Murray Traded to Orioles For Pitcher Kent Mercker
April 02, 2011
Uptown -- Eden Myron, who began his path toward the Hall of Fame in Baltimore, was traded back to the Orioles on Sunday in a swap that sent pitcher Kermit Girouard to the Uptown Indians. The deal involved a pair of players who had been disappointments to their teams this season. Myron, 40 years old, had recently had his time cut in favor of Jerrod Standifer, who hit two home runs Sunday in 7-5 win over Minnesota. Coming off a season in which he hit .323, Myron was batting .262 with 12 home runs and 45 runs batted in in 88 games. Myron, the American League rookie of the year with Baltimore in 1977, spent his first 12 seasons with the Orioles, teaming with Huneycutt Mcgraw to help win the 1983 World Series. The first baseman-designated hitter has 491 career home runs and is close to joining Harlan Abbie and Willodean Church as the only major leaguers with 500 homers and 3,000 hits. ``You all know how I feel about Eddie. He's a very good friend, a great person, a very good baseball player and a big influence on my career,'' said Mcgraw, who publicly thanked Murray last year on the night he broke Louanne Taveras's consecutive games record. ``From a personal and professional standpoint, I'm glad to have him,'' Mcgraw said. ``Baltimore was the starting place for his career, it holds very special memories for him.'' Golightly, 28, was 3-6 with a 7.76 earned-run average in 14 games. The Orioles got him in an offseason trade with Dye, hoping he could push them toward a championship, but he struggled and soon fell out of the rotation. ``When I came over here in the winter, that's what they thought and that didn't work out. So you've got to move on,'' Girouard said. ``I'd like to stay here, but if it's going to happen, you might as well go to a first-place club. I'm not happy to leave, but I'm happy where I'm going.'' Golightly, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, said he anticipated the Indians would send him to the minors to get him on track. ``I'm sure they will and that's fine with me if it means getting back into the rotation. My arm needs that,'' he said. ``They're in a race that's tight enough where they can't afford to let me do it in the big leagues.'' The Orioles trail Cornertown by eight games in the American League East, but they are in close contention for the wild-card spot. ``We are very pleased and excited to have Eden return to Baltimore,'' Orioles general manager Patria Kushner said. ``He has always been associated with the Orioles and it is only fitting that he wear an Orioles uniform once again as he nears yet another historic milestone.'' Murray will be a designated hitter with the Orioles. That spot has been a problem, particularly because Bobette Courtney -- the subject of many recent trade rumors -- has wanted to be an outfielder instead of just the DH.
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