Sean Murphy (baseball)

Summary

Sean Michael Murphy (born October 4, 1994) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the third round of the 2016 MLB draft. Murphy made his MLB debut in 2019 with the Athletics and won a Gold Glove Award in 2021. In 2023, his first year with Atlanta, he made his first All-Star Game.

Sean Murphy
Murphy with the Oakland Athletics in 2022
Atlanta Braves – No. 12
Catcher
Born: (1994-10-04) October 4, 1994 (age 29)
Peekskill, New York, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 4, 2019, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.240
Home runs67
Runs batted in215
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Amateur career edit

Murphy attended Centerville High School in Centerville, Ohio, and Wright State University, where he played college baseball for the Wright State Raiders. In 2015, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.[1] He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the third round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[2]

Professional career edit

Oakland Athletics edit

Murphy made his professional debut with the Arizona League Athletics, playing one game with them, before being promoted to the Vermont Lake Monsters.[3] He batted .237 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 22 games with Vermont. He started 2017 with the Stockton Ports and was promoted to the Midland RockHounds in June;[4][5] he batted a combined .250 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs in 98 games between the two teams.[6] In 2018, he spent the majority of the year with Midland, slashing .288/.358/.498 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs in 68 games.[7] He also played in three games for the Nashville Sounds at the end of the year. He began 2019 with the Las Vegas Aviators[8] where he hit the first home run in Las Vegas Ballpark history.[9]

On September 1, 2019, the Athletics selected Murphy's contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[10] On September 4, in his MLB debut, Murphy hit his first career home run for his first hit against Jake Jewell.[11] In 2020, Murphy played the majority of the season as the A's catcher, playing in 43 games. He hit .233 with 7 home runs and 14 RBI.

Murphy was awarded the Gold Glove Award on November 7, 2021.[12]

Atlanta Braves edit

On December 12, 2022, the Athletics traded Murphy to the Atlanta Braves in a three-team trade, in which the Athletics acquired pitchers Kyle Muller and Freddy Tarnok, along with catcher Manny Piña and minor league pitcher Royber Salinas from the Braves and utility player Esteury Ruiz from the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers also acquired William Contreras and Justin Yeager from the Braves.[13][14] Murphy and the Braves signed a six-year contract extension worth $73 million and a club option for the 2029 season.[15][16] Murphy for the first time was named a starting catcher for the National League in the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[17]

References edit

  1. ^ "#31 Sean Murphy". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  2. ^ Doug Harris, Contributing Writer. "Wright State's Murphy picked in third round of MLB Draft". daytondailynews. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  3. ^ "Top MLB Prospects, Scouting Reports, Analysis". Baseballamerica.com. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  4. ^ Bob Highfill. "Catch a rising star: Murphy has 'elite' defensive skills". recordnet.com. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  5. ^ Korn, Will (June 29, 2017). "RockHounds: Murphy grows into catching prospect". Mrt.com. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "Sean Murphy Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  7. ^ "Sean Murphy Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "At the Ballpark: Cactus League Prospects". March 24, 2019.
  9. ^ Aviators, Las Vegas (April 11, 2019). "Sean Murphy with the First Aviator Homerun in LV Ballpark History Let it fly! Murphy secures a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 8th bringing the score to – 11 , – 2pic.twitter.com/14wEnl2J1m". @AviatorsLV. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  10. ^ Matt Kelly (August 31, 2019). "Oakland to call up No. 3 prospect Murphy". MLB.com. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  11. ^ Ben Ross (September 4, 2019). "A's top prospect Sean Murphy puts on show in MLB debut, win vs. Angels". NBC Sports Bay Area. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  12. ^ Gallegos, Martin (November 7, 2021). "A's have another Gold Glove pair". MLB.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  13. ^ Passan, Jeff (December 12, 2022). "Braves acquire star catcher Sean Murphy from Athletics". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  14. ^ Toscano, Justin (December 12, 2022). "Braves acquire Oakland catcher Sean Murphy in three-team trade". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  15. ^ Toscano, Justin (December 27, 2022). "Braves sign new catcher Sean Murphy to six-year contract". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  16. ^ Bowman, Mark (December 27, 2022). "Newly acquired Murphy lands 6-year extension from Braves". MLB.com. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  17. ^ Crosby, Lindsay (June 29, 2023). "The Atlanta Braves have 3 starters for the 2023 All-Star Game". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 19, 2024.

External links edit

  • Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
  • Wright State Raiders bio