What years did Tom Murphy play?

Tom Murphy played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1979.

Was Tom Murphy a pitcher?

Yes. Tom Murphy pitched in the major leagues, recording 68 wins and 621 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Tom Murphy hit?

Tom Murphy hit 1 career home runs with 42 hits.

What was Tom Murphy's career batting average?

Tom Murphy batted .145 over his career, with 42 hits in 289 at bats.

How many RBI did Tom Murphy have?

Tom Murphy drove in 18 runs in his career.

What was Tom Murphy's career ERA?

Tom Murphy finished with a 3.78 career ERA, going 68-101 with 621 strikeouts.

Tom Murphy

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1968-1979)

Tom Murphy was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1979 for 6 teams, including the California Angels, a span of 12 seasons. Across 439 career appearances, he went 68-101 with a 3.78 ERA, 621 strikeouts, and 59 saves. He also batted .145 with 1 home runs.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 12, 2026

W–L 68–101

ERA 3.78

WHIP 1.33

SO 621

Pitcher PIV -12293.5

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'3" / 185 lb
Born: 12/30/1945 in Cleveland, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1968-06-13
Last Game: 1979-05-08

Full name: Thomas Andrew Murphy

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Career Pitching Statistics

Tom Murphy — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
68	101	439	147	22	3	59	1444.0	1,425	606	123	493	621	3.78	-12293.5

Career ERA 3.78 vs. league average 3.64 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tom Murphy (b. 1945) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1968	CAL	AL	5	6	15	15	3	0	0	99.1	67	24	28	56	2.17	2.98 (+27%)	186.1
1969	CAL	AL	10	16	36	35	4	0	0	215.2	213	101	69	100	4.21	3.61 (-17%)	317.2
1970	CAL	AL	16	13	39	38	5	2	0	227.0	223	107	81	99	4.24	3.89 (-9%)	-4970.6
1971	CAL	AL	6	17	37	36	7	0	0	243.1	228	102	82	89	3.77	3.47 (-9%)	-3984.8
1972	CAL	AL	0	0	6	0	0	0	0	10.0	13	6	8	2	5.40	3.26 (-65%)	-283.8
1972	KCA	AL	4	4	18	9	1	1	1	70.1	77	24	16	34	3.07	3.26 (+6%)	604.5
1973	SLN	NL	3	7	19	13	2	0	0	88.2	89	37	22	42	3.76	3.75 (avg)	1238.6
1974	ML4	AL	10	10	70	0	0	0	20	123.0	97	26	51	47	1.90	3.63 (+48%)	-349.0
1975	ML4	AL	1	9	52	0	0	0	20	72.1	85	37	27	32	4.60	3.71 (-24%)	-393.1
1976	ML4	AL	0	1	15	0	0	0	1	18.1	25	15	9	7	7.36	3.51 (-110%)	-720.9
1976	BOS	AL	4	5	37	0	0	0	8	81.0	91	31	25	32	3.44	3.51 (+2%)	-264.8
1977	BOS	AL	0	1	16	0	0	0	0	30.2	44	23	12	13	6.75	4.00 (-69%)	-1233.6
1977	TOR	AL	2	1	19	1	0	0	2	52.0	63	21	18	26	3.63	4.00 (+9%)	-436.4
1978	TOR	AL	6	9	50	0	0	0	7	94.0	87	41	37	36	3.93	3.69 (-6%)	-1960.0
1979	TOR	AL	1	2	10	0	0	0	0	18.1	23	11	8	6	5.40	4.00 (-35%)	-43.0
Career · 15 seasons			68	101	439	147	22	3	59	1,444.0	1,425	606	493	621	3.78	—	-12,294

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Tom Murphy — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
443	289	21	42	7	0	1	18	0	13	96	.145	.181	.180	.361	-1,444

Career AVG .145 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — 42.9% below league average.

Career OBP .181 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — 43.7% below league average.

Career SLG .180 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — 51.9% below league average.

Career OPS .361 vs. league average .695 across their career seasons — 48.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tom Murphy (b. 1945) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1968	CAL	AL	15	28	2	0	0	0	0	1	10	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1969	CAL	AL	36	71	2	10	2	0	4	3	26	.141	.248 (-43%)	.320 (-46%)	.369 (-54%)	.689 (-50%)	-562.9
1970	CAL	AL	39	76	7	14	1	1	7	5	32	.184	.253 (-27%)	.325 (-29%)	.385 (-39%)	.711 (-34%)	-416.8
1971	CAL	AL	37	75	5	13	3	0	6	2	19	.173	.249 (-30%)	.316 (-39%)	.365 (-42%)	.682 (-40%)	-464.7
1972	CAL	AL	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	KCA	AL	21	13	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1973	SLN	NL	19	23	1	4	1	0	1	1	5	.174	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	ML4	AL	70	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	.500	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	ML4	AL	53	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	ML4	AL	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	BOS	AL	37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	BOS	AL	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	TOR	AL	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1978	TOR	AL	50	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	TOR	AL	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 15 seasons			443	289	21	42	7	1	18	13	96	.145	—	—	—	—	-1,444

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (882 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Tom Murphy — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	227	147	13	22	0	8	.150
Away	216	142	8	20	1	10	.141

Pitching — Home / Away

Tom Murphy — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	224	780.2	742	314	251	341	3.62
Away	215	663.1	683	291	243	280	3.95

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Tom Murphy — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1979-05-08	TOR	MIN	—	1.1	1	1	1	1	1	1
1979-05-07	TOR	MIN	—	2.0	0	0	0	1	1	0
1979-04-28	TOR	MIL	—	0.2	1	0	0	1	1	0
1979-04-27	TOR	MIL	—	0.2	2	2	2	2	0	0
1979-04-18	TOR	CHW	—	5.2	6	3	3	2	1	0
1979-04-16	TOR	CHW	L	0.0	2	2	2	0	0	0
1979-04-15	TOR	KCR	L	0.2	3	2	2	0	0	0
1979-04-12	TOR	CHW	W	4.0	3	0	0	1	1	0
1979-04-08	TOR	KCR	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
1979-04-05	TOR	KCR	—	3.0	5	1	1	0	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Tom Murphy — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	439	147	100	263	23	18

Season-by-Season Fielding

Tom Murphy — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1968	CAL	P	15	15	5	11	3	0
1969	CAL	P	36	35	14	38	5	6
1970	CAL	P	39	38	22	29	5	3
1971	CAL	P	37	36	19	49	4	2
1972	CAL	P	6	0	0	5	0	0
1972	KCA	P	18	9	3	15	1	1
1973	SLN	P	19	13	8	16	1	0
1974	ML4	P	70	0	4	30	0	2
1975	ML4	P	52	0	6	11	2	1
1976	ML4	P	15	0	2	4	0	0
1976	BOS	P	37	0	5	12	2	1
1977	BOS	P	16	0	1	7	0	0
1977	TOR	P	19	1	4	7	0	0
1978	TOR	P	50	0	4	24	0	1
1979	TOR	P	10	0	3	5	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Tom Murphy (b. 1945) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	439
Designated Hitter	1

College History

Tom Murphy — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Ohio University	Athens	OH	1965, 1966

Award Voting History

Tom Murphy — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1974	Most Valuable Player	AL	30th	3.0	336	0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Tom Murphy (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Tom Murphy: the record in brief

According to the bio, Tom Murphy debuted on June 13, 1968 and played a final game on May 8, 1979. The team column moves through the California Angels (1968 through 1972), the Kansas City Royals (1972), the St. Louis Cardinals (1973), the Milwaukee Brewers (1974 through 1976), the Boston Red Sox (1976 to 1977), and the Toronto Blue Jays (1977 to 1979). Murphy played primarily as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on December 30, 1945, in Cleveland, OH, USA and a listed size of 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds. The given name on file is Thomas Andrew Murphy.

Across 439 games (147 starts), Murphy recorded 68 wins against 101 losses with a 3.78 ERA. Also on Murphy's record: 621 strikeouts, 22 complete games, and 59 saves. Murphy's 3.78 ERA was close to the 3.64 league figure for those seasons. The best win total was 16, in 1970. 1969 produced Murphy's most strikeouts, 100. The most saves in one season was 20, in 1974.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tom Murphy

What years did Tom Murphy play?: Tom Murphy played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1979.
Was Tom Murphy a pitcher?: Yes. Tom Murphy pitched in the major leagues, recording 68 wins and 621 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Tom Murphy hit?: Tom Murphy hit 1 career home runs with 42 hits.
What was Tom Murphy's career batting average?: Tom Murphy batted .145 over his career, with 42 hits in 289 at bats.
How many RBI did Tom Murphy have?: Tom Murphy drove in 18 runs in his career.
What was Tom Murphy's career ERA?: Tom Murphy finished with a 3.78 career ERA, going 68-101 with 621 strikeouts.