Tonight will mark the return of Daniel Murphy to Citi Field. His first time in the third base dugout. HIs first time coming from the visitor’s clubhouse. His first time being seen in a regular season game in a different uniform. It will be strange.
Murphy left his mark in Mets fans hearts around the globe, carrying the team during a historic playoff run. Seven homers in nine games, six of which came in consecutive games. He carried a .328/.391/.724 slash line through three playoff series’. He came away with the NLCS MVP award for his Ruthian effort. He left his mark not just on this team, but the league in general. And he hasn’t let up.
Murphy, who so dearly wanted to remain a Met, just wasn’t getting the same feeling from his former team. The Mets went on to trade Jon Niese for Neil Walker, and that would be all she wrote for Murphy’s Mets career. The second baseman would go on to sign a three-year pact worth a relatively low $37.5 million deal with the Mets’ number one rival, the Washington Nationals.
The Murph has hit the ground running with his new team, with an unbelievable slash line of .400/.433/.629. He has so far homered five times, with 23 RBI. His wRC+ stands at 182 early in the 2016 campaign. Nationals manager, Dusty Baker, couldn’t have asked for a better start.
“Dan, he was the largest acquisition we made this year,” Baker said. “We didn’t know exactly how good he was.” (Newsday)
No one could have believed that the Murphy we saw in last year’s playoffs could have been the real deal. Daniel has always had a knack for the bat, but what he has done at the end of 2015 and now carried into 2016 has been unfathomable.
“I try not to think about it,” Murphy said. “I’m just trying to have quality at-bats, just get a pitch I’m looking for and try to hit it as hard as humanly possible.”
Baker believes that Murphy, like any good player, just figured it all out. Whatever it may be, it clicked and he has not looked back by any means. Murphy has always been quite the student of the game, studying every pitcher and knowing what to look for and when.
“He figured out the formula that it takes for him to be successful,” Baker said. “He studies tirelessly . . . Just like some pitchers figure it out at a certain age, some hitters figure it out at a certain age. You figure out what your limitations are and what you can do and can’t do.”
The formula may have also included Mets hitting coach Kevin Long and assistant Pat Roessler, who had Murphy move closer to the plate and crouch a bit more. This helped Murphy to make harder contact, and drive the ball more by getting under it. It’s allowed him to turn on pitches quicker and reduce strikeouts. Nationals hitting coach, Rick Schu, believes a lot of his success is due to carry over from the previous year’s changes made in his approach at the plate.
“I think it’s carry-over from last year,” Schu said. “He’s covering more zone, pulling the ball a little bit more. He’s just a pro. He comes to the park every day, gets video, has a game plan for every at-bat. He just grinds ABs. I’ve been watching him for the last three years from our dugout, so it’s nice to have him in our dugout.”
Mets manager, Terry Collins, is not surprised by any means what Murphy has done so far this year. Witnesses him first hand since managing the team in 2011, he knows him quite well. Collins knew Murphy always had the potential to be the hitter he has now become.
“I’m not shocked. I’ve always thought Dan Murphy can win a batting title,” Collins said. “If he took bases on balls, as we said many years ago, I think this guy was 10 walks short [instead of outs] of winning a battle title three years ago. It’s in him to do that. I’m excited that he’s doing well. We think the world of Dan and what he did here. (ESPN)
The crowd reaction should be interesting as Murphy enters play across enemy lines on the team who stands to be the team’s biggest rival. With all he has contributed to this organization since making his debut with the club in 2006, he deserves a standing ovation. Murphy never wanted to leave the confines of Citi Field, a business decision pushed him away and he has earned the applause of the Mets fanbase when he first comes to the plate. But after that – all bets are off.
