the Yankees allegedly protected Murcer and Jerry Kenney from the 1968 MLB expansion draft by making a last-minute appeal to other owners to allow players that were fulfilling their military obligation to be exempt from the expansion draft, which allowed the Yankees to protect 17 players instead of 15. The Yankees devised this strategy specifically to protect Murcer, who spent 1967 and 1968 in the Army. Playing in the minor leagues from 1964–66, Murcer hit .302 which does not include his 1–12 stint with the Ft. Lauderdale Yankees in 1985 when he was attempting a comeback to the Yankees or his time with the Instructional League and the Puerto Rico League in 1968. Major league career New York Yankees (1965–66, 1969–74) A shortstop in the minor leagues, Murcer was slated to play the position for the Yankees but ended up being a center fielder, following in the footsteps of Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio, and there were strong expectations that he would be "the next Mantle". Murcer became one of the team's most popular players of the era. His first hit in the major leagues, in 1965, was a game-winning home run. He also played on "Mickey Mantle Day" on September 18 of that year. Murcer said playing alongside Mantle in that game was the "greatest thrill of his career". He began the 1966 season with the major league club but was sent down to Triple-A. Murcer then spent 1967–68 in the United States Army as a result of the escalation of the Vietnam War. After returning from the Army, Murcer began the 1969 season hitting .321, with 11 homers and a league-leading 43 runs-batted-in, when he jammed his heel in Kansas City. Murcer recalled, "I laid out seven days, and I lost my groove and my momentum". He ended the season batting .259 with 26 homers and playing center field, his third defensive position, after beginning the season at third base and then switching to right field. On August 10, 1969, he was part of a feat that was perhaps the highlight of the 1969 season for Yankees' fans. Murcer, Thurman Munson, and Gene Michael hit consecutive home runs in the sixth inning against Oakland. Murcer led off the inning with a shot into the right-field bleachers. Munson, playing in only his second major league game, hit a pitch into the left-field seats, bringing up Michael, who hit a