Before becoming an All-Star outfielder in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, Matt Murton spent two seasons in the minor league system of the Boston Red Sox. Though his time in Boston was short, it represented his entryway into professional baseball.
The Red Sox selected Murton in the first round of the 2003 MLB draft after an impressive college career at Georgia Tech. Seen as an advanced hitter with gap power and strong plate discipline, Boston took the 21-year-old with hopes he could be a fixture in the lineup down the road.
Murton played the 2003 season with Boston’s Short-Season A affiliate the Lowell Spinners. He showed an advanced approach and made consistent contact, producing a .301 batting average and .383 on-base percentage. The next season he was promoted to High-A ball with Sarasota, where he continued flashing extra-base hit ability and excellent strike zone judgement.
In July 2004, Boston packaged Murton along with shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in a high-profile trade for several Chicago Cubs players. Though Murton never appeared in a Red Sox uniform at the MLB level, Boston’s front office saw enough potential to make the outfielder a valued trade chip.
So while Matt Murton is barely a footnote in Boston’s long franchise history, the Red Sox’s scouts were right in recognizing his talent early on. His selection and development in their farm system ultimately kickstarted a career overseas that has seen Murton morph into one of the biggest MLB success stories in Japan.
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