When Tim Murphy takes the field on Friday nights, he finds himself in an unexpected position.
Instead of roaming center field chasing down fly balls and robbing hitters of home runs, Murphy stands on the pitcher’s mound, keeping them off-balance with his changeup and challenging them with his fastball.
All of which has left the junior from Vista, Calif., in amazement at the position in which he finds himself.
“If you would have told me that going into it, I would have said, “˜No way,'” Murphy said.
Drafted after high school by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 11th round of the 2005 MLB Draft as a center fielder with a cannon for an arm and uncanny athleticism, Murphy chose to enter UCLA, believing that his future was in the outfield, not on the mound.
Yet because of unexpected injuries to key players and other pitchers’ subpar performances last season, Murphy ended up in the Bruins’ starting rotation.
And he hasn’t turned back.
Murphy has transformed from a center fielder who can throw hard into a pitcher that can play center field when the need calls. This season, Murphy has amassed a record of 3-3 with an impressive 3.28 ERA and better than 3-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio (66 strikeouts, 21 walks), which has many scouts praising his potential.
“He has the potential to be a big league starter,” said coach John Savage, who coached current Major League pitchers Barry Zito and Mark Prior while at USC. “He has great arm strength and can throw three pitches for strikes. And he has the intangibles ““ the mentality and the desire ““ to succeed at the big level.”
The athlete
There was never a doubt that Murphy had talent.
Growing up in Southern California, Murphy played all the sports: football, basketball, even a little hockey. But it was baseball that he fell in love with.
“I think I was born with it,” Murphy said. “I used to come home from school and stuff, and I’d take a tennis ball and throw it against the wall with my glove until it got dark. It was just something I had a natural ability for; it’s just something I love to be around.
“I don’t think there was one defining moment ““ it was just kind of in me.”
At Rancho Buena Vista High School, Murphy was a two-sport athlete, playing quarterback and free safety with the football team, while making plays in center field and on the mound in baseball. His high school stardom caught the Angels’ eye.
“It was a tremendous compliment, or achievement, whatever you want to call it,” Murphy said. “It was definitely a pretty neat moment. Any time you get drafted by a major league team, it’s a pretty big deal. It’s an honor.”
The competitor
When you ask coaches and teammates what the best word would be to describe Tim Murphy, you get a resounding answer: “competitor.”
“He’s such a competitor and is really passionate about the game,” junior catcher Ryan Babineau said. “He has the characteristics that are needed in a Friday-night starter. He is going to give you all he’s got, regardless if he has his best stuff or not.”
Fellow pitcher Gavin Brooks, a sophomore who also played with Murphy in high school, believes that it is Murphy’s tremendous desire to win at everything he does that translates into his great abilities as a leader.
“(He’s) definitely a verbal leader as well as a leader on the field,” Brooks said. “When he’s on the field, he’s always competing. His tremendous desire reflects on all of us.
“Every pitch, he is trying to win that pitch.”
Murphy believes that he is best suited to leading by his play on the field. But he added that he doesn’t hesitate to correct his teammates when he thinks they’re in the wrong.
“It’s just playing the game right,” Murphy said. “I like playing the game right. I don’t like people that disrespect the game. That’s the kind of stuff that I’ll see, and if something needs to be said, I won’t hesitate at all.”
Savage believes that Murphy’s immense work ethic gives the team a lift.
“He gives us a tremendous boost,” Savage said. “When he plays center field, he has tremendous energy. When he is on the mound, he also brings the same amount of energy. He is a guy who is going to give it his all and leave everything on the field. There is not much else you can say about the type of player he is.”
The pitcher
Murphy was on the mound for UCLA during the team’s biggest game of the 2007 season.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Bruins clung to a 7-4 lead over host Long Beach State, one out away from a berth in the Super Regionals. Murphy, who had dazzled throughout the night, was one strike away from a complete game that would seal the upset.
Five seconds later, pure and unabashed bliss.
“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Murphy said. “It’s probably one of those days you will remember for the rest of your life. … It was one of those things where I struggled a little bit early, but you’ve got to find a way to get it done, you’ve got to battle, you’ve got to compete.”
It was the moment when the thrower became the pitcher, the moment that showed the country that Murphy is a pitcher to be reckoned with.
Murphy has built on that outstanding performance. Throughout the off-season, Murphy worked on his mechanics, focusing on the lesser known aspects of the pitching game, all the while becoming more than a thrower.
“Last year, he was throwing the ball; this year, he’s pitching,” Babineau said. “He has more command this year as well. He is commanding the fastball; he is commanding the breaking ball. Just the mental aspects and the finer points of pitching, he has learned a lot, like pickoffs. It’s a tribute to him, and it’s special to come in as an outfielder and turn into a Friday-night starter.”
Savage believes that Murphy has transformed into one of the best starters on the West Coast, something which Murphy attributes to the guidance of his coach.
“I definitely wouldn’t be as far pitching-wise without him,” Murphy said. “The biggest thing he’s done for me is teach me how to be a pitcher instead of a thrower. I came in here with a pretty decent arm. I would just kind of throw it, throw hard; wherever it went, it went. But he’s turned me into a pitcher in all phases of the game.”
The future
At the end of the season, when the Bruins go their separate ways for the summer, Murphy said that he will most likely take the next step forward in his career and leave UCLA to play in the major leagues.
Since he was drafted by the team out of high school and had a positive experience with their management, Murphy said that he wouldn’t mind going to the Angels. His hometown San Diego Padres wouldn’t be a bad choice either, he added.
But one thing is for sure: Whoever drafts Murphy is getting a unique and versatile player.
“If you were to ask me last year (what I liked more), the easy answer would have been outfield,” Murphy said. “But pitching has grown on me quite a bit, and I realize that my future after college life is probably on the mound. I’ve grown a liking to it. It’s a different side of the game, but the more and more I do it, the more I like it.”
However, there is something on Murphy’s mind along with the draft.
“Going to Omaha and winning a national championship would be an unbelievable way to go out,” he said.