The Atlanta Braves franchise is well-known for having housed some of the best players in MLB history. From Hank Aaron to Chipper Jones, there have been some incredible careers to follow. Many of these impressive players have landed in the MLB Hall of Fame or the Braves Hall of Fame. One of those legendary players features as a Braves Hall of Famer. Unfortunately, he's still hoping to find his way to Cooperstown.
Dale Murphy is a name most Braves fans will be familiar with. He was one of the most iconic pieces of the franchise during the late 70s through the 80s. It's hard to look at his complete body of work and realize he still hasn't made it into the Hall of Fame.
He will have another opportunity in 2026 as he is featured on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot. Many think he's deserving, but there are enough doubters for him not to be in the Hall yet. However, Murphy is a seven-time All-Star with two MVP wins, five Gold Gloves, and four Silver Sluggers. Murph also has 398 career homers, 2,111 hits, and a career 119 wRC+. That's pretty darn good.
Braves History: Dale Murphy wins National League MVP for the second-straight season
One MVP is impressive enough, but multiple of them means a player is on another level. Murphy earning two was even more intriguing because he joined a special club when he took home his second NL MVP in 1983.
He joined Ernie Banks, Joe Morgan, and Mike Schmidt as one of four NL players to win an MVP award in consecutive seasons. Murphy received 21 out of 24 votes cast during that season to accomplish this. Murphy was outstanding that season with a .302/.393/.540 slash line, a .933 OPS, 36 home runs, and 121 RBI.
To this day, he is the only Atlanta player to win consecutive MVP titles. It also took 10 years before another player would accomplish this feat. Barry Bonds won consecutive titles in 1992 and 1993, one with the Pirates and one with the Giants. Bonds also won four in a row with the Giants from 2001 to 2004.
Frank Thomas, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, and Shohei Ohtani round out the list as the other players since Murphy to take home consecutive MVPs. Ohtani is trying for his third consecutive in 2025, and Aaron Judge could join the list if he prevails over Cal Raleigh in this year's AL MVP race.
While that is exciting, Braves fans will be watching closely and hoping Murph is finally rewarded for his remarkable career. It's long overdue that number 3 finds himself enshrined among baseball's best.