Murphy becomes 1st Baylor big leaguer to 100 home runs

Given his pedigree, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that David Murphy has staked a strong claim as the best major league position player in Baylor history. The 2003 first-team All-American was a first-round pick in that summer’s MLB draft, going 17th overall to the Boston Red Sox.

Since then, he has played almost 1,100 games in the big leagues — the most of any Baylor Baseball alum — and on Sunday, he became the first Bear to reach 100 career home runs in the major leagues.

After breaking into the majors with the Red Sox in 2006-07, Murphy spent the next 6 seasons with the Texas Rangers, where he was part of the Rangers’ only two World Series teams (2010 and 2011). He then spent a year and a half in Cleveland, lending a veteran presence to a young Indians squad, before the Los Angeles Angels traded for him in late July as part of a push to the playoffs.

The 33-year-old Murphy’s historic home run on Sunday was his first as an Angel, but came as part of an impressive day; he went 3-for-6 and not only homered, but also drove in the winning run with a two-out, bases-loaded hit in the 11th inning.

Looking at his entire career, Murphy leads all Baylor big league alumni in virtually every batting statistic: career hits, runs, doubles, home runs, RBI, stolen bases and walks. Among Bears with 300 at-bats or more, he also leads in career batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Baylor pitchers have traditionally fared better in the big leagues, led by Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Lyons, who went directly from Baylor to the Chicago White Sox in 1923 and stayed there for the next 20 years.

Of course, Murphy isn’t the only Bear in the majors; Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson pitched for Baylor from 2008-10, and currently sits just outside the American League’s top 10 in saves. Two others — Max Muncy (Oakland A’s; Baylor, 2010-12) and Logan Verrett (New York Mets; Baylor, 2009-11) — have seen action in the majors this season and are currently at Triple-A.

Sic ’em, Bears in the big leagues!