Eddie Murray

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - Eddie Murray may be a man of few words, but for 18 minutes yesterday, he poured out his heart to a crowd of 18,000 that showed up for the 2003 Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center. The former Orioles slugger, who was inducted with Montreal Expos and New York Mets star Gary Carter, chose his words haltingly at first, then found his voice as he looked back on his baseball career and the people who contributed to it. "For every kid here today, I wish you could feel what I'm feeling," Murray said, "because I had a dream as a kid, and I actually lived that dream.

If Eddie Murray made it look easy, then he can add illusionist to his long list of baseball skills. There was nothing simple about the way he approached hitting. Lesser batsmen may insist that it comes down to one fundamental equation - see the ball, hit the ball - but Murray earned his plaque in Cooperstown by seeing each pitch before it was thrown. "He was as prepared a hitter as I've ever seen," said Orioles manager Mike Hargrove, who played against Murray for years and also managed him when both were with the Cleveland Indians.

Power. Consistency. Durability. Those were the hallmarks of Eddie Murray's 21-year major league career. He never led a league in batting, home runs or RBIs in a non-strike season and never won a league Most Valuable Player award, but he quietly performed at an elite level for so long that his place in the Hall of Fame became a certainty. His induction ceremony is set for this afternoon in Cooperstown, N.Y., with busloads of nostalgic Baltimore baseball fans on hand to chant his first name, as they did when Murray was piling up game-winning hits as the centerpiece of the Orioles' batting order in the 1970s and 1980s.

EDDIE MURRAY has come home to the Baltimore Orioles. From the rapturous applause he received on July 22 when he came to bat in an Orioles uniform for the first time since 1988, Baltimore fans seem to love having him back. And Murray was even seen to smile as he tipped his hat following his 492nd home run in the sixth inning. Two nights later, he hit 493, tying Lou Gehrig for 15th on the all-time homer list, and another homer on Thursday put him in front of Gehrig.Murray's return to the team for which he performed so marvelously for 12 years provides a good time to take an in-depth look at his remarkable career.

If you found it impossible to believe that someone had spent $500,000 for a baseball, you were right. No one did.Infomercial tycoon Mike Lasky actually paid $300,000 for the ball that Eddie Murray hit for his 500th home run. Under the terms of his agreement with Dan Jones, the Towson marketing man who caught the ball at Camden Yards, Lasky gave Jones an annuity that will pay him $25,000 a year for 20 years.While that does add up to $500,000, it's not the same thing as getting a half-million dollar check, according to financial experts.

Former Orioles first baseman, current bench coach and future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray was regarded by teammates as a player who let his actions on the field speak for themselves. However, when his No. 33 was officially retired yesterday, the usually stone-faced Murray couldn't help but give in to the moment.Murray, one of only three players to hit 500 home runs and amass 3,000 hits, wiped tears from his eyes and his voice cracked as he thanked fans, teammates and family after Orioles manager Ray Miller presented him with a framed 1980s Orioles )

The Orioles will defy convention today when newly minted Hall of Famer Eddie Murray throws the ceremonial first pitch to Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. before the 2003 season opener against the Cleveland Indians at Camden Yards. It is not a common practice to extend that honor to a member of the opposing team, but the Indians' hitting coach obviously is a special case. Murray also graces the cover of the Orioles' 2003 media guide, so it's almost as if he never left. "It's great the treatment I've gotten from them," Murray said.

The Ball rests inside a clear plastic cube in the hands of a man wearing a black suit and a face like he's auditioning for the Secret Service. This baseball was just any baseball until Eddie Murray hit it into Camden Yards' right-field bleachers for his 500th homer. Then it rolled down a rabbit hole into a strange universe where reality is whatever you can afford to make it.The Ball arrives at the Harbor Inn at Pier 5 by Brinks armored truck for the benefit of the evening news. It sits in the center of a circle of television cameras, onlookers, local officials, having attained by mid-afternoon yesterday the aura of the Hope diamond.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - Eddie Murray's first major league mentor had a seat close to the stage at yesterday's Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. So did the guy who lost his position when Murray took over as Orioles first baseman late in his rookie season. This wasn't some strange coincidence. This was actually the same person. Lee May never resented Murray for taking his job. From the beginning, May tried to make the awkward situation easier, not harder. "I was from a school," May said, "where you take care of the young kids."

He hustled up to the plate, as always, waggled his bat once and locked onto the pitcher. There 10-year-old Eddie Murray stood, stock-still, eyes fixed on the baseball headed his way. This day, Murray connected big time, whacking the ball on a line toward right field and a sandbox more than 200 feet away. Toddlers thought it safe to play there when grade-schoolers like Murray were batting. But his drive landed in that sand - a prodigious prepubescent poke. Of such feats are legends made.