BISCUIT WEEKEND: Murray providing leadership for team's clubhouse

Infielder Tanner Murray continues to have a solid season for the Biscuits in 2024. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Sometimes, you can’t always measure the impact of a player by his statistics. 

Tanner Murray has compiled the statistics, ranking among the top 10 in hits among Southern League batters this season heading into last week’s road trip to Birmingham. But Murray serves a bigger purpose. Along with former first baseman Bob Seymour, Murray developed quite a reputation for his levity in the clubhouse.

“He loves to have fun,” Biscuits manager Kevin Boles said. “When Bobby Seymour was here and those two guys were together, it was great. And now he’s kind of taken over that role a little bit and he’s just terrific. He’s a great teammate and cares about his teammates and it really shows.”

More often than not, if there is a collection of players doing something in the clubhouse, you can find Murray nearby. He may not be the best player in ping pong, cards or whatever is happening, he is quick to point out, but he’s one of the best talkers. 

“Me and Bob were roommates, so we were trying to keep the team light,” Murray said, “but we’ve got plenty of other teammates that are jokesters.”

That aspect of minor league baseball is an often overlooked but vitally important part of the business, Boles points out. 

“He’s a leader in the clubhouse -- great makeup, competes every day, keeps it loose with the guys,” Boles said. “He’s one of the guys you want to have in the clubhouse.

“This thing’s tough. There’s a lot of failure involved, so when you have a guy that you know is consistent every day and has a positive attitude, it rubs off on the other guys who are maybe struggling at the time. He comes in positive every day, whether he’s going good or not.”

For Murray, it’s been going good since he stepped onto the field at San Lorenzo Valley High in 2015. Murray was a quarterback and punter on his high school football team as well as playing shortstop, but didn’t receive any meaningful scholarship offers out of high school. 

So he attended UC Davis, traveling northeast from the California town of Santa Cruz and accepting an opportunity to walk on from the Aggies. 

“I’m from a smaller town, a smaller high school, so there weren’t that many eyes on me,” he said. “There were only a couple of guys from that town that had made it. You’ve got Ruben Ibarra of the (Chattanooga) Lookouts from my hometown of Santa Cruz. It’s a smaller focal point of people, so I guess it’s harder to get out there. I got lucky enough to be offered a walk-on spot at Davis and made the most of it.”

In his first season (2018), he was the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year, only the second-ever Aggie to earn a spot on Collegiate Baseball’s All-America team. A year later, he was all-Big West after leading his team in most offensive categories. He had big goals entering the 2020 season, but his junior year was cut short by the pandemic after 16 games, leaving him uncertain of his future.

“It was a little nerve wracking,” he said. “Leading up to (the 2020 draft), I didn’t even know if I was going to get picked. I had only played 16 games that year. I thought I was good enough, but I had no idea. I had school all the way up until the day before the draft. I was taking classes and finishing projects, so that kept my mind off it.”

He became a fourth-round pick of the Rays, but he never got the opportunity to play shortstop in professional baseball, lining up occasionally at third base and more often at second.

“I got drafted at shortstop, but they started putting me at second base and third base right away,” Murray said, “and I was like, ‘All right.’

 “The hardest part that I’ve been having to adapt to is the quick double play turns at second because it’s the complete opposite from shortstop or even the feed from third base. Other than that, it’s still on the infield, so it’s not that much of a crazy jump.

In 2021, he played on three teams, winding up at Bowling Green where he remained through 2022 and the beginning of 2023. He spent the final 47 games of the 2023 season in Montgomery and has remained with the Biscuits ever since, recording 80 hits (second on the team) through the last home stand with Mississippi and batting .270 (fourth among the Biscuits). 

“It’s the usual rollercoaster, up and down,” Murray said of the 2024 season. “But the team won the first half (of the Southern League South), that was our goal. Pretty fun. Winning is always fun.”

The second half of the season, Boles noted at the break, was for the players to focus on individual improvement and Murray’s goal -- like that of virtually any batter in the clubhouse -- is to lower his strikeouts at the plate. 

“It’s the pitch selection, just kind of knowing my swing, what pitches work for me in the best counts and the best situations with runners on base,” he said. “Try not to chase as much. Defensively, just increasing the baseball IQ, learning those small things that can separate a good team from a great team.”

He’s not a home run hitter, so he would love to impress the Rays with more power in the gaps. He’s recorded 66 doubles and 134 RBIs in four years of professional baseball so his numbers are more indicative of a dependable hitter and a team leader that proves his value on the field as well as in the clubhouse, whether it’s in Montgomery or with the Tampa Bay Rays. 

“I think the biggest thing is staying positive and keep believing,” Murray said. “I think the biggest side that I recognize this year is that sixth tool, that mental tool of staying with it, grinding and believing in yourself.”

Montgomery continues the six-game homestead this weekend with three games against Biloxi. Tonight is “ERA” Night when the team will celebrate “Swifties.” Game time is 6:35 p.m.