1971 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"Though he led the team with 23 home runs, Bobby Murcer's .251 average was a distinct disappointment. Ralph Houk says that Bobby's only major problem is that he doesn't know how to ride out a slump. When he feels confident, the 24-year-old left-handed hitter sees his hits fall in. (He tied a major league record for most homers in consecutive at-bats when he connected for four last season.) But when he gets down on himself, Bobby takes a long time finding his groove again.
Originally signed as a shortstop, Bobby made the big leagues in 1969 after two years in the service. The Yankees tried him at third base, but his future there didn't look promising and eventually he was moved to center field. He has a strong arm and showed improved defensive skills last season.
Bobby was second on the team in runs scored, with 95, in walks, with 85, and in RBI's, with 78. He was first in strikeouts, though, with 96. Bobby must learn to hit left-handed pitching if he is to fulfill his potential."
-Brenda Zanger and Dick Kaplan, Major Baseball 1971
"Bobby has played under tremendous pressure with the Yankees, being hailed as the second coming of Mickey Mantle when he rejoined the team in 1969 after two years in the Army. An Okie (born in Oklahoma City, May 20, 1946), like Mantle, he also occupies Mantle's own locker in Yankee Stadium.
Bobby has tremendous potential. He has hit 49 homers and driven in 160 runs in his first two full major league seasons. He hit four home runs in a doubleheader against Cleveland last year, included three off left-handed pitching. Bobby has also suffered through terrible slumps throughout his career. He once went 3-for-63 while playing for Toledo.
He was signed as a shortstop but made so many errors he was moved to third base, where he made so many errors he was moved to right field; he's a center fielder now, just like that other guy from Oklahoma.
Bobby is married, with two children."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Major League Baseball, 1971 Edition
"Bobby Murcer expects a lot of himself. So he considered 1970 an off year - when all he did was hit 23 homers to lead the club, drive in 78 runs and finish with a .251 mark. Now that's not bad. Neither is developing into one of the best center fielders in the American League and tying for the league lead in assists by an outfielder (15). For a guy with an 'off year,' hitting four consecutive home runs in a doubleheader - to tie a major league record and become the fourth Yankee do it - that's not bad, either. His Yankee predecessors in hitting consecutive homers in four at-bats were Lou Gehrig in 1932, Johnny Blanchard in 1961 and Mickey Mantle in 1962.
Bobby got off to such a hot start in the 1969 season - hitting .321, leading the league in RBIs with 43, hitting 11 homers - that his slow start last year was something he couldn't forget. But he began to connect in late May. Up to June 25, he had only two hitless days in June, 31 hits in 79 times at bat for .392 to raise his average to .280. During this streak he had seven homers, five doubles, a triple and drove in 21 runs.
At 24, Murcer is a young Yankee whose bat, arm, legs and desire will make the Yankees champions again."
-The New York Yankees Official 1971 Yearbook
"Bobby led the club in homers (23) and was second to Roy White in RBIs with 78 (Roy had 94). Bobby, who had played at three different positions in his brief Yankee career- shortstop, third base and right field, finally found his niche in center, where he performed admirably. He tied for the league lead in assists among outfielders with Amos Otis and Reggie Smith with 15 and was second only to Otis for the most total chances- 393 to 407.
Most people believe the best is yet to come from Bobby. Still just 24, he has had two very productive years in pinstripes. His potential was shown in the first month and half of the 1969 season when through May 30 he was hitting .321, had 11 homers and was leading the league in RBIs with 43. Last year, he tied a major league record by hitting four home runs in four consecutive official times at bat in a doubleheader against Cleveland on June 24. He hit a homer in his last at-bat in the first game, and three in the second game.
An all-around athlete, Bobby was a three-sport star in high school. He was all-state in baseball and football and all-city in basketball at Southeast High in Oklahoma City. He attended Oklahoma U. for one year before signing with the Yanks. Bobby is also an accomplished golfer.
His baseball idol is Mickey Mantle, which seems natural enough since he comes from the same state as Mickey, Oklahoma, and was signed by the same scout, Tom Greenwade. And he currently occupies Mickey's old Stadium locker."
-1971 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
"'I really think this should be my best year. I'm a little smarter now. I'm not trying to hit the ball out of the park all the time. I want to hit .300 and make the All-Star team.'
On the eve of the start of the 1971 season, these were the hopeful statements of popular Yankee center fielder Bobby Murcer.
Now a two-year veteran of 24, the Oklahoman has set some goals for himself this year, but the most important, Bobby says, 'is helping the Yankees become a winner.'
The beneficiary (or the victim) of much publicity when he first made the Yankee club after two years in the Army, Bobby simply couldn't match the buildup. True, he was hitting a robust .321 with 11 homers and a league-leading 43 runs batted in on May 30, 1969, when he suffered a severe heel injury. When he returned, Bobby had trouble finding the range again. Yet the fans were expecting home runs in the tradition of Mantle and DiMaggio.
Bobby realized he wasn't that kind of hitter, though he did hit 49 homers in his first two seasons with 160 RBIs. This early season, he's been putting it all together. As of mid-May, Bobby was batting .363 (second in the league) with 20 RBIs, four homers and 19 walks and only 10 strikeouts.
Manager Ralph Houk moved Bobby around from short to third to right field and finally to center.
'I feel right at home in center field now. I have no problems there and I like it much better than the infield,' he offered. In his first full season in center, Bobby tied for the American League lead in assists by an outfielder with 15 and was second in total chances.
'Mickey Mantle suggested I try bunting a little more instead of trying to hit home runs all the time. He said he noticed that I hit five or six balls that should have been hits, but the infield was always playing me deep. Therefore I was losing some important hits. Bunting will loosen up the infield and make my run production on the club better, I'm sure,' Murcer added.
Married for four and a half years now, Bobby and Kay Murcer have two children - Tori (2) and Bobby Todd (1). Wearing uniform Number One and occupying Mantle's famed Stadium locker looks more and more appropriate for Bobby Ray Murcer, rising young Yankee star."
-1971 New York Yankees Scorecard and Official Program
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