"With the sweetest swing in the Bronx, Murcer has achieved the status of star. He finished in the top five in the American League in runs, hits, doubles, triples, homers and runs batted in, also winning a Gold Glove for his defensive work in the outfield. Bobby didn't drop out of the race for the batting title in 1971 until the final day of the season.
Born May 20, 1946 in Oklahoma City, he comes from the state, was signed by the same scout and plays the same position as Mickey Mantle; also, the year Mantle vacated his locker at Yankee Stadium, Murcer moved in.
'We don't have much in common besides being from Oklahoma,' Bobby says. 'I'm not a powerful guy like he is. I'm a line-drive hitter.' He can hit to all fields.
Losing two years to military service, Bobby began his career as an infielder but after a month at third base in 1969, he was wisely moved to the outfield for his own safety.
He's outgoing and friendly with a finely tuned sense of humor."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1973 Edition
Outfielder
New York Yankees
1972 - BA: .292/ HR: 33/ RBI: 96
"Murcer enjoyed his second straight outstanding season in 1972 and now has fully lived up to the press clippings which touted him as the successor to Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. Smaller than listed in the Yankee brochure, he is probably is more like Mel Ott, who hit 511 homers in the National League, than other sluggers. Murcer is a fine defensive center fielder with a strong throwing arm. He could be a Triple Crown winner and the man to lead the Yankees to their first pennant since 1964."
-Cord Sportsfacts Baseball News 1973
BOBBY MURCER
THE PROPER BLEND
"Yankees' star Bobby Murcer has finally put it all together after he fully utilized his skill and experience, his bat and his head.
'I didn't become a good hitter,' says Murcer, 'until I started to hit with my head instead of with my bat.'
The remark is typical of both Murcer and the new breed of New York Yankees for whom he plays. Older American fans can remember when Yankees stood seven feet tall, weighed 265 pounds, swung 60-ounce bats and devoured the little people who played for teams like the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians. Those Yankees won 29 pennants and 20 World Series from 1921 to 1964.
But those Yankees and days are gone, probably forever, and today's Yankees are like Murcer- talented, businesslike ballplayers with a quiet sense of humor and an eye for the dollar. They have come a long way under the patient and optimistic guidance of General Manager Lee MacPhail and Manager Ralph Houk since 44 years of tyranny suddenly ended in 1965. And they think they will be American League contenders for at least the next six or eight years.
These Yankees aren't as colorful, or as good, as the Yankee teams of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle, but the league is probably better off now that the talent has been distributed more evenly. Seeing their teams cuffed around by the Yankees for almost half a century was enough for the fans in other American League cities. It is fun to see the New Yorkers in the role of struggling contenders or losers.
As the successor in center field to DiMaggio and Mantle, the 26-year-old Murcer should be a player of imposing physique and remarkable talents who was a superstar from the day he first stepped onto the field at Yankee Stadium. But Murcer is typical of the new Yankees rather than the old. He is of slender build with exceptional but not awesome talents and is a man who suffered his share of disappointments before rising to his current position as a two-time selection to the American League All-Star team and undoubtedly one of the three best outfielders in the circuit.
Murcer, who is listed on the Yankee roster as standing five feet, eleven inches and weighing 165 pounds, was an 18-year-old shortstop when he signed a $20,000 bonus contract with the New York organization in 1964 and was assigned to Johnson City in the Appalachian League. He was still an infielder when he joined the Yankees in 1969 and opened the season at third base. He played well at first but then jammed a thumb and began to make schoolboy errors. He lost his confidence as an infielder and was switched by Houk to the outfield. He finished the season with a .259 average, 26 homers and 82 runs batted in.
'There was some talk in the papers that I might be a 'new Mantle',' Murcer recalls. 'I never felt I had Mickey's ability and I still don't. It seemed rather foolish to me to be compared to Mantle and it made me uncomfortable.'
Murcer continued to wear the 'new Mantle' in some portions of the press until perhaps mid-1970. By then it had become clear that Bobby was an excellent young player- a fine center fielder with good power- but that it was unfair to compare him with Mantle. Oddly, Murcer came closest to emulating Mantle at just about the time the press was conceding that he never would have the power and all-around skills of Mickey. It was June 24, 1970 when Murcer, playing before a home crowd at Yankee Stadium, enjoyed the greatest day of his career so far by hitting four home runs in a doubleheader against the Indians. Bobby hit the first off Sam McDowell in the ninth inning of the opener, hit two in a row off Mike Paul in the second game and connected off Fred Lasher for his third homer of the nightcap and fourth of the twin bill.
'It was one of those days when I was feeling good at the plate,' recalls Murcer. 'Of course, being able to pull on a left-handed fastball pitcher like McDowell is bound to give a guy confidence. Those other guys don't look so tough after you've faced McDowell a few times.'
Despite that day, the 1970 season was generally disappointing to Murcer and the Yankees. Murcer's numbers were .251-23-78- considerably below the goals he had set for himself in the spring- and while the Yankees did finish second in the American League's Eastern Division they were 15 games behind the Baltimore Orioles.
Neither Murcer nor the Yankees were making the progress expected of them by MacPhail and Houk. The second-place finish passed virtually unnoticed by New York fans who were still a bit giddy over the 1969 World Series heroics of the Mets. Met heroes like Tom Seaver, Tommie Agee and Cleon Jones were bigger names than Murcer, and the Mets outdrew the Yankees in home attendance by more than a million fans.
But MacPhail and Houk must be the most benevolent and patient leaders in baseball history. Undaunted by the slow progress of the young potential star and the team, they continued to preach the gospel of perseverance throughout winter of 1970 and, lo and behold, Bobby finally did blossom the following spring and become a star for the first time. He finished the 1971 season with a .331 average 25 homers and 94 runs batted in. He was the undisputed star of the team- although not on a level such as Mantle had enjoyed- and he was widely recognized as one of the best defensive center fielders in the league.
'I don't think any one thing was responsible, but the most important thing was that I started to hit with my head instead of my bat,' says Murcer. 'Experience has something to do with it, too. When I look back to 1969 and 1970 I find it hard to believe how little I knew. Some of the pitchers then were trying to pitch around me and I didn't even know it. Sometimes I found myself swinging at pitches that were grounders.
'In 1971 I made up my mind that I wasn't going to try to hit a homer every time I went to the plate,' Murcer continues. 'Instead, I was going to hit the ball where it was pitched and hit to all fields. When you're trying to pull the ball all the time, the pitchers never give you anything to hit and I was hitting outside pitches for weak grounders to the second baseman. I always felt I could hit .300 and the 1971 season proved I was right.
'The funny thing is that when you're not trying for homers, you get your share as long you're connecting with the ball,' adds Murcer. 'My homers increased from 23 in 1970 to 25 in '71 and my batting average was going from .251 to .331.
'Another key to hitting for average with power is laying off the bad pitches. A lot of times when you're in a slump, you get really anxious and start swinging at everything. You have to learn to accept a walk if the pitcher isn't going to give you anything over the plate.'
MacPhail and Houk laid plans during spring training of 1972 to get the Yankees off to a strong start. They, along with most American Leaguers, were convinced that the Orioles had made a mistake in trading Frank Robinson to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were willing to concede that the Orioles and Tigers should be co-favorites in the American League Eastern Division race, but they also thought the Yankees had a chance to make a good showing. They were also convinced that the Mets would not make a strong race against the Pittsburgh Pirates for the National League Eastern Division title and felt, therefore, that the Yankees had a good chance to regain much of their prestige with New York fans.
Whether or not the players' strike had anything to do with it, the Yankees failed to make the fast start for which MacPhail and Houk planned. They got off very poorly, in fact, and the New York press quickly wrote them off as pennant contenders. The Orioles faltered early as expected and the Tigers hardly seemed strong enough to take command of the race. But there was no evidence until after the late July All-Star Game break that the Yankees would be a factor in the race.
Then, at almost the same time as Mayor John Lindsey was finalizing plans for a giant refurbishing of Yankee Stadium and the surrounding neighborhood, the Yankees broke back into the race. Sparky Lyle's brilliant relief pitching was the key to keeping them close enough to the leaders to make a run for first place. But Murcer's steady play had also been a factor.
How far can Murcer and the Yankees go? Let MacPhail answer the second part of the question first.
'First,' says MacPhail, 'dynasties such as the Yankees enjoyed from 1921 through 1964 are a thing of the past. The rules have been changed so that every club can expect its fair share of good young prospects. There are few financially weak franchises that sell their good young players to pay their bills. Nowadays, with a few exceptions like the big trading jamboree at the 1971 winter meetings, clubs are more reluctant to sell or trade stars and potential stars. As a result, the level of competition is so close that teams can rise three of four places in the division standings from one season to another.
'We think we have come a long way since we started our rebuilding program in 1967,' continues MacPhail. 'Let's recall what had happened. The long process of trading away good young prospects to obtain veteran specialists needed to win pennants season after season had exacted its toll. This sort of thing- needed to preserve the dynasty- had to hurt sooner or later. These factors combined with the early retirements of Tony Kubek and Bobby Richardson, the short-lived stardom of Bob Turley and the poor showing [sic] of Roger Maris after 1961, undermined the dynasty.
'So, we were building from scratch. We decided to build slowly with young players. We accepted the fact that we would have to be extremely patient because our progress might be extremely slow. Houk's patience and optimism are sometimes ridiculed by the press, but they have played an important part in the development of the young players who have helped to rebuild the Yankees from the ruins of 1965. We have a good young club with a balance of speed and power. We have very good pitching both on the starting line and coming out of the bullpen. We think that 1972 showed that the team has reached the level we aimed for and we think the Yankees are going to be contenders in the years ahead.'
Houk, who could find a silver lining if he were adrift on a raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, twirls his ever-present cigar and breaks out into a wide grin when asked to discuss Murcer.
'There's no telling how far Bobby can go,' says the manager. 'He always had all the equipment to be an outstanding player. It was just a matter of waiting for him to get the proper blend of experience and confidence so that he could put all those things together on a day-to-day basis. Bobby started to do that in 1971 and he kept right on doing it in 1972. He is already one of the best players in the league and he should improve as he goes along.'
Houk blew a smoke ring to the ceiling of his office in Yankee Stadium, leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs on his desk. It was obvious no one was enjoying the Yankees' rise back to respectability more than Houk. It was Houk who refused to become discouraged when the Yankees were going so badly and it was obvious that he intends to thoroughly enjoy himself now that they are going well.
'A lot of people haven't been listening when we talked about our progress the last few years,' he said with a chuckle, 'but I think they're listening now.' "
-Cord Sportsfacts Baseball News 1973
THE QUALITY OF MURCER
It Has Been Strained But Now It Droppeth
Like Heaven-Sent Rain on Flag-Thirsty Yanks
"When the Yankees tore up their long-range building program in favor of what they hope will be instant success, the net effect was to supply a collection of baguettes for the brightest diamond in the setting.
Sure, Matty Alou is an oldie but he'll probably bat third. And sure, Graig Nettles has averaged 23 homers a season for the past three years, but he'll bat fifth.
Who will step to the plate between the two new Yankees? Who will wear the mantle (remember him?) of greatness in the cleanup spot? Bobby Ray Murcer, of course. The man the Yankees hope will stoke up memories of the Ruth, DiMaggio and Mantle eras and bring new fans to their fading Stadium.
Around the Yankee clubhouse they call him 'Lem' or 'Lemon' because of his boyish complexion and some people call him 'Okie' because he came from Oklahoma, but behind his back the word 'superstar' is heard more and more.
The Yankee equipment manager gave him No. 1 for his Pinstripes and Murcer got Mickey Mantle's locker but he shakes his head in disbelief that he could be so honored. 'Only a few years ago, I was watching these guys on television,' says the 26-year-old Bobby. 'And now, here I am.'
Murcer knows that when the fans and writers discuss him in the same breath with Ruth and Mantle they make his road doubly hard. It's like telling a comedian, 'Be funny.' They're telling Bobby Murcer, 'All right, be great.'
No one said that back in 1969 when he walked into the Yankee training camp after a two-year [tour of duty] in the Army. Bobby had batted .365 at Johnson City in 1964 and .322 at Greensboro in 1965 when he was promoted to the New York club late in the season.
Bobby played creditably for a youngster in the waning season, going 9-for-37 and bobbling a few balls at shortstop but showing enough promise to come back the following year. But 1966 was the year the Yankees disintegrated fast and early. Tony Kubek turned in his glove because of a neck injury. Ruben Amaro wrenched his knee and suddenly Bobby Ray Murcer, age 19, was the first-string shortstop.
The season was less one week old when Bobby committed three errors in a single game. Murcer was relegated to the role of pinch-runner and Clete Boyer was shifted from third base to shortstop. The switch was engineered by manager Johnny Keane, who shortly thereafter was himself sent away, and Murcer returned to Toledo. Even in Toledo, the Murcer slump continued.
So here he was in 1969, with Greensboro and Toledo and his ill-fated debut as a Yankee all behind him. He was just another player in the Yankee lineup and everyone was so busy watching No. 7 that they were hardly aware of the fresh-faced, polite young kid from Oklahoma.
The Oklahoman wearing No. 7, Mantle, had reached the end of the road, hardly more than a shadow of the power-hitting hero who had carried the Yankees to so many thrilling triumphs. But though he had batted only .234 [in 1968], he was still Mantle and the fans flocked to the Stadium to watch him.
The relative merits of Mantle vs. Murcer in baseball's hierarchy became obvious right from the start of the 1969 season. That was the year of the baseball players' [boycott] and Mantle, of course, was not around for the start of spring training. There was no effort by the 'name' players to keep Murcer away and so he showed up, 15 pounds heavier than when he went away but the extra weight was solid muscle centered in the chest and arms.
Murcer put his muscle to good use and he sent baseballs whistling to the farthest reaches of the Yankee ballpark in Fort Lauderdale. When the time came for Pete Sheehy, the jovial clubhouse man, to pass out uniforms to the newcomers, he handed No. 1 to the new kid from Oklahoma. Did Sheehy consider Murcer No 1? No. His logic went beyond baseball, although now it might seem that he was clairvoyant.
He gave Murcer No. 1 because that uniform had been worn by Bobby Richardson, the Pat Boone of baseball. Richardson had been a 'good' boy in the words of Sheehy (Richie didn't smoke, drink or chase girls) and Murcer seemed to be cut from the same cloth. Richardson had, in fact, asked the Yankees to save his number for Murcer after meeting him in 1966.
Murcer had another pleasant surprise. Mantle had slipped into town on a Friday night and conferred with Mike Burke, the Yankee president. That Saturday morning, Burke announced Mantle's retirement. When Murcer reported for work, he was directed to Mantle's locker.
'I knew that Mickey liked the new kid,' Sheehy smiled, ' and I figured it would make Murcer happy. Besides, both Mantle and Murcer come from Oklahoma and since somebody had to get the locker, it might as well be Bobby.'
As in the Richardson incident, Mantle suggested upon his retirement that Murcer take over his locker.
Sheehy was pressing his powers of clairvoyance, for while Murcer showed a hot hand with the bat in spring training, the Oklahoman had not nailed down a job. Bobby Cox had staked a claim to third base the previous year and was determined to stay there. Murcer was willing to play any position that would put him in the lineup.
Any doubt about Murcer's future with the club was dispelled in the first game of the season against the Senators, when he socked a homer into the upper deck. Bobby Ray walloped another homer in the second game and went on at a .400 clip through the first week. Shades of Ruth! Shades of DiMaggio! Shades of Mantle! The Yankees suddenly saw their future in the blue eyes of the Kid from Oklahoma.
Tom Tresh, who dressed next to Mantle and then next to Murcer, shook his head in mock horror at the hordes of newsmen and television people who jammed around the locker of the newest star. 'I get rid of Mantle,' he sulked, 'and what do I get? Murcer. Oxygen!'
Another Yankee who appeared to go along with the gag was Joe Pepitone, who had also homered that day during opening week. 'Hey, why doesn't somebody come down and interview me?' he called to the media crowd. Then Peppy ran down to Murcer and asked him to autograph a sanitary sock Joe used as a shower cap. But in the back of his mind, the egocentric Pepitone knew that Murcer, not he, was destined to Mantle's successor on the field as well as in the locker room.
'Why couldn't he have been a second baseman or an outfielder?' grumbled Cox, who had spent eight years scrambling in the minors waiting for his big chance. In spite of his dilemma, Cox admitted that Bobby had a 'fantastic' swing and liked his Oklahoma teammate, even though he even lost to him when they played golf.
What Cox did not know, of course, was that Murcer was not destined for third base- not even for the infield. Murcer recalls one night in Seattle, when the crowd was so sparse that fan comments could be heard. A dribbler was hit down to Murcer at third and he heard a voice in the stands cry, 'Look, he's got it again.'
It wasn't long before he landed in the outfield- but Cox didn't get his job. Instead, manager Ralph Houk shifted Jerry Kenney to third and later platooned Kenney and Cox at the hot corner.
But Murcer found a home in the outfield and Houk was happy about it. 'I tried everything with him,' the manager said. 'From shortstop to third base to right field and finally to center. It was a tough battle, but I guess it's over now.'
Murcer teased him. 'When did you decide I finally wasn't an infielder?'
'I think it was the day in Seattle when you threw the ball into right field,' Houk recalled. 'Or it may have been the day you threw the ball to first while a runner was headed home right past you.'
Murcer has also found some answers as a hitter. He has learned to pass up the bad pitches and wait for the good ones, though it might mean a single instead of a homer. He has learned to hit to all fields and to bunt and steal bases. The new maturity grew, along with his hair and sideburns, in conjunction with the winter of 1970-71- the winter of his discontent. His batting average in 1970 was an adequate but unexciting .251.
'I'm not a .251 hitter,' he says, 'and so I decided to change. I made up my mind to stop thinking about homers. I got momentum early and success brings confidence. I have been able to discipline myself and haven't been helping the pitchers.'
He has also learned that there is more to baseball than swinging a bat. 'Now I get a big kick out of a good catch, throwing out a baserunner or beating out a bunt.'
His batting average zoomed to .331 in 1971 (23 homers) and leveled off at .292 last season, but with 33 homers.
And so the new, new Murcer will take the field for the Yankees again this year, confident that he has found his skill as a batter and comfortable in the outfield, where he can play shallow or go deep, the mark of a good center fielder.
The Yankees try to avoid the comparisons to Yankee standouts of yesteryear to relieve Murcer of the insidious pressures that can bedevil superstars. But Houk said it all when he noted: 'Bobby has come a long way, but there's no telling how far he can go.' "
-James Tuite, Sports Quarterly Presents Baseball, Spring 1973
"Having come up to the major leagues as a shortstop as did Mantle, Bobby has coupled his natural ability with hard work to develop into a superb center fielder in the grand Yankee tradition. At 26, already twice an American League All-Star, Bobby's exceptional record of accomplishments foretell greatness. In 1972 he led the Yankees in virtually every department: batting average, runs, hits, doubles, triples, homers and RBIs. His 314 total bases also topped the American League. He was second only to Richie Allen in home runs with 33.
In addition to his splendid playing talent, Bobby has the personality and chemistry of stardom."
-The New York Yankees Official 1973 Yearbook
"Bobby proved to be the most important part of the Yankees' offensive attack last year as he led the club in virtually every department - batting average, at-bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, homers and RBIs. He led the AL in two departments - runs scored (102) and total bases (314), and was second in the league in home runs with 33.
Originally signed by the Yankees as a shortstop and later switched to third base, Bobby made the All-Star team as an outfielder for the second consecutive year. In addition, Bobby won a Gold Glove Award for his defensive play in 1972.
He's just 26 years old, and many believe he has not yet reached his full potential. Besides his obvious talents which are indicated by his statistics, Bobby is one of the most competitive players in the league.
He tied a major league record by hitting four consecutive home runs in four official times at bat in a doubleheader against Cleveland on June 24, 1970, when he rapped a homer in his last at bat in the first game, and three in the second game. After four full seasons with the Yankees, Bobby already has 103 homers ... Mickey Mantle had 84 in his first four years in pinstripes, minus one month in the minor leagues at KC.
Bobby's baseball idol has always been Mickey, which seems natural enough as he comes from the same state as Mickey, Oklahoma, was signed by the same scout, Tom Greenwade, and currently occupies Mickey's old locker at the Stadium.
This spring he has been recuperating from a broken bone in his right hand, suffered in a fall while attending a winter gold tournament in Puerto Rico."
-1973 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
MURCER'S GOLD GLOVE
"Between games of the Sunday, May 13 doubleheader with the Baltimore Orioles, the Rawlings Sporting Goods Company will present the 1972 Gold Glove Award to Bobby Murcer. It is the first defensive award given to Murcer, who was voted the best defensive center fielder by rival players."
-1973 New York Yankees Scorecard & Official Program
MURCER JOINS $100,000 CLUB
"Even General Manager Lee MacPhail looked happy after Bobby Murcer signed his first $100,000 contract in Fort Lauderdale, Florida early in March. Bobby is the third Yankee outfielder to reach the 100 thousand plateau. Joe DiMaggio was the first major league player to reach that figure. Mickey Mantle was the second such Yankee."
-1973 New York Yankees Scorecard & Official Program
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