BIOGRAPHY
Thomas James Murphy Jr. was born on April 3, 1991, in West Monroe, New York. He is a catcher in the MLB.
He previously played for the Colorado Rockies. Prior to playing professionally, Murphy played college baseball for the University at Buffalo.
Murphy attended Paul V. Moore High School in Central Square, New York, where he played for the school's baseball team. He had a .510 batting average in his senior year, and was honored as All-Central New York (CNY) and the CNY Athlete of the Year. In high school, Murphy was recruited to play college baseball at Buffalo, St. John’s, Michigan, Wagner, Le Moyne and Monmouth.
Murphy ultimately committed to play baseball at the University at Buffalo. In the summer of 2010, he played summer league baseball with the Oneonta Outlaws of the New York Collegiate Baseball League (Oneonta is now a part of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League). In 2011, he was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year after leading the conference with a .384 batting average. That summer, he played for the Holyoke Blue Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), and hit a home run over the Green Monster at Fenway Park against the United States Collegiate National Team in the NECBL All-Star Game.
The Colorado Rockies selected Murphy in the third round, with the 105th overall selection, of the 2012 MLB Draft. In 2012, he played for the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, and in 2013, he played for the Asheville Tourists of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL), where he was named SAL Hitter of the Week for the week of April 29 through May 5, 2013. He received a midseason promotion to the Tulsa Drillers of the Class AA Texas League. Murphy returned to Tulsa in 2014, but was limited to 27 games. He began the 2015 season with the Rockies' new Class AA affiliate, the New Britain Rock Cats of the Eastern League. He was chosen to play for the United States national baseball team in the 2015 Pan American Games. Following the Pan American Games, the Rockies promoted Murphy to the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.
The Rockies promoted Murphy to the major leagues on September 11, 2015. Murphy made his Major League debut on September 12 against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Murphy hit his first Major League home run on September 19 at Coors Field off San Diego Padres pitcher Marcos Mateo.
Prior to the 2016 season, Baseball America ranked him the 97th best prospect in Major League Baseball. Murphy was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants on March 25, 2019. On March 29, the Giants traded Murphy to the Seattle Mariners for Jesus Ozoria.
On January 13, 2023, Murphy agreed to a one-year, $1.625 million contract with the Mariners, avoiding salary arbitration.
Murphy signed with the San Francisco Giants following the 2023 season on a two-year deal with a club option in year 3.
