Sean Michael Murphy was originally signed by A's scout Rick Sparks…graduated from Centerville High School in Dayton, Ohio…attended Wright State University…was an All-League selection in 2015…earned Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors and was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2014.
2020
The rookie catcher started 39 of the A’s 60 games behind the plate and batted .233 with seven home runs and 14 RBI in 43 games overall…added 24 walks to fuel a .364 on-base percentage… ranked fourth among Major League rookies in walks, sixth in home runs and on-base percentage, seventh in OPS (.821) and slugging (.457) and tied for eighth in runs (21)…was named as the catcher on the Topps All-Star Rookie Team and the Baseball Digest MLB Rookie All-Star Team…tied for fourth in American League Rookie of the Year balloting…tied for second among Major League catchers in walks (24), tied for third in on-base percentage (.367) and tied for fifth home runs (7)… was hitting .203 with two home runs, five RBI and a .654 OPS in 27 games through the end of August…then reached base safely in each of his 16 games in September and batted .277 with five home runs, nine RBI and a 1.062 OPS…hit .235 (8-for-34) against left-handed pitchers, .232 (19- for-82) against right-handers…batted .270 with all seven of his home runs with the bases empty, .189 with runners on…10 of his 11 career home runs have been solo shots…was 1-for-13 (.077) with runners in scoring position and two outs and is 1-for-22 (.045) in his career…started 65.0% of the A’s games at catcher, which was the second highest percentage by a rookie catcher in Oakland history…the highest is 67.3% (109-of-162) by A.J. Hinch in 1998…tied for third among Major League catchers in games (43), ranked fifth in innings (339.1), sixth in catcher’s ERA (3.79), tied for sixth in games started (39), eighth in putouts (334) and ninth in total chances (350)…tossed out 6-of-21 (28.6%) attempted base stealers, which was the second best percentage among catchers in the West divisions and ninth best in the majors…has tossed out 8-of-27 (29.6%) in his career…committed two errors for a .994 fielding percentage…the A’s were 26-13 (.667) when he started at catcher and are 36-16 (.692) when he starts behind the plate in his career…went 0-for1 in one pinch hitting appearance…made a team-leading 26 starts batting ninth…went 6-for-12 (.500) when putting the first pitch in play…has 11 home runs in 63 career games, which are tied for eighth most in Athletics history by a player over his first 63 games.
OAKLAND: Went 0-for-1 with a walk and strikeout on Opening Day, July 24 against Los Angeles (AL)…became the first A’s rookie catcher to start an opener since A.J. Hinch in 1998…was hitting .167 with a home run and two RBI over his first 13 games through Aug. 9…then went 7-for-20 (.350) with five walks, three doubles and a home run during a career-high seven-game hitting streak from Aug. 10-19…had his first career three-strikeout game Aug. 23 against Los Angeles (AL)…his second came on Sept. 22 at Los Angeles (NL)…went 0-for-9 over his final three games in August…then went 1-for-3 on Sept. 4 against San Diego in the A’s first game back following a positive Covid-19 test and reached base safely via hit or walk in each of his final 16 regular season games…batted .277 with 13 runs, two doubles, five home runs, nine RBI, 12 walks and a 1.062 OPS during the streak…had his first multiple hit game of the season Sept. 7 against Houston when he was 2-for-3 with a home run and a season-high three RBI…collected all three of his two-hit games over a five-game stretch from Sept. 7-12 when he went 6-for-14 (.429) with six runs, two home runs, six RBI and six walks…had the first three-walk game of his career Sept. 9 against Houston…hit his 10th career home run in the first game of the Sept. 14 doubleheader at Seattle and it came in his 55th game…is the seventh player in Athletics history to reach 10 career home runs in 55 games or fewer (Canseco, Chapman, Held, Gross, McGwire, Olson)…started all seven postseason games and caught all 62 innings…went 5-for-22 (.227) with two home runs and four RBI…hit safely in all three ALWCS games against Chicago (3-for-8, .375)…homered in Game 3 to start the A’s comeback from a 3-0 deficit and also homered in Game 1 of the ALDS against Houston…it marked the 12th time an A’s player homered in back-to-back games in the postseason, the first since Dave Parker in 1989 (ALCS Games 2 and 3)…is the first rookie catcher to homer in back-to-back postseason games in Major League history…the only other A’s rookies to homer in the postseason are Wally Schang (1913 WS G#3), Terrence Long (2000 ALDS G#3) and Mark Ellis (2002 ALDS G#5)…ended up going 2-for-14 (.143) in the ALDS against the Astros…had surgery for a collapsed lung during the offseason.
2019
Played in just 41 minor league games due to two stints on the injured list with a strained left knee…was selected by Oakland on Sept. 1 when rosters expanded and hit .245 with four home runs and eight RBI in 20 games…added five doubles for a .556 slugging percentage and nine of his 13 hits (69.2%) were for extra bases…started 13 of the A's 26 games at catcher following his promotion…committed one error in 18 games overall behind the plate for a .994 fielding percentage… tossed out 2-of-6 (33.3%) attempted base stealers…had a 2.76 catchers ERA…hit .400 with all four of his home runs and all eight of his RBI over his first 10 games…went 1-for-23 over his final 10 contests…batted .278 (5-for-18) against left-handed pitchers compared to .229 (8-for-35) against right-handers…connected for all four of his home runs off righties for a .657 slugging percentage (.389 vs. lefties)…hit .313 with three of his four home runs on the road, .143 in Oakland… had a .188 average with runners in scoring position and was 0-for-9 with RISP and two outs…hit .295 against a pitcher the first time he saw him in a game and was 0-for-9 after that…was 0-for-1 with two walks in three pinch hitting appearances…started seven games batting eighth, four in the nine spot and two hitting seventh…was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas Sept. 1…made his Major League debut Sept. 4 against Los Angeles (AL) in a start at catcher and went 1-for-3 in the A's 4-0 win…hit a solo home run off Jake Jewell in the fifth inning for his first hit and RBI… became the first Athletic to catch a shutout in his ML debut since Jack Lapp in the second game of a Sept. 11, 1908 doubleheader against Washington…is just the fourth ML catcher since 1908 to catch a shutout and homer in his debut (last: Aramis García, SF vs. NYM on Aug. 31, 2018)… became the sixth player in Oakland history to homer in his debut, the first since Franklin Barreto on June 24, 2017 vs. Chicago (AL)…his next appearance came on Sept. 6 in the resumption of the May 19 suspended game at Detroit…although he appears in a game on May 19, his Sept. 4 game remains his ML debut…had 19 total chances Sept. 7 vs. Detroit, which are the most by an A's catcher in a nine-inning game since at least 1913…his 18 putouts in that game tied the most for a nine-inning game (Bill Bathe, April 19, 1986 at Seattle)…went 11-for-25 (.440) with 10 runs, five doubles, three home runs and seven RBI during a career-best seven-game hitting streak from Sept. 7 to 16…had his first career multi-homer game Sept. 10 at Houston, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI…it came in his sixth career game, matching Mitchell Page for the earliest two-homer game in a career in Oakland history…homered against the next day against the Astros to become the first player in Athletics history with four home runs over the first seven games of his career…tied an Oakland record with three doubles Sept. 13 at Texas (31st time, last: Matt Chapman vs. Seattle, Aug. 13, 2018) and also scored a career-high four runs…that gave him 10 runs over his first eight games, which are the most by an Athletic in his first eight career games since at least 1908…had an extra base hit in five consecutive games from Sept. 10 to 16, giving him nine extra base hits (five doubles, four home runs) in his first 10 career games, which is the most by an Athletic over his first 10 games since at least 1908…had a career-high 0-for-19 streak from Sept. 16 to 26…started at catcher in the Wild Card Game against Tampa Bay on Oct. 2 and grounded into a double play in his only at bat…was pinch hit for in the fourth inning…following the season, underwent surgery of his left knee on Oct. 10…the surgery was performed by Dr. Thomas Carter at the Gateway Surgical Center in Phoenix, Ariz., and involved a lateral meniscal debridement procedure on Murphy's left knee…was rated as the A's number three prospect by Baseball America following the season.
MINORS: Combined for a .293 batting average with 11 home runs and 31 RBI in 41 games with Triple-A Las Vegas and both of the A's affiliates in the Arizona Rookie League…added 22 walks for a .384 on-base percentage and slugged .580…hit .324 (36-for-111) with 10 of his 11 home runs and 26 of his 31 RBI against right-handed pitchers compared to .205 (8-for-39) against left-handers… had a .359 batting average with runners in scoring position with Las Vegas but went 0-for-12 with the A's two AZL teams…batted .388 with six home of his 11 home runs and 17 of his 31 RBI in the seventh inning or later…hit .342 in his home ballparks, .247 on the road…tossed out 6-of-30 (20.0%) attempted base stealers…appeared in 35 games at catcher and went 4-for-26 (.154) in seven games as the designated hitter saw his most action batting fifth (14) and fourth (12)… went 11-for-22 (.500) with nine home runs and 20 RBI in six games batting seventh…reached base safely in each of his first 15 games through April 24 and batted .397 with a .478 on-base percentage…had a career-high tying four hits April 11 against Sacramento when he went 4-for-5 with a double, triple and four RBI…committed his first error of the season April 16 at Sacramento, snapping a 61-game errorless streak behind the plate dating back to 2018…was batting .324 with a home run and nine RBI in 19 games when he was placed on the seven-day injured list April 30 with a strained left knee…began a rehab assignment with the A's Gold club in the Arizona Rookie League July 13 and also played one game for the A's Green club on July 23…was 8-for-20 (.200) with a home run, seven walks (.407 on-base percentage) and eight runs scored when he was reinstated from the IL July 25…went 8-for-15 (.533) with seven runs, a double, six home runs and 13 RBI in four games before returning to the IL Aug. 1…homered in each of the four games, including the first three-homer game of his career July 26 at El Paso when he drove in a careerhigh six runs…went 3-for-10 (.300) on a three-game rehab assignment with the AZL A's-Gold from Aug. 15 to 19 and was reinstated from the IL Aug. 21…had his second multi-homer game of the season that day against Reno when he went 2-for-4 with two home runs and a career-high tying six RBI…then went 3-for-27 (.111) with a home run and two RBI over his final seven games.
2018
Spent most of the season at Double-A Midland where he hit .288 with eight home runs and 43 RBI in 68 games…missed seven weeks of the season with a sprained right finger and also had three games at Triple-Nashville and two on a rehab assignment with the A's affiliate in the Arizona Rookie League…combined to hit a career-high .285 in 73 games overall…also had career highs in slugging (.489), on-base percentage (.361), runs (54), doubles (27), extra base hits (37) and stolen bases (3)…ranked fourth in the A's farm system in slugging (.489) and tied for 10th in doubles…was named an A's Organization All-Star by milb.com and a Texas League Midseason All-Star…was also named to the United States Team for the All-Star Future Game but did not play due to his injury…batted .340 (32-for-94) against left-handed pitchers compared to .256 (45-for176) against right-handers…hit .309 with seven of his eight home runs with the bases empty… connected for six of his eight home runs on the road…batted .413 during the day, .259 at night… had a .370 batting average in the ninth inning…appeared exclusively at catcher on defense where he tossed out 23-of-67 (34.3%) attempted base stealers…committed three errors for a .995 fielding percentage…also went 1-for-7 (.143) in two games as the designated hitter and was 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter…hit in every spot in the order from second through seventh and saw his most playing time with 56 games batting clean-up…played for Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League following the season and hit .185 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 23 games…was rated as the A's third best prospect by Baseball America entering the 2019 season.
MINORS: Had season highs in hits, doubles and RBI when he went 4-for-5 with three doubles and three RBI April 19 against San Antonio…that gave him a .409 batting average, three home runs and nine RBI over his first 11 games…made his third and final error of the season April 28 at San Antonio…finished the season with a 53-game errorless streak at catcher…batted .345 in 21 games in April, which ranked eighth in the TL…tied for the lead with 12 doubles, ranked second with 19 runs and tied for second with 15 extra base hits…had a season-best seven-game hitting streak from May 12 to 23…went 10-for-28 (.357) with six doubles during the streak…had backto-back three-hit and three-RBI games on June 7 at San Antonio and June 9 at Frisco to lift his average to .324…then went 10-for-58 (.172) over his next 17 games…hit four of his eight home runs over a 13-game stretch from June 9 to 24…played for the South All-Stars in the Texas League All-Star Game on June 26 at Midland and went 0-for-2 as a defensive replacement at catcher… was placed on the disabled list July 7 with a sprained right finger…began a rehab assignment with the A's affiliate in the Arizona Rookie League on Aug. 23 and went 1-for-5 with a double in two games before he was reinstated Aug. 26…returned to Midland and went 2-for-10 (.200) in three games before he was moved up to Nashville Aug. 31…finished the season by going 2-for-8 (.250) with three walks in three games for the Sounds.
2017
Began his first full professional season at Single-A Stockton and was batting .297 with nine home runs and 26 RBI in 45 games when he was promoted to Double-A Midland June 28…hit .209 with four home runs and 22 RBI in 53 games with the RockHounds…batted a combined .250 with 13 home runs and 48 RBI in 98 games…batted .267 (23-for-86) against left-handed pitching compared to .244 (66-for-270) with 11 of his 13 home runs against right-handers…hit .275 with runners in scoring position but that dropped to .156 with RISP and two outs…was named to the California League Midseason All-Star team…appeared in 91 games at catcher and tossed out 15-of-46 (32.6%) attempted base stealers…made five errors for a .994 fielding percentage…also batted .192 in seven games as the designated hitter…hit in every spot in the order except first and second…saw his most action with 22 games batting eighth, 18 batting ninth and 16 batting fourth and fifth…played for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League following the season and hit .309 with four doubles and nine RBI in 18 games…added 10 walks for a .413 on-base percentage, which ranked seventh in the AFL…struck out just seven times and his ratio of 11.43 plate appearances per strikeout was third best…was named the A's number seven prospect by Baseball America following the season.
STOCKTON: Had his first two-homer game of the season April 10 against Modesto…went 3-for4 on April 17 at Modesto for his first of six three-hit games…was batting .208 with three home runs and six RBI in 15 games when he was placed on the disabled list April 23 with a sprained left wrist…was reinstated May 17 and hit safely in each of his first 10 games following his return (16- for-41, .390)…connected for his second two-homer game of the season and matched his season high with three RBI June 4 against Lake Elsinore…that gave him seven home runs over his first 28 games…would homer just six times over his final 70 contests…committed three of his five errors over a four-game stretch from June 8-12…had a season-best 12-game hitting streak from June 14-July 1, which also included his first three games with Midland…went 20-for-48 (.417) during the streak…played for the North in the Cal League All-Star Game on June 20 at Visalia and went 0-for-1…then went 6-for-20 (.300) in six more games with the Ports before he was promoted to Midland June 28.
MIDLAND: Had three hits in each of his first two games with the RockHounds on June 29 and 30 against Springfield…then hit .182 in 25 games in July and .185 in 22 games in August…homered in back-to-back games July 26 against Frisco and July 27 at Corpus Christi…his other two home runs with Midland also came in back-to-back games Sept. 2 and 3 at Frisco…went 19 consecutive games without an extra base hit from July 31 to Aug. 26 (12-for-72, .167)…went 7-for-35 (.200) with two home runs and two RBI in 10 postseason games as Midland won its fourth straight Texas League championship.
2016
Began his professional career with the A's affiliate in the Arizona Rookie League and went 0-for-3 with a run scored in one game before he was transferred to Short Season Single-A Vermont…hit .237 with two home runs and seven RBI in 22 games with the LakeMonsters and had a .228 batting average overall… batted .261 (6-for-23) against left-handed pitching compared to .214 (12-for-56) with all three of his extra base hits (one double, two home runs) against right-handers…had a .211 batting average with runners in scoring position…hit .190 with a .200 on-base percentage when leading off an inning…with Vermont, he hit .394 with both of his home runs in 10 games at home compared to .116 in 12 games on the road… made 21 of his 23 appearances at catcher and tossed out 11-of-25 (44.0%) attempted base stealers… also went 1-for-6 (.167) in two games as the designated hitter…hit in every spot in the order from fourth through seventh and saw his most action with 10 games batting sixth…made his professional debut June 20 against the Angels for the A's Arizona Rookie League team and went 0-for-3…it was his only game in the AZL as he was transferred to Vermont June 22…went 0-for-7 with two walks over his first two games with the Lake Monsters before collecting his first professional hit, a second inning single June 25 against Staten Island…walked with the bases loaded in the fourth inning that day for his first RBI…went 4-for-4 with his first professional home run June 30 against Aberdeen, giving him a .364 average over his first seven games with Vermont…then went 6-for-48 (.125) over his next 13 games… was hitless over a six-game stretch from July 11 to Sept. 1 (0-for-23)…was out from July 19 to Aug. 31 with cellulitis in his left shin…the injury occurred after fouling a ball off his shin July 6…was a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk, home run and a season-high three RBI in his final game Sept. 5 against Lowell.
