"When Ted Williams was here, inducted into the Hall of Fame 37 years ago, he said he must have earned it, because he didn't win it because of his friendship with the writers. I guess in that way, I'm proud to be in this company that way"
About this Quote
Eddie Murray is doing the athlete’s version of a mic drop, only quieter and sharper. By reaching back to Ted Williams, he’s not just name-checking a legend; he’s borrowing Williams’ famously prickly relationship with baseball writers to make a point about legitimacy. The line about not winning it “because of his friendship with the writers” is a dig with a smile: a reminder that the Hall of Fame is supposed to be a meritocracy, even though everyone in the room knows the voting process is a human one, thick with grudges, narratives, and access.
Murray’s “I guess” is doing heavy lifting. It’s humility on the surface, but it also signals awareness of the politics he’s skirting. He’s not attacking the writers outright; he’s aligning himself with a tradition of greatness that didn’t need charm to be certified. That matters for Murray, a player whose career was defined by consistency more than spectacle. He wasn’t a headline machine. He was an accumulation of hard truths: 500 home runs, 3,000 hits, switch-hitting reliability. The subtext is: you can’t argue with the record, even if I didn’t flatter you on the way.
The phrase “proud to be in this company” flips the usual Hall-of-Fame gratitude into something more defiant. Not proud because he’s been embraced, but proud because he didn’t have to be. It’s a subtle, controlled rebuke of baseball’s gatekeepers - and a declaration that greatness doesn’t audition.
Murray’s “I guess” is doing heavy lifting. It’s humility on the surface, but it also signals awareness of the politics he’s skirting. He’s not attacking the writers outright; he’s aligning himself with a tradition of greatness that didn’t need charm to be certified. That matters for Murray, a player whose career was defined by consistency more than spectacle. He wasn’t a headline machine. He was an accumulation of hard truths: 500 home runs, 3,000 hits, switch-hitting reliability. The subtext is: you can’t argue with the record, even if I didn’t flatter you on the way.
The phrase “proud to be in this company” flips the usual Hall-of-Fame gratitude into something more defiant. Not proud because he’s been embraced, but proud because he didn’t have to be. It’s a subtle, controlled rebuke of baseball’s gatekeepers - and a declaration that greatness doesn’t audition.
Quote Details
| Topic | Pride |
|---|---|
| Source | Eddie Murray — induction speech, National Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstown), 2003 (transcript of Hall of Fame remarks). |
More Quotes by Eddie
Add to List
