Greene County News
FAIRBORN — Major League Baseball coach Pat Murphy will be the keynote speaker at the 13th annual First Pitch Banquet Friday, Feb. 3, on the main arena floor in WSU’s Nutter Center.
The First Pitch Banquet features a sit-down dinner along with a silent auction. The cost for the event is $70 per person. A VIP table for 10 is available for $1,000. The VIP table includes recognition during the program and admission to a pre-event meet and greet with Murphy.
Murphy is currently the bench coach for the Milwaukee Brewers. He previously served as the interim manager of the San Diego Padres and as the head baseball coach at Arizona State University and the University of Notre Dame.
In October 2015, Murphy joined the Brewers as part of Craig Counsell staff, whom he coached at Notre Dame. Prior to coming to Milwaukee, he was the interim manager of the San Diego Padres from June 16, 2005 until the end of the season.
Hired by the Padres in February 2010 as Special Assistant to Baseball Operations, Murphy managed the Padres’ Northwest League affiliate, the Eugene Emeralds, for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, with the Emeralds posting consecutive league-best overall season records. Murphy then managed the Tucson Padres of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 2013 and the El Paso Chihuahuas of the PCL in 2014 and 2015.
Murphy began his college coaching career when he was hired by Notre Dame on July 11, 1987. He guided the Fighting Irish to a 318-116-1 record, including trips to the NCAA regional finals in 1992, 1993 and 1994.
He then was hired at Arizona State in 1995. The Sun Devils won the Pac-10 Conference championship in 2000 and consecutive Pac-10 championships in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Twice in that same decade, Murphy had teams finish in the Top 3 in the country; a feat matched by only 10 other schools. Murphy’s ASU teams were consistently present in the national top 25, including a streak of 100 consecutive weeks in the polls that lasted from 2000 until the middle of 2005. Murphy led the Sun Devils to the postseason for nine straight seasons and 11 of 12. His teams set an NCAA record of not being shut out in 506 consecutive games between 1995 and 2004, shattering the previous streak of 349.
The youngest collegiate coach to reach 500 career victories, Murphy won Baseball America’s Coach of the Year award in 1998 and was Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times (2000, 2007, 2008 and 2009). He led ASU to the College World Series four times (1998, 2005, 2007, 2009) and finished his tenure there with a record of 629-284-1.
Murphy was a pitcher, catcher and infielder at Florida Atlantic University. He was honored on FAU’s 20th Anniversary Team as a pitcher and utility player and in 2008 was inducted into the school’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
After FAU, Murphy signed a professional contract with the San Francisco Giants in 1982 and had a four-year career with the Giants, San Diego Padres and two independent clubs before beginning his coaching career.
Murphy follows in the list of great speakers, including Beavercreek’s Justin Masterson (2016), Scott Rolen (2015), Dwight Gooden (2014), Dave Stewart (2013), Joe Smith (2012), Bill Bavasi (2011), Dusty Baker (2010), Jeff Brantley (2009), Marty Brennaman (2008), George Foster (2007) and Steve Garvey (2006). Jim “The Rookie” Morris was the first speaker for the WSU First Pitch Banquet in 2005.
The doors will open to the public at 6:30.
For more information, contact WSU head baseball coach Jeff Mercer at 937-775-3668 or [email protected]. Ticket forms are available at http://www.wsuraiders.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27000&ATCLID=211355906.
