Murray Wields an Angry Bat

At his lowest point a couple of weeks ago, someone mentioned that a pitcher had gotten him out that night.

“He didn’t get me out,” Eddie Murray snapped. “He didn’t have to. I got myself out.”

So it goes. A week ago, he was in one of the worst slumps of his career, hitting .174, leaving runners on base and again hearing the kind of criticism that prompted him to demand a trade last summer.

In a city that loves its Orioles just less than its crab cakes, his slump was taken personally. Three talk-show hosts blistered him, calling him everything from lazy to fat. They talked about how maybe his body aged quickly, and that his having gotten heavier was a signal of that. One suggested he be benched, or at least moved to designated hitter.

General Manager Hank Peters even visited with Murray in Kansas City, and, although they wouldn’t comment on specifics of the meeting, neither left it with anything approaching a smile.

“Sometimes the things that people think go on inside a clubhouse don’t have a lot to do with what actually goes on inside it,” outfielder Larry Sheets said. “In here, we never doubted Eddie. You ask anyone in here, and they’ll say he’s the best player in the game. Period. He’s the one guy every one of us looks up to.”

But because he bats fourth and because he’s so feared by pitchers, the dynamics of the game change when he’s not hitting.

When he is, pitchers have the almost impossible task of trying to retire Cal Ripken, Murray and Fred Lynn in order. But ask them, and they’ll tell you which player they fear the most--the one who hits cleanup.

And then, as quickly as the slump started, it ended.

The Orioles had lost 14 of 18 games and were 11 games out of first when they played in Minneapolis last Tuesday. On the night that Eric Bell almost pitched a no-hitter, the Orioles’ season might have turned around because Murray’s season turned around.

After striking out in the first inning, Murray singled in the third, homered over the center-field wall in the sixth and doubled in the ninth as the Orioles won, 5-4.

The next night, he singled in four at-bats, and the next day, he singled and walked in four appearances.

Then in Chicago last weekend, he went 7 for 14 with 4 homers, 2 doubles and 6 RBI. Monday night, he homered in four at-bats. In only a week, he raised his average 64 points and moved into the league leaders in RBI. When he began the road trip, 27 players had as many or more RBI. Now, he’s in the top 10.

And a week after he was almost buried, he’s on a pace to hit 42 homers and drive in 120 runs. Another strong Murray year.

“We were concerned about his slow start,” Peters said. “A lot is expected of Eddie, and he knows that. But as far as thinking he might be washed up, no, that was never a consideration. He’s too young for that.”

Just as important for the Orioles is that Murray and Lynn began hitting about the same time. Lynn was going so badly that he was benched four games. Manager Cal Ripken Sr. said he wanted to let Lynn’s sore right shoulder heal. Lynn said it was more a chance to give his .195 average a chance to heal.

He returned to the lineup in Chicago and, in three games, went 6 for 11 with 2 homers and 5 RBI.

“I was just lost out there,” he said. “The days off helped. I was able to just watch the games and come back and do things the old way. I didn’t have to go up there thinking about where my hands were, my feet, all that. I was in it so deep it was pathetic, but the days off allowed me to clear my head. I could just take an eraser to it and wipe everything away.”

He pointed toward Murray.

“The way he came out of it is much more difficult,” he said. “He keeps playing right through it, and never really gets a break. Eddie is expected to play everyday. He’s a pup (31). I’m 35 years old and have to have days off from time to time.