Like so many Little Leaguers, Jim Murphy chased big-league dreams on his trips around the bases as a kid. Now through college, Murphy’s still running.
The Philadelphia Phillies drafted Murphy, a former Juanita High School star who went on to play at Washington State University, in the 17th round of the first-year player draft on June 6.
Murphy said he was in a Nike Outlet store in North Bend on the way home from Pullman when the WSU sports information department called to tell him he’d been taken by the Philadelphia Phillies.
“It’s almost like, finally,” Murphy said. “I’ve been working hard for it for so long. From Little League, to Babe Ruth, to Connie Mack, all that stuff. To finally be able to be like ‘yeah, I made it to pro ball,’ it’s pretty cool. It’s a dream come true.”
Murphy isn’t the only one excited about the news.
“I don’t know if I could be any happier,” said Travis Jewett, an associate head coach at WSU. “He’s my kind of player: tough kid, good leader, shows up and works hard whether he’s successful or not. He’s always working.”
Murphy, a first baseman, heard from about a dozen teams before the draft and had a good idea he’d be picked. Now that he’s on a team, he said his concentration is the same as it’s always been — “playing as long as I can.”
Murphy left last Saturday for Clearwater, Fla., to join the GCL Phillies of the Gulf Coast League.
His progress will be followed closely both in Kirkland and Pullman.
“I will certainly be following very, very closely,” Jewett said. “Close to a daily basis. This kid and I, we’ve developed a special relationship… He’s just a good human being. I wish him all the luck in the world.”
Before his playing days with the Rebels and Cougars, Murphy honed his skills in the yard with his dad and brother.
His family didn’t have a big back yard, but his dad put together a full diamond complete with a dugout made of plywood.
At Juanita Murphy played varsity baseball and basketball. He made KingCo all-league honorable mention his sophomore and junior years, then made the all-league first team as a senior captain of the Rebels in 2004.
As a freshman at WSU in 2005, Murphy made an immediate impact. In starting 47 games he collected seven home runs, seven doubles, a .287 batting average and 28 RBIs.
The next season he appeared in all 53 games for the Cougars, batting .333, with eight home runs and 46 RBIs. Defensively, he set the WSU single-season record with 526 putouts at first. He made Pac-10 honorable mention.
The one blip of his college career came his junior year, when his average dipped to .220 and he hit just three home runs.
But in his senior season he showed 2007 was an aberration, batting .324 with 16 home runs and 61 RBIs as the team captain. Along with the home run and RBI totals, he led the Cougars in total bases, slugging percentage, walks and on-base percentage in 2008.
“My approach to the game was a lot better,” Murphy said. “I started feeling good at the plate and not being completely wrapped up in what happened. I went up with the attitude that if I do everything right, the numbers will show up.”
The numbers did show up and Murphy has left an imprint on the WSU record books. He leaves Pullman as the record holder in putouts (1,972), fourth all-time in career home runs (34), fifth in games played (218) and sixth in RBI (158).
Murphy may have captured scouts’ attention with his ability to hit the ball, but it was his propensity to get hit by it that came to define his college career. He has the dubious honor of being the career leader at WSU in hit by pitches (61), a number that also puts him first in Pac-10 history and eighth on the NCAA’s all-time list.
“I just think it’s hilarious,” Murphy said of his placement among the NCAA’s list. He said that any pitches at the legs hurt the most. “I took one in the kneecap that really hurt. A few in the hamstring. Really anything below the belt is brutal.”
Murphy said it isn’t an intentional strategy to get hit by the ball, it’s simply a good way to get on base and create more runs.
Jewett said the team will definitely miss having the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Murphy in the lineup.
“It was comforting to have him in there,” Jewett said. “Obviously he’s a big, strong guy. It was nice knowing that when he stood up there, there was a chance to do something really good for the team.”
Murphy’s first game in the rookie league is on June 19 against the GCL Blue Jays.
Contact Adam McFadden at amcfadden@reporternewspapers.com.
