Bobby Murcer, Former Yankee Great, Dies at 62

I'm a Chicago Cubs fan. I remember for a couple of seasons a few years ago we were lucky enough to have a guy named Bobby Murcer. Murcer was always a fan favorite; but, much to the chagrin of Cub fans, Murcer was always a New York Yankee at heart. He spent 39 years with the Yankees, first as a player, then as a broadcaster; now he has died.

Laurence Arnold of Bloomberg.com has reported that Murcer, 62, has died of complications from brain cancer which he had been battling for some time.

While an All-Star Player five times, Murcer is remembered most for his special relationships with teammates and impact on all people.

Murcer had the rare opportunity to play with both Yankee greats Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Further, in his early years with the Yankees, he was at times considered to be the only bright spot of the team.

As Arnold goes on to report, Murcer is remembered for a legendary feat with respect to teammate and close friend Thurman Munson. Munson was killed when his small aircraft crashed. Murcer delivered a moving eulogy and then, just hours after the funeral, drove in all five runs in a 5-4 Yankee victory including two in the bottom of the ninth. The fans at Yankee Stadium had been reserved but this victory is considered one of the great ones in Yankee history.

Plaudits were quick to come from notables such as former great Reggie Jackson and Yankee owner George Steinbrenner who indicated in respective statements more about his caring manner than sports savvy.

While being a greatly loved player, Murcer was in no way a slouch as a player. As reported in the Chicagotribune.com, Murcer had a solid career hitting 252 home runs with a lifetime batting average of .277 and 1,043 RBIs in 17 seasons with theYankees.

Murcer was a natural in the broadcast booth always telling people that he was in the broadcast booth the night of the day he retired.

Perhaps no one was more visibly shaken than popular Cub's Manager Lou Piniella, who was close to Murcer who said "It's a sad day...Just a wonderful person and a great teammate and a heck of a baseball player. It's just terrible..."