gives us to run on the bases, or to swing when the count is 3-and-0 or 3-and-1. Some young players think they know it all, but they don't. Heck, I've been playing all these years, and I'm smart enough to realize that I don't know it all.
``Sometimes, you should just be quiet and listen.''
That's especially true when someone like Murray is talking.
by CNB