From Beach to Beach: BJ Murray’s Journey from the Bahamas to the Grand Strand
When BJ Murray was three years old, his dad put a bat in his hand. He got comfortable on the right side of the plate and never turned back.
“I’ve been playing ever since, as long as I can remember,” Murray said.
Before he was taken in the 15th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs, Murray got his baseball journey started on the fields of Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The island, which is home to the popular tourist resort Atlantis, is just offshore of the capital city, Nassau.
“We had two fields to play on with two different leagues,” Murray said. “We would play about one game a week and my dad would always take us to the field and do some extra work in the backyard.”
Murray lived on the island for 14 years before moving to the United States for high school. With two resorts now taking over Paradise Island, Murray described his former home as very “touristy” but enjoyed life by the beach.
“I lived two minutes away from the beach, so life was pretty good,” Murray said in his Bahamian English accent. “We still do everything the same way, but we speak in our own dialect and eat different foods.”
He mentioned Conch as a Bahamas favorite, a meal consisting of sea snails that are native to the area.
After growing up in the Bahamas, Murray chose to take his talents stateside and began playing baseball in Florida. He attended Trinity Christian Academy in West Palm Beach for his first taste of America’s pastime.
“Coming over here was a little different,” Murray said. “We practiced more and played more games, but I always had confidence in myself. We didn’t have any of the academies over here (The Bahamas) when I was growing up.”
It was during his high school years that Murray developed a skill that made him stand out among other players: switch-hitting. He started hitting lefty in games at the age of 13 and continues to challenge pitchers from either side of the plate to this day.
“I would always mess around with it,” Murray explained. “If we were playing a game of wiffleball, I would hit lefty.”
His switch-hitting talents and solid defense at third base earned him a spot at Florida Atlantic University, a school located about 45 minutes north of Miami in Boca Raton. More importantly, Paradise Island sat just over 180 miles off the coast, about two and a half hours away by boat.
“I got that feeling that I was at a home away from home at FAU,” Murray said. “Florida is kind of similar to the Bahamas. The weather is kind of similar and it was so welcoming.”
Murray went on to play 92 games for the Owls across three years, mainly at third base. His breakout year came in 2021 when the third-year sophomore hit .311 while leading the team in home runs with 14 and was second with 52 RBI. After hitting below .210 in his first two years, Murray’s performance was noticed by scouts throughout the season and earned him All-Conference-USA Second Team honors.
“I tried not to think about the draft,” Murray said. “I just wanted to have fun playing baseball and the rest took care of itself.”
He would hear his name called in the 15th round as the Cubs selected Murray on the final day of the draft. While Murray described it as the “best feeling he’s ever had in his life”, the man who put a bat in his hand all those years ago couldn’t have been happier.
“My dad might have been more excited than I was,” Murray said about his father, Bertram Murray. “He was with me the whole way and his feelings were pretty much the same as mine. His smile was up to his ears, we had an emotional moment.”
Murray closed out his 2021 ride in the Arizona Complex League, playing in the final 16 games of the season and hitting a walk-off home run in the final game of the year. His 2022 assignment brought him to Myrtle Beach, where the 22-year-old has hit .298 with three homers and 10 doubles in his first 27 games. He’s one of the scariest power threats in a lineup that ranks atop the Carolina League in average and has propelled the Pelicans to the top winning percentage in Minor League Baseball.
“This is probably the most fun I’ve had playing baseball,” Murray said. “Just the vibe in the dugout, the locker room, we have a bunch of talented guys on this team that want to win.”
While a little farther from his home island than what South Florida was, Murray says his family still plans on making a visit to Myrtle Beach for a few games. He saw his family in Florida shortly before Spring Training and tries to go back to the Bahamas at least once a year.
“I talk to my family every day,” Murray said. “My dad will text me his thoughts after every game.”
As for the rest of this season, Murray wants to stay focused on having fun while playing. He wants to enjoy every moment he can because it’s a sport where failure comes so often. His family will be watching from one beach while Murray continues to shine from another.
Read more feature stories in our Beachbound & Down Blog linked below.
