10 Career-Defining Eddie Murray Baseball Cards – Instant PC
With so many different base cards, subsets, parallels, memorabilia cards and autographs, building out a collection for a single player can be overwhelming.
Luckily, the 10-Card Instant PC article series is here to help.
There are more than 5,000 Eddie Murray cards, according to the Beckett database.
So where does one begin putting together an Eddie Murray PC?
These 10 cards serve as an excellent representation of his playing career and footprint on the hobby, making them a great place to start.
1978 Topps #36 Eddie Murray RC
A third-round pick in the 1973 draft, Murray made his MLB debut as a 21-year-old in 1977. That year he hit .283/.333/.470 with 29 doubles, 27 home runs and 88 RBI in 160 games to win AL Rookie of the Year honors. The following year he replaced veteran Lee May as Baltimore’s starting first baseman and slugged 27 home runs with a team-leading 95 RBI.
His Rookie Card is part of the 1978 Topps set and features the iconic Topps Rookie Cup. It’s the headlining card in a set that also features rookies of Paul Molitor/Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker and Jack Morris.
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1981 Kellogg’s #18 Eddie Murray
During the strike-shortened 1981 season, Murray led the American League in home runs (22) and RBI (78) in 99 games, earning his second of what would be eight All-Star appearances. He also finished fifth in AL MVP voting.
Murray was part of the oddball Kellogg’s set five times, starting in 1978 and running through the early 1980s. The cards are tough to find in good condition due to a cracking issue with the plastic that produced their 3D effect.
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1983 Fleer #67 Eddie Murray
In 1983, Murray had one of the best seasons of his career, hitting .306/.393/.538 with 33 home runs and 111 RBI to finish runner-up to teammate Cal Ripken Jr. in AL MVP voting. That superstar duo helped lead the Baltimore Orioles to a World Series title that season, with Murray launching a pair of home runs in the Fall Classic.
Collectors had Donruss, Fleer and Topps flagship sets to choose from during the 1983 season, and Murray’s Fleer base card from that year is a great-looking option to honor his World Series-winning campaign.
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1988 Topps #4 Eddie Murray
One of the greatest switch-hitters in MLB history, Murray’s 504 home runs trail only Mickey Mantle (536) in career long balls among all switch-hitters, and ahead of the likes of Chipper Jones (468), Carlos Beltran (435) and Mark Teixeira (409).
His switch-hitting prowess was featured prominently on a card in the 1988 Topps set, commemorating a milestone moment the previous season when he hit a home run from each side of the plate in consecutive games, becoming the first player in MLB history to accomplish that feat.
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1989 Donruss Traded #12 Eddie Murray
After 12 seasons with the Orioles, Murray was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the 1989 season in exchange for a trio of young pitchers. The 33-year-old led the Dodgers in home runs (20) and RBI (88) in the first of three seasons in Los Angeles.
He was included in a handful of different traded and update sets in 1989, including the 1989 Donruss Traded set. It was the only year that Donruss released a traded set as it was poorly received due to the absence of rookies, which were split off into the Donruss Rookies boxed set.
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1992 Upper Deck #728 Eddie Murray 400 HR
The Mets had a busy offseason leading up to the 1992 campaign, signing Murray to a two-year, $7.5 million deal while also signing Bobby Bonilla and Willie Randolph in free agency and trading for Bret Saberhagen.
Murray hit his 400th career home run on May 3, 1992, and that milestone moment was honored with a card in Series 2 of the 1992 Upper Deck set.
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1995 Stadium Club Ring Leaders #RL6 Eddie Murray
The 1995 Cleveland Indians had one of the most potent offenses in MLB history, and along with prime-age stars Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton and Carlos Baerga, they also had a 39-year-old Eddie Murray on the roster. Despite his age, he hit .323/.375/.516 with 21 doubles, 21 home runs and 82 RBI in 113 games as the team’s primary DH.
The 1990s were full of gaudy, over-the-top insert sets, but few compare to the 1995 Stadium Club Ring Leaders inserts. Found in 1:24 packs of both Series 1 and Series 2, the 40-card set is a must-own for ’90s collector.
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1998 Collector’s Choice #149 Eddie Murray
Murray played his final MLB season in 1997, hitting .222 with three home runs in 185 plate appearances with the Anaheim Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers before calling it a career.
Despite not suiting up in 1998, he was included in a handful of sets, including the 1998 Collector’s Choice set which features a full stat back to wrap up his Hall of Fame career. He was also included in the product’s StarQuest insert set.
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2000 Upper Deck Hitter’s Club Generations of Excellence #GE1 Cal Ripken/Eddie Murray
Along with fellow Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson, teammates Cal Ripken Jr. and Eddie Murray both belong in the conversation of greatest hitters in Baltimore Orioles history. Murray and Ripken played together from 1981 when Ripken debuted until 1989 when Murray was traded to the Dodgers. They joined up again during the second half of the 1996 season when Murray was acquired in a deadline deal.
The duo shares a number of different cards both from their playing days and since their retirement, and their 2000 Upper Deck Hitter’s Club insert is a great choice to highlight their time as superstar teammates.
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2017 Topps Update Base Set Variation Autograph #US42B Eddie Murray
All told, Murray tallied 3,255 hits and 504 home runs in 3,026 career games. He is joined by Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera as the only members of the 3,000-hit, 500-HR club.
His only certified autograph during his playing days was part of the 1997 Donruss Signature set and he is pictured as a member of the Anaheim Angels who he played with for just 46 games. However, there have been plenty of autos released of him in an Orioles uniform in recent years, and his 2017 Topps Update variation is as good a choice as any.
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