Davis Murphy, #7 Outfielder

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David Murphy, #7 Outfielder
Born: 10/18/81
Birthplace: Houston, TX
Height: 6'4" Weight: 205
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
College: Baylor University in Waco, TX
High School: Klein H.S. in Spring, TX
MLB Debut: 09/02/2006

Acquired by Texas: In 4-player trade with Boston on July 31, 2007

MURPHY NAMED AMERICAN LEAGUE’S “ROOKIE OF THE MONTH” FOR APRIL

Rangers rookie outfielder David Murphy, a native Texan, has blossomed as a major leaguer since his return to the Lone Star State where he played high school baseball at Klein H.S. in Spring and college baseball at Baylor University in Waco.

Acquired last July from the Red Sox in the deal for relief pitcher Eric Gagne, Murphy played the final two months of last season as a Ranger and hit .340 in 43 games. Murphy entered this spring as the team’s likely 4th outfielder, but his hot bat forced his way into the Rangers starting lineup. He was honored for his sizzling start to the 2008 season with the American League’s “Rookie of the Month” Award for April.

Murphy was given the award over other highly-regarded rookies that got off to similarly good starts including OF Jacoby Ellsbury of Boston, P Greg Smith of Oakland, and P Armando Galarraga of Detroit.

“I try to play hard every day and contribute to the team’s success, but individual accolades are always flattering,” Murphy said of his award.

Murphy played in every game of the month, hitting .277 with two homers, 11 doubles, 1 triple and 14 RBIs. His durability and ability to play every spot in the outfield means he gets a lot of playing time. In fact, he played in each of the team’s first 39 games before finally being given a night off on May 12th.

At 26 years of age, Murphy is older than most rookies. He actually made his major league debut as a member of the Boston Red Sox on September 2, 2006, but he retains his “rookie” status in 2008 because he entered the season with fewer than 130 career at-bats in the majors.

A former first-round selection (#17 overall) of the Red Sox in the June 2003 Draft, Murphy began his professional career at Lowell, a minor league affiliate of the Red Sox. He advanced to Sarasota (High-A) by the end of 2003, and was in Double-A Portland by 2005 following and injury-plagued 2004 season in Sarasota. By 2006 he was at the Sox Triple-A affiliate Pawtucket before getting a June 2006 call-up to the major leagues. He played in 20 games for the Red Sox in ’06. He was back at Pawtucket to start the ’07 season and eventually was called-up to play 3 games for Boston before being traded along with P Kason Gabbard and OF Engel Beltre to the Rangers in exchange for relief pitcher Eric Gagne.

Murphy played in 2 games at the Rangers Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City before getting called-up on August 10, 2007 and making his Rangers Ballpark debut in Arlington.
Over the final 7 weeks of last season, Murphy led all Texas batters with a .340 average and 12 doubles.
Personal: Married to wife Andrea with one daughter, Madison Grace (born August, 2007).

Fun Facts:
*While playing college baseball for the Baylor Bears, Murphy was named First Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and First-Team All Big 12 as a junior. He played a total of 3 seasons at Baylor.

*Each of Murphy’s first 4 hits as a Texas Ranger were doubles.