Braves’ Dale Murphy Having a Fine Year, but Has Anyone Noticed?

So it’s come to this for Dale Murphy, the Atlanta Braves’ All-Star outfielder. Being consistent and being great--being consistently great, you might say--is starting to work against him. That is Murphy’s Law for 1987.

Mention Most Valuable Player candidates, and the talk is of Jack Clark of the St. Louis Cardinals, Eric Davis of the Cincinnati Reds and Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs. Murphy? Oh, sure, he’s playing well, too.

Did you hear the one about the guy who is batting .300 with 74 runs batted in and is second in the National League with 32 home runs, third in walks with 84 and tied for fifth in runs scored at 77 and is still being overlooked? It’s happening this season in Atlanta.

“Some people kind of take him for granted,” Atlanta Manager Chuck Tanner said. “He’s the best right fielder in the league now, an MVP, a Gold Glover. You accept him as that.”

Saturday, however, was a day worthy of special attention.

With the game on national television, the Braves roughed up the Dodgers’ 4-H pitching staff--Orel Hershiser, Ken Howell, Rick Honeycutt and Brian Holton--in a 9-7 victory at Dodger Stadium. Murphy, already having a good year against the Dodgers, hit two home runs and a single in five at-bats, and scored three runs. A performance like that should never be taken for granted.

“I don’t really consider things like that,” Murphy said of being overlooked. “That’s not the reason I play the game. It’s not for the stats. I just enjoy playing and I enjoy the team I’m on.”

The Dodgers would probably be one of the last to forget about Murphy. Although he began 1987 with a career .261 average against Los Angeles, Murphy has 6 homers and a .375 average in 11 games against the Dodgers this season.

Moreover, he has three home runs in his last 12 at-bats.

Sorry, though. There’s no hot streak to be found here.

“He’s been in one for the past 10 years,” Tanner said.

Murphy has missed only one of the Braves’ 109 games, this after sitting out two games last season and playing in all 162 games the four previous years.

“It’s the same old guy out there,” Hershiser said. “He’s consistent. He just does everything a great player should do.

“What doesn’t he do? About the only thing he doesn’t do is steal a lot of bases. And how can you steal home when you’re already there?”

Translation: The two home runs. One came off Hershiser in the fifth inning and the other off Howell in the seventh, giving Murphy his fourth double-homer game of the season.

But beyond the power, there was precision.

In the fourth inning of a scoreless game, with Gerald Perry on first, Murphy lined a hit-and-run single through the hole between first and second off Hershiser, and the Braves were on their way. Perry went to third and scored on Ken Griffey’s hit, and Murphy soon came home, too, on a fielder’s choice.

Perry has seen it all before. And he hopes to see it again, because batting before Murphy means he gets a good selection of pitches.

“I’ve been getting plenty of good ones to hit in front of Murphy and Griffey,” Perry said. “Nobody wants to face those two.”

For his part, Murphy played down his efforts. It was just another Saturday in the park for him.

“I was aggressive last night, too, and had three strikeouts,” he said.

That’s OK. No one probably noticed.