Kaj Murphy/IF-37.323

==Background==
Kaj Murphy is a Swedish-Irish musician and journalist. Murphy’s parents separated soon after his birth, and his childhood was split between homes in Kerry and Linköping. After high school he settled in Sweden to study journalism but before graduation he abruptly changed direction.
Murphy auditioned successfully for the position of keyboard player in Eighties-influenced hair metal act NÖDHAMMARE. Here he slipped into the shoes, leopard-print Spandex and lacy fingerless gloves of the late “Dragspel Per” Johansson, the last holdover from their original incarnation as a polka band. He is credited as co-writer of several singles, including power ballad Älska mig en gång til, regular show-opener Mitt hjärta är ett brinnande tåg and their biggest hit Kärlek är ett dödligt spel, which reached number 37 in the Swedish charts.
NÖDHAMMARE broke up in acrimony when their song (Vi kör på) kärlekens motorväg was rejected as Sweden’s official Eurovision entry. Murphy returned to journalism but secured a side gig as stadium organist for the local hlockey team. It was here that he first developed an interest in splorts.
==Early Blaseball career==
Murphy joined the Core Mechanics around the time of their descent in . Another radical career change came as no surprise to his families and few close friends, used to him pursuing any new whim to its conclusion. Journalist colleagues have hinted that his involvement in Blaseball was in fact a means to an end, and that his subsequent move to the same team as well-connected investigator Silvia Rugrat was not a coincidence. Former Core Shadow Ilane Snart remembers him as “that guy who just hung around asking questions about the management structure”.
He did not see active play with the Mechanics, spending thirteen Seasons in the Shadows before the ILB was Nullified.
==With the Tokyo Lift==
Murphy Fell to the Lift’s lineup six days into Season 1, knocking Natha Spruce from the field and into the team’s Shadows. He was the first player to join a team in this way. Despite an inauspicious entrance he started the next game as leadoff hitter and has since proven himself a capable fielder.
Not naturally sociable, he has made little attempt to improve his relationship with Spruce but does enjoy silent hikes with Roscoe Sundae. He is friendly with Barry Burkhard and with Katy Hermoso, who still cringes at having introduced herself with the words “hey my mother used to like you guys.”
He works whenever possible in the team’s Legscraper stadium and community centre, playing piano for pensioners’ dance club and for preschoolers’ songtime. He considers the latter “the best gig you can play. The energy is huge and I don’t even need to wear leopard-print Spandex.” He was surprised to find that NÖDHAMMARE retain a tiny but loyal Japanese fanbase when one three-year-old interrupted nursery song Donguri Korokoro to request Du är lava, jag är en hjälplös by.
==Trivia==
*Some hair metal habits die hard. Murphy is most often photographed pouting at the camera, while his Lift uniform incorporates a chest-baring split from collar to navel.
*Since Murphy joined the team, Lift co-mascot 200% Beef Hotdog and Chips (the Third) has occasionally made his pre-match lap of the field to NÖDHAMMARE song Min älskling har ben.
*Murphy has begun a collaboration with artist Farrell Seagull, who invited him out of his musical comfort zone to provide a live synth drone for her performance work Modern Squawking. This piece can only be staged during the off-season, given the risk of muscle strain from holding down a single note for seventy-five minutes.