Things are going to be a little different at second base this season, as Daniel Murphy moves onto the rival Washington Nationals after a seven year career with the Mets. Now manning second base for the Amazins is Neil Walker, who spoke with Tyler Kepner of the New York Times about some of the challenges facing him during the upcoming 2016 campaign.
Walker has a ton of respect for Murphy and was awed by his historic performance during the 2015 postseason when he hit seven home runs in nine games with 11 RBI and 13 runs scored while batting .421 with a 1.115 OPS.
“Oh, there’s no better feeling as a baseball player,” said Walker. “You’re not even thinking; you’re just stepping into the box and saying, ‘I better get ready for fastballs, and if I see it in a zone, I’m going to put a barrel on it.’ When you’re doing that, balls are going in the gaps, going out of the stadium, and you’re kind of shocking yourself.”
Walker himself is no stranger to the playoffs as well, competing for his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates from 2009-2015. He though unlike Murphy has not shined in the playoffs by any means batting .065 with a single and a double over eight playoff games in the last three seasons. It’s a small sample size for the lifetime .272 hitter, as was Murphy’s torrid showing. In retrospect, Murph had a very forgettable World Series, going 3-for-20 with seven strikeouts and some very costly flubs in the field.
It was reported by many that the Mets would make a push to re-sign No. 28, but that was not the case at all. The team did offer him a $15.8 million qualifying offer, which he rejected, and he would later sign his three-year $37.5 million deal with the Nats.
Walker and Murphy are remarkably similar players offensively in some respects. Walker has a .769 career OPS compared to .755 for Murphy. Murphy hits for a little more average while Walker offers more home run power. Of course Walker has an edge on Murphy defensively, but it’s very slight.
Manager Terry Collins is quite excited to get a player of Walker’s caliber to fill the gap left by Murphy.
“Neil’s got pretty good credentials, too,” Collins said. “He can hold them up against anybody’s. We’re very, very lucky to get him, and when we got him, we were very excited, because we think, hey, look, we’re still pretty good at that spot.”
Walker gives the Mets a switch-hitting second basemen who is expected to bat fifth in the lineup. He is much more effective against right-handed pitching, batting .276 with 16 homers, 62 RBI and a .793 OPS. However his struggles against left-handed pitching are well documented as his .237 average and .575 OPS illustrate. Walker says he looks to improve on these numbers with hitting coach Kevin Long.
“I know it’s in there, I know I’ve done it in the past, but I need to do a better job of doing that,” Walker said. “But I know that if I’m healthy, I’m going to hit between .265 and .290, I’m going to drive in runs. I can hit in the middle of the order, and I know I can drop some balls out of the ballpark. That’s been what I’ve done.”
I believe Neil Walker will be a fine addition to this ball club as they look to defend their 2015 National League Championship. It will be exciting to see how he fits into this team, even if it may just be for one year.
