What a catch! Mets outfielder snatches home run from Dale Murphy at Marion Stadium
Plus: ‘Hilarious – mad-cap comedy at its best’
Marion Mets Newsletter – Issue 29
Over the past few months, a handful of readers have emailed me, sharing stories and asking about Dale Murphy and his time in the Appalachian League.
Murphy has to be one of the most beloved Major League players ever, particularly in the southeastern United States, because of his impact with the Atlanta Braves – America’s Team, ya know – and because he seems like a genuinely super nice fellow.
This week, I’ve combed through a few old newspaper stories to learn more about Murphy’s time in the Appalachian League, particularly his head-to-head games against the Marion Mets.
The Braves drafted Murphy in the first round, fifth overall, in the 1974 MLB June Amateur Draft. He played rookie ball with the Kingsport (Tenn.) Braves. In 54 games, a few of those against the Mets in Kingsport and at Marion Stadium, the slugging catcher hit .254, drove home 31 runs, smacked seven doubles and walloped five homers.
He should have hit at least one more home run that year, but I’ll get to that a few paragraphs down.
One of the oddest moments in Murphy’s Appalachian League career happened in mid-July, 1974, in the first game of a doubleheader against Marion at Kingsport’s J. Fred Johnson Stadium. There were a couple of moments in the middle of the game that the Kingsport Times called “hilarious – mad-cap comedy at its best.”
In the top of the sixth inning, Kingsport’s Tom Westlake smoked a two-run homer onto Memorial Boulevard, giving the Braves a 6-5 advantage. Murphy came to bat next and popped a high foul near the Kingsport dugout. Marion first baseman Ed Cipot chased the ball, and as he neared the dugout, a Braves player or coach reached out to prevent Cipot from crashing.
A friendly gesture from an opposing player.
The home plate umpire, however, didn’t see it that way. He called interference on the Braves’ good Samaritan and ruled Murphy out, ending the inning.
As the Mets ran off the field, the first base umpire, who likely had a better view of the play, reversed the call.
Mets manager Chuck Hiller raced out of the dugout and let the umpire have it. So did Marion centerfielder Rafael Contreros. We’ll never know what they said to the ump, but it was enough to get them both ejected from the game.
Once things calmed, Marion relief pitcher Manuel Toribio struck out Murphy.
Inning over.
But instead of walking to the Marion dugout, Toribio, marched toward the home plate umpire and smacked him with his glove. Like Hiller and Contreras, the pitcher was tossed out of the game.
It must have been entertaining for Braves fans to watch the visitors from Marion lose their cool and, ultimately, the game. It had to be even more compelling when, seconds later, the P.A. announcer made an urgent call for the Marion bus driver.
Someone had broken into the Mets’ team bus in the stadium parking lot.
Back on the field, the Braves won game 1, 6-5 – Murphy was 0-3 in the contest, but he did score and drive in a run – and took game 2, 2-1
About a month later, Kingsport’s team visited Marion for a Monday night game with the Mets. The Braves jumped out to an early lead and Murphy aimed to add to the advantage in the top of the third, coming to bat with teammate Don Fletcher standing on second base.
Murphy saw a pitch he liked from Mets’ righty Lowell Jacobsen and clobbered the ball toward right field. It looked sure to be gone.
But, Mets’ right fielder Juan Monasterio, tracking the ball all the way, raced to the wall. As the ball fell back to Earth, Monasterio reached his glove over the short, temporary outfield fence and made a brilliant catch. He robbed Murphy of a home run and most likely made a game-saving catch!
In the seventh, Marion’s bats came to life. The Mets scored five runs, three on a home run by Stan Hough. Marion won 6-3.
Those are my stories of Dale Murphy playing against Marion… so far. If you have others, email me at chadoz97@gmail.com.
Cliff Speck
If we were to create a Marion Mets Hall of Fame (That’s a great idea, Chad!) we may want to consider pitcher Cliff Speck,
The New York Mets drafted the 17-year-old righty from Oregon in the first round that year and sent him to Marion to begin his career. Speck pitched well for Marion, recording a solid 2.96 ERA while striking out 70 batters in 13 games.
He pitched in one particular game in Kingsport that must have left Braves’ batters feeling helpless.
Speck took the mound on a Friday night at J. Fred Johnson Stadium and threw a complete-game shutout. He struck out seven batters and allowed only two singles.
Guess who had one of those hits. That’s right; it was Dale Murphy.
Speck and Murphy knew each other from playing high school back in Portland. Speck starred at Beaverton High School, and Murphy did the same at Woodrow Wilson High School.
“I think we played at least one game against each other in high school, and I don’t think he ever got a hit off of me,” Speck said with a laugh during our phone conversation in December 2023.
The two had been aware of each other since Little League. When they met again in the Appalachian League, 2,600 miles from their home city Portland, “We just started laughing,” Speck recalled. “It was neat to be on the same field again.”
Speck spent many productive years in the minors. In 1986, he finally landed in the majors with the Atlanta Braves, where he and Murphy became teammates. “It was nice to finally be on the same team,” Speck said.
I have more to write about Speck soon, including a story about Tom Seaver teaching him to throw a changeup in the spring of 1975.
That’s all for now. If you have a story to share about the Marion Mets, I’d love to talk with you. You can reach me at chadoz97@gmail.com. Also, if you see something I missed or simply got wrong, send me a note.
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