“My brother Taylor and I put together the petition,” said Chad Murphy, Dale Murphy’s oldest son. “My dad isn’t very vocal about himself, so we thought we should say something. It turns out it’s caught on with a lot of folks because this year there are a lot of players on the ballot who used steroids or are suspected of it. And there’s a lot of debate in the sports world about whether people who essentially cheated should be elected.”
Chad wrote a letter to the Hall of Fame voters, who are sports writers belonging to the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The letter read in part:
“I’d like to begin by reiterating the voting criteria, as per the Hall of Fame’s website:
5. Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”
Chad explained, “What we’re trying to say is if this criteria is a reason to keep people out, it should also be a reason to let people in. It shouldn’t be a ‘performance at all costs’ mentality. That’s always been my dad’s message.”
The petition is garnering significant attention in the baseball world. Sports writer David O’Brien, for example, recently wrote of Dale Murphy:
“[He] had a reputation for clean living. Had it through his entire career, as straight an arrow as you will come across in professional sports (or any other line of work). Never a whiff of controversy on the field or off. Not before, during or after his playing days. . . . His career began in a baseball era tainted by cocaine scandals and amphetamines in the clubhouse, and ended just before the era tainted by widespread steroid use. But Murphy? His character, his reputation were beyond reproach, and remain so to this day. . . . If integrity and character are seriously taken into consideration when 10-year BBWAA members fill out their ballots for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, then Dale Murphy belongs in the HOF.”
And as sports writer Mike Benzie sums it up, “Dale Murphy still has so many fans rooting for one of the nicest guys in all of sports. He doesn’t need the Hall as much as the Hall needs him.”
The Hall of Fame Voting ends December 31. Click here to sign the petition. (Note: Other "sponsored" petitions are offered after you sign the Dale Murphy petition. These are purely optional and are not affiliated with the Dale Murphy petition.)
Dale Murphy's career highlights:
• Back-to-back NL MVP 1982, 1983 (1 of only 12 players—and the youngest in history at that time—to accomplish this)
• 7-time NL All-Star (top NL vote-getter in 1985 and a starter in 5 of those games)
• 4-time Silver Slugger award-winner
• 5-time Gold Glove award-winner
• 6th player in MLB history to reach 30 home runs/30 stolen bases in a single season
• Only player in history to compile a .300+ batting average, 30+ home runs, 120+ runs batted in, 130+ runs scored, 90+ bases on balls, and 30+ stolen bases in a single season, 1983
• Led MLB in total bases during the span of 1980–1989 (2,796)
• 2nd (only to Hall-of-Famer Mike Schmidt) in total home runs from 1980–1989 (308)
• 2nd (only to Hall-of-Famer Eddie Murray) in total runs from 1980–1989
• 1st in total home runs from 1980–1989 among all Major League outfielders (308)
• 1st in total RBIs from 1980–1989 among all Major League outfielders (929)
• 2nd in total hits from 1980–1989 among Major League outfielders (1,553)
• 2nd in total extra-base hits from 1980–1989 among Major League outfielders (596)
• Played in 740 consecutive games from 1980–1986 (11th longest streak in history at the time, and 13th today. Only missed 20 games total between 1980–1989)
• Reached base in 74 consecutive games, 1987 (3rd longest streak in Major League history)
• 398 career home runs (19th in Major League history when he retired, 4th among active players)
• 2111 career hits
• 1266 career RBIs
• .265 career batting average
• Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsmen of the Year” Award, 1987 (represented baseball as the “Athlete Who Cares the Most,” along with U.S. gold-medalist Judi Brown King, Kenyan gold-medalist Kip Keino, and others)
• Lou Gehrig Award, 1985 (given to the player who most exemplifies the character of Lou Gehrig, both on and off the field)
• Roberto Clemente Man of the Year Award, 1988 (given to the player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team”)
• Bart Giamatti Community Service Award, 1991
• Jersey number “3” retired by the Braves, 1994
• Inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, 1995 (induction class with Roberto Clemente and Julius Erving. One of only 8 baseball players inducted in the Hall’s history)
• Inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence, 1995 (joining Mike Schmidt, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nolan Ryan, and others)
• Inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, 1997
• Inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, 1997
• Inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame, 2000 (joining Phil Niekro and Hank Aaron, among others)
• Founder of the I Won’t Cheat Foundation in 2005, whose mission is to encourage character development among youth