William R.W. Murphy (born May 9, 1981) is an American professional baseball left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

, with an 0–0 record in the Major Leagues. He has also played in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific Le ...

being one of the most highly known pitchers in Japan during the 2010 season. Murphy and

Yu Darvish , more commonly known as Yu Darvish (ダルビッシュ有), is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Lo ...

were both the top leading Aces in Japan for the 2010 season, yet Murphy being the dominant force for his team, the

to win the 2010 Japan Series. He has also played in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, T ...

. Bill Murphy is the only player in Major League Baseball history to be traded three times in less than a 24-hour time period, in the Paul Lo Duca, Brad Penny, Hee-seop Choi, Juan Encarnacion and Guillermo Mota trade. Murphy attended Arlington High School in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

. After graduating from high school, Murphy was granted a baseball scholarship to CSU Northridge. Before attending college, he was drafted by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in the 24th round (738th overall) in the

1999 Major League Baseball draft The 1999 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1,474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections Supplemental fir ...

, but did not sign with them. After attending

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

for three years, Murphy was selected as the 98th overall pick in the third-round of the 2002 famous

Moneyball Moneyball or money ball may refer to: * '' Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'', 2003 book by Michael Lewis ** ''Moneyball'' (film), 2011 film adaptation of the book * ''Moneyball'' (album), 2025 album by Dutch Interior * Sabermetrics ...

draft.

Career

Oakland Athletics

He was drafted again by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

in the third round (98th overall) of the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

" draft. He spent two seasons in the Athletics organization, pitching for the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bail ...

(2002),

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are a professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois, and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their home games a ...

(2003) and

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, which ope ...

(2003). On June 10, 2003, Bill pitched a no-hitter for the

Florida Marlins

On December 23, 2003, he was sent to the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

as the player to be named later that had sent Mark Redman to the Athletics and

Mike Neu Michael David Neu (born December 29, 1970) is an American football coach and former quarterback who serves as a senior offensive assistant for Illinois. He recently served as the head football coach at Ball State. He played college football at ...

to the Marlins in a trade on December 16, 2003. Murphy began the 2004 season with the

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

, the Marlins Double-A affiliate. In 20 starts with the Mudcats, he was 6–4 with a 4.08 ERA.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On July 30, 2004, Murphy was traded along with

Hee-Seop Choi Hee-seop Choi (; ; ; born March 16, 1979) is a South Korean former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, and Los Angeles Dodgers and in the KBO League for the Kia ...

and Brad Penny to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

for

Paul Lo Duca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player and television personality. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers (–), Florida Marlins (2004–, ), New York Met ...

Juan Encarnación Juan De Dios Encarnación (born March 8, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1997 to 2007 for the Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Do ...

, and Guillermo Mota. The next day, on July 31, 2004, he was traded once again, this time to the

along with Koyie Hill and

Reggie Abercrombie Reginald Damascus Abercrombie (born July 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins and Houston Astros. Professional career Abercrombie graduated from Colum ...

for Steve Finley and Brent Mayne. He finished the season with the Double-A

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, wh ...

. Murphy spent the whole 2005 season with the Triple-A

Tucson Sidewinders Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson metropolitan s ...

but performed poorly as he had a 5.65

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 23 games (21 starts). He began the 2006 season back in Double-A with the

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

. He was later promoted back up to Triple-A. In 2007, Murphy once again began the year in Triple-A. He started nine games in which he went 2–2 with a 4.05 ERA. He was mainly a relief pitcher however as he pitched 45 games out of the bullpen. He went 1–1 with a 3.35 ERA with 1 save out of the bullpen. His good performance earned him a September 1 call-up by the big league club. He made his Major League debut against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

on September 3, working 1.2 innings in relief and allowing three earned runs on 3 hits and 3 walks. In 10 games for the Diamondbacks in 2007, he had a 5.68 ERA. In , during spring training, the Diamondbacks designated Murphy for assignment and placed him on waivers.

Toronto Blue Jays

The

claimed him off waivers on March 17. Murphy did not make the 25-man Toronto 2009 roster out of spring training, and was assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. On April 14, 2009, Murphy was called up to the Toronto Blue Jays to replace the injured Jesse Litsch.Murphy fills Jays' bullpen void
/ref> Murphy made his Toronto debut on April 15 in relief, in a win over the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. On November 3, 2009, he was designated for assignment to make room for Jarrett Hoffpauir. In 8 games with the Blue Jays, he worked in 11.1 innings with a 3.18 ERA.

Chiba Lotte Marines

On November 15, 2009, it was announced that Murphy would take a tryout for the Japanese team

. In 2010 Murphy led the Chiba Lotte Marines to the Japan World Series helping the team to win the championship along with being one of the top pitchers starting off the year undefeated 6-0 until his first loss against Yu Darvish. In 2010 Murphy eventually held one of the best records finishing with 12 wins and 6 losses, with a better record than most in Japan including pitchers like Yu Darvish, with a 3.75ERA on the season. He played with the Marines in 2010 and 2011, appearing in 48 games, with 30 starts. In both seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines he finished with a combined 14–11 record and an overall 3.81 ERA. He made history in 2010 by winning 6 consecutive games in Japan without a loss.

Return to the Blue Jays

He returned to the Blue Jays on a minor league contract on January 17, 2012, and was assigned to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. Murphy spent the entire 2012 season with the Las Vegas 51's with another winning record of 8-5 and an overall 4.38 ERA. Being one of the top pitchers with innings pitched in the PCL that season, Murphy was not granted a September call-up though his performance as starter/reliever is difficult in itself in the Pacific Coast League Triple-A, leaving many second guessing the Major League Affiliated Club of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Long Island Ducks/Camden Riversharks/7-Eleven Lions

Murphy played the 2013 season for the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "par ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

, helping lead them to yet another championship. In August 2014, it was announced that Murphy signed with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In 2 starts of the 2014 season, Murphy has started 2 games, pitched 10 innings with 0 runs, 0.00 ERA and is 1–0 on the year in the 2014 Atlantic League. After performing 2 scoreless starts with the Riversharks, going 1–0 with 10 scoreless innings, the

of Taiwan purchased his contract for the remainder of the 2014 season in hopes of obtaining another championship.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Bill 1981 births American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Living people Baseball players from Anaheim, California Major League Baseball pitchers Vancouver Canadians players Midland RockHounds players Cal State Northridge Matadors baseball players Kane County Cougars players Carolina Mudcats players El Paso Diablos players Tucson Sidewinders players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Azucareros del Este players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Tennessee Smokies players Arizona Diamondbacks players Syracuse Chiefs players Las Vegas 51s players Toronto Blue Jays players Chiba Lotte Marines players Long Island Ducks players Camden Riversharks players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players