Dale Murphy Interview on 1982 - Part Five

Here's the final part of our interview with Braves legend Dale Murphy on the 1982 start

The 1982 Atlanta Braves had a new manager. They had been a disappointment in 1981, a strike-shortened season. So team owner listened to his baseball people and fired manager Bobby Cox.

Those same baseball people wanted Turner to hire Eddie Haas, who was the manager at Triple-A Richmond. Instead, Turner turned to Joe Torre, who had been the Braves first catcher when the team moved to Atlanta in 1966.

Torre had just been fired by the New York Mets. He was a character who had been on the big stage in New York. Turner wanted to tape a television documentary on the Braves, and Torre would be his main attraction.

But the team was getting better, as well. Despite the mediocrity in 1981, the Braves had a lot of young talent. Dale Murphy was a rising star and was 26 years old. Bob Horner had become a solid number two man behind Murphy in the batting order.

Glenn Hubbard and Rafael Ramirez became a solid double-play combination. Brett Butler was emerging as a consistent lead off man. And the farm system was in the best shape it had been in since the team moved from Milwaukee.

Murphy was pushed by Torre, who made his young star his own pet project. Torre knew Murphy had the talent to be the league's most valuable player, and that's exactly what Murphy was in 1982.

Murphy talks about that special season.

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