Murray Blasts 500

On this day in 1996, Eddie Murray hit career home run 500.

Murray was playing with the Baltimore Orioles at the time. Murray's bomb came against the Detroit Tigers. He would play just one more season and end his career with 504 home runs.

Murray was just the fourteenth player to reach the milestone of 500 home runs. 

 There have been 10 players to reach the 500 home run mark after him. Murray is now ranked no. 25 on the all-time list of home run hitters. 

Murray ended his career as an eight time All-Star, including six consecutive selections from 1981-1986. He won all three of his Gold Gloves consecutively from 1982-1984 and won three Silver Slugger awards in 1983, 1984 and 1990.

Murray was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1977 and was part of the Baltimore Orioles team that won the 1983 World Series.

Murray’s career also saw playing time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians and Anaheim Angels to go along with his time with the Mets and Orioles.

Murray would finish his career with a .287 batting average, 3,255 hits, 504 home runs, 1,917 RBIs and 1,627 runs scored. He is one of only four players to have 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. The other three are Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Willie Mays as well as another famous Orioles slugger Rafael Palmeiro.

His 504 home runs are the most of a player who never hit more than 33 home runs in a season, the second most by a switch hitter to that only of New York Yankees great Mickey Mantle, who hit 536 in his career. They also rank Murray twenty-fifth in all-time home runs.

At the time of his retirement he was tied with Chili Davis for the most games in which he hit a home run from both sides of the plate, 11. In 2011 New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeria broke the record with 12.

A record not shown on the stat book but valuable is that Murray is the record holder for sacrifice flies with 128.

The Baltimore Orioles retired Murray’s jersey number 33 in 1998.

In 1999, Murray ranked Number 77 on The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Murray was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 with 85.3 percent of the vote on the first ballot in which he appeared.

Murray served as the hitting coach for the Cleveland Indians from 2002 to 2005.

On June 14, 2007, Murray was fired as hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers, after just months on the job.

In 2012 a Bronze statue of Eddie Murray's left handed hitting stance unveiled at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.