The San Diego Padres on Tuesday, June 16, announced that Pat Murphy has been named as the club’s interim manager for the remainder of the 2015 season. Executive vice president/general manager A.J. Preller made the announcement.
“Pat Murphy’s 30 years of experience coaching and managing, and his success at every level, stood out to me as I came to this decision,” said Preller. “His leadership ability, his respect in the clubhouse and his familiarity with our system will make this transition a smooth one for our players and coaching staff.”
Murphy, 56, is currently in his sixth season in the Padres organization, including parts of the last three seasons as the manager of the club’s Triple-A affiliate, where he has posted a combined 180-172 (.511) record. Prior to starting his current role in 2013, Murphy spent a pair of seasons managing Short-A Eugene from 2011-2012, where he posted a 93-59 (.612) record. He spent his first season in the Padres organization as special assistant to baseball operations in 2010.
Prior to joining the Padres organization in 2010, Murphy had spent his entire coaching career in the collegiate ranks, most recently at Arizona State University from 1995 to 2009. During his 15-year tenure with ASU, he was named Baseball America’s College Coach of the Year in 1998 and Pac-10 Coach of the Year on four occasions (2000, 07-09) as he led the Sun Devils to four College World Series appearances (1998, 2005, 2007, 2009) and four Pac-10 titles (2000, 2007-09). Before his time at ASU, Murphy coached at the University of Notre Dame (1988-94), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (1986-87) and Maryville College (1983). His final win of his college coaching career was his 1,000th, leaving him with a 1000-457-4 career coaching record.
A 1982 graduate of Florida Atlantic University, Murphy had a four-year professional playing career playing in the San Francisco Giants and Padres organizations, along with several independent clubs.