After his first Mets press conference here, Kevin Kernan of the New York Post pulled Kevin Long aside and asked him what Mets hitter has the best chance to become better this season. Long didn’t hesitate.
“Murphy,’’ he said. “A batting title is not out of his grasp.”
“He’s got a lot of pop and a lot of potential. There is more ability in there and we are going to try to draw it out.”
Murphy, a lifetime .290 hitter, batted .289 last season with nine home runs, 37 doubles, 57 RBIs and a .734 OPS. He has been among the top five in offensive production among all second basemen over the last two seasons.
Long said he believes Murphy not only can hit for a higher average but can add power to his swing as well after spending time breaking down his swing and working with him.
The only Met ever to win a batting title was Jose Reyes in 2011 when he batted .337.
Michael Cuddyer, an NL batting champion in 2013 when he hit .331 for the Rockies, agrees with Long and believes Murphy has the consistency and confidence you need to win a batting title.
“You hear that term professional hitter thrown out there a lot, to me that means you are not an easy out and that’s what Murphy does,” Cuddyer said. “He battles. He cares about hitting and he cares about getting base hits and there’s a difference.”
“Some guys don’t really care about getting base hits, they just want to go out there and do damage or hit home runs. He cares about getting base hits.”
I can certainly see Murphy becoming a batting champ with a few tweaks. He has that deceptive speed which also helps and gets him a bunch of infield hits.
I’ve gotta say, I can’t recall any other Mets hitting coach getting as much star treatment as Kevin Long. In the last two weeks alone I’ve heard him referred to as a Hall of Fame coach, a celebrity, and a rock star. I hope he delivers and can turn around an offense that ranked 28th in base hits and batting average last season.
Then I’ll add magician to his growing list of hyperbolic monikers.
As for Murphy, if he does becomes the second Met ever to win a batting title, ironically he’ll probably walk at the end of the season without an offer from the Mets just like that other guy. What’s his name again? 😉
Baseball games begin on Wednesday! LGM
