For nine games in the 2015 postseason, Daniel Murphy was the best hitter on the planet.

In five games against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series and another four against the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series, Murphy hit seven home runs and drove in 11 runs to help lead the Mets to their first World Series appearance in fifteen years.

Anything can happen in a short series, but for Murphy – who at that point hit a career-high 14 home runs in the 2015 season – to record half of his season total in homers in just nine postseason games was something the second baseman never thought would happen.

“It was the first time that I had been to the postseason, and I was scared to death,” said Murphy. “I was really nervous.”

While the number of homers Murphy hit in such a short span was incredible, the list of pitchers he hit them off of was even more impressive. Murphy homered off Clayton Kershaw (twice), Zack Greinke, Jon Lester, 2015 N.L. Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, and Fernando Rodney.

Murphy’s home run off Rodney was his sixth straight postseason game with a homer, snapping a tie with Carlos Beltrán (2004) and setting a new postseason record. Murphy was aptly named the 2015 N.L.C.S. Most Valuable Player.

Following his 2015 postseason heroics, Murphy signed a three-year deal with the Washington Nationals for $37.5 million. Murphy untapped his power even more with the Nationals, hitting 25 and 23 homers respectively in 2016 and 2017. He posted a combined 144 wRC+ in those two seasons; the fourth-highest mark among qualified National League hitters in that span.

Following the truncated 2020 season, Murphy retired from baseball at the age of 35. Over twelve major league seasons, the 13th round pick out of Jacksonville University in 2006 posted a career .296 batting average, 113 wRC+, 21.1 fWAR, 88.4% contact rate, and an incredibly low swinging strike rate of 5.4%.

Among 82 hitters with a minimum 5,000 plate appearances between 2008 and 2020, Murphy recorded the eighth-highest contact rate and was in a three-way tie for the eleventh-lowest swinging strike rate.

Of his twelve big league seasons, seven were spent with the Mets. Among all-time Mets hitters, Murphy ranks third in doubles (228), 12th in hits (967), 11th in total bases (1,421), and 12th in RBI (402).

I had the privilege of speaking with Murphy where he talked about his approach at the plate, memories from the 2015 postseason, and leaving New York to sign with the Nationals.

MMO: Who were some of your favorite players growing up?

Murphy: Tony Gwynn I’d say specifically. I wouldn’t say a specific player, but growing up in Jacksonville, the Braves were on TBS every night. I enjoyed the Braves and what that was from afar.

I remember you could get WGN and the Cubs during the day, and then we had access to the Braves every evening. It became Braves territory down here. They were putting quite a product on the field as well, too. It was easy to cheer for them.

MMO: What do you remember from the 2006 MLB Draft in which the Mets selected you in the thirteenth round out of Jacksonville University?

Murphy: I have a really good relationship with the gentleman who drafted me in Steve Barningham, who is still with the Mets doing international work (Director of International Scouting).

As I think back, I was hurt at the time, and I didn’t feel I’d say worthy of being drafted or that anyone was going to.

I played well as a junior, but I’ve had difficulty catching the baseball for a significant portion of my career, and the same can be said for college.

Between Barningham and Tony Bernazard, I played with his son, Anthony, at JU; those two were advocates on my behalf. They took a chance on me in the thirteenth round, and I had enough of school; I wanted to play baseball.

They called me on draft day and said they were taking me, and here’s what they can offer. I was like, ‘Can I get this?’ They said, “We can give you this.” I said, ‘Let’s go. A new adventure.’

MMO: Were the Mets on your radar leading up to the Draft as a possible landing spot?

Murphy: Yes. The two teams I remember now are the Mets and Padres, and possibly some other ones. I think those are the teams that appeared to show the most interest.

Mets first and Steve Barningham specifically, and a bit of Bernazard, though, I didn’t get to see him much because he had other things going on at the time. He would come down and watch his son play.

MMO: You were someone that bounced around defensively, from left field to third base to first base to finally finding a position at second. What are your memories from playing all of these different positions and having to transition as frequently as you did?

Murphy: I wanted to stay. Being a reputable major league player was something I attained to. These were the gentlemen who were passing out the reps, and if they were like, try left, try second, try first, I was like, I’ll do this as best as I can; rarely gracefully.

One of the last things my father said to me as I got drafted was, “Control the things that you can control.” I wasn’t a gifted defender, but early in my career I had pretty good barrel accuracy. I could put the ball in play, and that led to some offensive success.

They were like, this guy may have some offensive skills, but he really struggles catching the baseball; let’s try and find a place for him. I was like, I love it here, tell me where to go and what I can do to try and get as good at it as I can. That was probably the way I viewed it.

MMO: Watching you early in your career was so much fun because you were someone that could easily hit to all fields and were a doubles machine (third all-time among Mets hitters). Can you talk about your approach at the plate?

Murphy: I really value contact a lot, I would say almost to a detriment at times. I would watch David [Wright] swing through pitches. Maybe he’d be looking for a fastball middle-in part of the zone, and he got a slider that he thought was it but would just swing through it. It’s like, okay, 1-1 count, I would try and make contact with that pitch and I would be out almost every single time.

In watching David, I hopefully took that approach of I really value contact personally, but okay, what kind of contact and on what terms? I think I should really, really value contact with two strikes, but perhaps before we get to two strikes, maybe I value pitch selection and damage a little bit more. Maybe I take a few more pitches, or maybe I swing through a few more pitches just to not get myself out.

Early in my career, I wouldn’t say I didn’t value contact less, I just maybe changed the order a bit and kind of gauged the value of contact as I got to two strikes. And as I got to two, I was like, We need to push this thing; make them touch it. Maybe because I had such difficulty when I had to touch it that I wanted to make them touch it too.

MMO: From 2009 to 2016 and among 108 hitters with a min. 3,500 PAs, you recorded the seventh-highest Contact% at 88.9 percent. When I interviewed Adam Fisher, who played a role in drafting you, he likened you to a Wade Boggs-type hitter at the plate. Obviously, contact was a big calling card for you.

Murphy: Humbling company and I’d say very light. I had the ability to spray the ball to all fields, except Wade did it for the longevity. He had over 3,000 hits and that’s 200 hits for 15 years.

I just look at it this way: I had some good years there in Washington and I never had 200 hits even one time in my career. I think I got to 188 as my high (2013), but 200 hits for 15 years boggles my mind.

MMO: Something that you received undue criticism for was taking your contractually obligated paternity leave for the birth of your son in 2014. You handled it with class when asked about some of the backlash you received. I remember several articles and television segments coming out after that which talked about the changing times that led to a further discussion on fathers having more time with their newborn children. I’m curious if you feel like your decision helped to spark any change or discussion on the matter?

Murphy: I would say probably in a very small moment in time where I brought it to the forefront. I don’t know how long it lasted; things were moving fast for the Murphy family at the time. But I think possibly.

The interesting thing I would say about that is at that time my wife and I had chosen the route we did. As best we could, I was going to try and be present.

At the same time, my mother-in-law runs labor and delivery down in West Palm Beach, so she (Murphy’s wife, Tori) wanted to do it in West Palm Beach because that’s where she felt most comfortable.

Once we decided we were going to try and get there, it was like, okay, this is what we’re going to do, and understanding that each family gets to choose on their own, i.e., each individual situation.

I say individual situation because fast forward, I would say it was the birth of our third son, Drew; he was born October 27. We were eliminated from the postseason with the Nationals October 12, so my wife and I were still negotiating on what was this going to look like if we were in the World Series.

We didn’t make it, unfortunately, and Drew decided it was time to enter the world. We were even still in the process of negotiating it, so even ourselves having another child, it would have looked differently than the first time. I’m still uncertain on what we would’ve decided at the time.

I’m for anything that encourages fathers to be more involved. As someone who did and easily picked his career at times over being present with his family and his children and wife, any reasonable opportunities in my experience that I can have to be more present in the midst of our career I’m for.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

MMO: I remember reading how Kevin Long reached out to you after he was hired as the Mets’ hitting coach after the 2014 season and you credit him for what he did in untapping your power. Can you talk a bit about what Long presented to you in terms of mechanics and how that translated so well for you?

Murphy: I would say Kevin Long and Pat Roessler as well. K-Long reached out immediately. I remember I was with my wife, and Kevin reached out and wanted to talk. We got on the phone, and he started talking hitting, and I was like, Man, I’m on this guy. He was just speaking my language.

I always thought of myself as a little weird, and Kevin’s a little quirky as well, and we just got to talking, and he was speaking my language. I was just buzzing as I got to camp. The thing about Kevin, and Pat too, is that Kevin reached out and said, “Let’s get ready, and this is where we’re going.”

He had looked into all of us, and I wouldn’t say more than the other guys but me specifically so that when he came and started talking about us, it was like, man, this guy has really been watching my film.

It was just an immediate connection that he cares, and if he cares this much today in December-January, what’s he going to look like when the bell rings and we’re off and running? I was so excited, and we went to work in camp and I worked on some things.

I came out of the gates extremely slow in 2015; I think I was hitting under .200 heading into May. You learn some things about yourself, and one of the things I learned about myself in 2015 was about five or six weeks into the season when we went to Chicago.

I put the shackles on, which was like, I need to stop pulling the baseball because I’m having zero success doing it. I went no pull, everything goes the other way. It may not end up over there, but it needs to be the approach right now, or I’m just going to stay mired in this miserable slump being unproductive forever.

It was this little thing I would joke around and told K-Long, ‘I’m putting the shackles on.’ He said, “Shackles? What are you talking about?” I go, ‘I’m not allowed to pull.’ He said, ‘All right, shackles on. Got get ‘em.” And away we went.

I had some early success that series in Chicago where I shot one the other way right through the shortstop where it was like, my goodness, I didn’t know I could do that! But it felt so good.

I went from there, and I think I got hurt and then came back from being hurt and I had a specific conversation with Kevin and Pat; I think it was in August. There were a couple of really good conversations I would say at the time, but one specifically was with Pat, Kevin, and myself.

Kevin said, “You need to start getting your swing off like you’re an angry human. You’re not swinging and missing at times, so how can we use that? Right now we’re using that to make marginal contact on marginal pitches. What if we get all over the plate, try to get them close to you, get your A-swing off and try to hurt somebody? This isn’t going to work.”

The reason why it wasn’t going to work, I would say, and maybe goes into the second conversation, where T.C. (Terry Collins) brought us in at the trade deadline where we added Juan [Uribe], Kelly Johnson, and Yoenis Céspedes. I would say Juan and Kelly specifically because they were infielders and Kelly could play all over the place. T.C. brought in myself, [Lucas] Duda, [Wilmer] Flores, and [Rubén] Tejada, and looked at us and told us four turned into six with only so many positions.

It’s a meritocracy, is kind of what I took from it. I wouldn’t say that I hadn’t been in a meritocracy, but not one when we’re pushing towards a postseason, which was exciting and terrifying at the same time.

I think on the heels of that, K-Long was like, “This isn’t going to work anymore. We’ve got to go.” It might have been around that time when the Nats were coming into town, all of this was happening at one time. We were able to take three from them. Cés took off, and I just held on for dear life. I was just holding onto his cape, or his yellow sleeve.

MMO: Were you a player that readily utilized tech and data?

Murphy: I really enjoyed video of the opposing pitcher. Now, that might not be considered analytics, but I would say I was more aware of the angles at which you had success. I’m not certain, but my belief is that at about 10 degrees it should get over the infielder’s head if they’re playing not the full big shift. Ten degrees eliminates the infielders from trying to catch your batted ball.

I knew that, and as I went from 2015 to 2016, I tried to eliminate the infielders. I was aware that these angles play well, this exit velocity plays well, and also at the same time, I thought there’s still an old-school approach.

When I was coming up, it was, I want you to get a good pitch that you can hit, and I want you to hammer it in the gap as hard as you can. I was like, Okay, you want me to hit it over the infielder’s head with exit velocity; drive it at twenty degrees at 102 miles per hour. That might be a homer there; if you get it to twenty-five, you’re getting in that sweet spot. Your range of success grows on your exit velocity and angles.

I would say what I was kind of focused on was wanting to eliminate the infielders from catching my batted balls. Strikeouts were number one least productive, so I wanted to miss in the air.

MMO: When you left the Mets and signed with the Nationals following the 2015 season, there was a sizable increase in your average launch angle compared to 2015 (11.9 to 16.8 degrees in 2016) and you almost doubled your barrel rate. That clearly played a huge role in your power output. Can you talk about the changes you made in your swing to put up such monster numbers in 2016?

Murphy: I would say the angle at which I was hoping for my trajectory to leave my batted ball angle. I wasn’t aware of the specific numbers, but I was aware of when I hit and if I can do it properly, allowing the ball to tell me how my attack path went.

Sometimes in batting practice I would treat the batter’s box like a tee-box, so I would try to maybe hit like a high fade to centerfield. I felt like if my ball shape was slicing to left, it’s like, okay, maybe that’s not the angle of attack; let me see if I can hit a bit more of a draw to right-centerfield. That’s kind of how my brain works.

When I was at the plate, I would gauge it like, if the pitcher beat me – which he’s going to a lot – am I attacking the ball in a way that can give me an ability to have success?

K-Long would talk about this, at the back of the contact window, the middle of the contact window, and the front of the contact window. Someone like Juan Soto, who is freakish, and [Jeff] McNeil, who stays in the zone so long, give themselves the ability to have success back, middle, and front of the contact window.

I felt like if the pitcher beats me and I’m late, maybe it was the timing or the velocity just snuck up on me, and I catch this thing in the back window, can I basically stay on it enough and block it over the infielder’s head for a soft line drive in front of the left fielder? Because if that’s my miss, well then, we can work on the rhythm and timing, and I get to dictate when I start; maybe I start sooner, I most definitely should start sooner.

That’s the way I gauged it. If I could groove my stroke to eliminate the infielders with speed at the plate with exit velocity basically, then it turned into for me, when do I want to start? What’s going to give me the best opportunity to have success when I start? Should I be trying to hit this guy to left-centerfield, right-centerfield?

MMO: Listening to you talk about hitting makes me think that you’d make for a pretty good hitting coach some day.

Murphy: That’s really humbling, thank you. As I got into my big-league career and they let me stay – and I was super excited they let me do that – I wasn’t as nervous each day I showed up and saw my name on the lineup card. A little less nervous means that maybe I can focus a little less on my anxiety and dread and a little bit more on competing against the guy who is sixty feet away from me to try and win a ballgame.

Our thought process is able to change once we become the people who can do this thing. I feel like when you see something you value and you work towards it, you just see yourself getting better at it and you get more efficient and look for ways to get more efficient.

The thing I really loved about Kevin and Roessler was they got down into the weeds and said, “Hey, man, let’s see if we can dig out where the inefficiency is so we can be the most productive.” And I was there for it.

MMO: When you revisit the 2015 postseason and all the heroics you displayed with your incredible power surge you went on, what memories come back for you?

Murphy: One specifically was in the hotel in Chicago after we won Game Three and I hit another home run. My wife was pregnant at the time, and we had Noah as well, and she opened the door and looked at me and said, “What the f***?!” And I said, ‘I have no idea, sweetheart.’ We were flying right then and were up 3-0, and I was batting pretty well.

Another one would be specifically finding David, there was a picture of us embracing. David got there before all of us because David was a child freak, and Lucas and I had played in the minor leagues with him, and Flo’s first spring training as a sixteen-year-old from Venezuela was my first one as well. All these guys, we had done life together. It was probably the embracing after each accomplishment and each goal achieved that was fun.

[Michael] Cuddyer as well, too, because Michael really pressed us forward in a way that I feel like he as much as anyone understood where we needed to go and how we needed to get there. It was the first time that I had been to the postseason, and I was scared to death. I was really nervous.

My first at-bat against Clayton [Kershaw] I got punched on six pitches; things were moving very, very quickly. One more memory I have that would help was in Game One at Dodgers Stadium, I’m up, and Clayton chews me up and spits me out. I was completely overmatched. I was like, Well, if that’s what the postseason is like, woof, oh dear! You get a couple of innings to stew on that. I got out on defense, and if they hit to me, then catch the darn thing.

I come up for my next at-bat, and I’m in the on-deck circle. For some reason, I decided that I was going to get my foot down early. I do it in the on-deck circle, and Clayton throws one, and I see it. I was like, Oh my goodness, that thing has red seams on it; it didn’t last time I was in this position. I kind of got into this position on deck where I was like, I think I may be able to put up a proper fight right here. Let’s go.

I believe I got into a 1-0 or 2-0 count, and one of the pitches I take my brother, Jonathan, is in the stands, he played professionally with the Twins. He’s really good with the swing, and he’s really helped me out a lot with mine. Later on he tells me, “You took that pitch, and I thought you might have seen that.” I told him, ‘I thought the same thing, Jonathan. I actually saw that one.’

On the 2-0 pitch I ended up hitting out of the ballpark, and it was like, oh dear, that shocked everyone, me most of all! It was just kind of in that moment right there on the on-deck circle at Dodgers Stadium, where I feel like I got into a position to put a pretty good fight. I was fortunate enough to have success.

MMO: You mentioned being able to pick up the seams off of Kershaw. Was that something you regularly tried to do with pitchers?

Murphy: I would say for me personally, being able to see the ball clearly and just an understanding of what’s coming in and an idea of the way it’s going to break was more a byproduct in telling me something that I was doing. It was a symptom of something positive or negative. If I didn’t see the ball well, it’s like something is not happening well from the ground up; from starting in my feet we have to see where the breakdown is.

For some reason, at that time, I got my foot down on deck and he threw it, and I felt balance and in a position that if my eyes say that’s a good pitch to hit – of which Clayton’s not going to give you many – you’re in a good position to fire as fast as you can with freedom. That’s what it felt like.

When that happens, you don’t always have success. We’ve seen guys hit the ball on the button and get nothing for it. There’s another part where I was fortunate enough at that time to get rewarded for it. Even if I think something’s beneficial, if I don’t get my reward soon enough, I may leave it right there.

I like hits, Mathew, a lot. I wanted hits. As I got older and matured and understood that this is sustainable success attacking and approaching the baseball this way at the plate, I still wanted hits! I hit one on the button to the centerfielder, and he catches it, it’s like okay, good swing. But if I hit one off the cap at the third baseman and he has to put it in his pocket, it’s like, hey, man, that’s a knock right there, I get to run the bases like a crazy person now, which is a ton of fun.

MMO: Sandy Alderson said that one of his biggest regrets was not signing you after the 2015 season. At the time, was it difficult to leave New York after spending your whole career with the club?

Murphy: I would say yes, it was because of all the relationships we had built. Sandy’s comment is one of the most humbling things that anyone in the industry has said about me, even more so coming from him. Baseball is also a business, and the Mets are in the business of trying to win baseball games. So, if you think you can get more value in this space by doing these moves, I will say from that perspective I look at the game with two brains: I know we’re human beings out there but also at the same time there’s a job to do.

Once the qualifying offer was declined, I think that offseason was slow-moving, and a lot of things happened around the Winter Meetings. The interest felt very tepid at the beginning anyway. It didn’t surprise me or hurt my feelings; it was like apparently this is the way markets work.

When it was trade for Neil [Walker] and sign Asdrúbal [Cabrera], I kind of felt like I was back in the room with T.C., where there’s only a couple of chairs and a lot of people sitting right here. I felt like the Mets didn’t seem like a viable option anymore.

At that point, my market was quite quiet until December 24. I was more concerned about finding a job then I was upset at the Mets may have scorned me, which I don’t feel that way. I wanted work. Becoming a free agent was nice, but I think Ian Desmond signed a one-year deal, which is not that Ian didn’t get great money. But part of going to free agency was hopefully having the opportunity to sign somewhere for multiple years.

It was then getting more and more outside of my control, and as we got closer to Christmas, that was when we started talking more seriously with the Nats, and I just wanted some work! Tori was pregnant with our second child, and I was like, I need a job. When January hits for me as a player, my eyes immediately turn to spring training. That’s the way I think about it.

I think of Apollo Creed when he decides he’s going to call in his favor with Rocky: ding, ding! For me, January was one of those moments where it’s here we go. To not know where I was going was a very fearful unknown that I didn’t want to experience for myself or my family.

MMO: Do you have any aspirations to get back into the game in some aspect?

Murphy: I would say yes. My oldest son Noah is playing, and I get out there and yuck it up a bit with him. I’m enjoying that. I probably would say right now my short-term focus has been trying to attend to my wife and children in a uniquely different way when it’s 7-8 o’clock. I always had half an eye on 7 o’clock, and probably more realistically, Mathew, was more like a full eye. I always knew when I was trying to prepare for a game. I’m trying to be more present now.

I took a couple of classes at JU, the college down here, and took a philosophy and history class. It kind of blew my mind. I have my degree; I did not have the necessary required classes, but I have a pretty good relationship with our university. They were like, “Take these two classes and we’ll sort your degree out.” One class was online and the other was on site; the philosophy class was on site and was a blast. I’m this old mid-thirty guy in the back with the freshman class, but I had a blast.

MMO: What does coming back to New York for Old Timers’ Day mean to you?

Murphy: I find myself drawn to the Mets. The way I watch baseball now is I follow the Mets, and then I’ll watch the Rockies because that’s who I’m most familiar with. That’ll be the last team of guys in the league who leave me behind in the dust. I cling to the Rockies, and then I find myself watching Mike Trout out West. But I’m drawn to the Mets.

The Mets, their organization, and fans have afforded me and my family an opportunity to grow up hopefully as a human being and as a baseball player. I’m just supremely grateful for that opportunity because it’s a blessing that I didn’t expect, but while I was there, the team and fans were so good to me.

When Jay [Horwitz] reaches out, who is difficult for me to say no to, and I’d say my wife loves a proper adventure, so we’re coming up with the whole crew. I’m looking at the roster of guys who are going to be there, and I’m going to try and soak up the wisdom and try to prepare myself to see if I can fake it for, I think, six outs.

I’m humbled to be asked to come, and Mr. Cohen invested in this and being receptive to the fans. If I’m not mistaken, he put this out on a poll to the fans, so that receptivity by him and the conversations with Jay, who’s been turned loose to express himself. My wife told me we weren’t passing up a trip to New York. And I told her she’s right; we’re not passing that up, so away we go.

MMO: When you look back on your career, what are you most proud of?

Murphy: I didn’t think they’d let me stay there that long. Some of it, I would say in a bit of vanity is we made sacrifices and we’re blessed in ways we couldn’t control but made enough sacrifices to stay.

The other one would be the relationships. As my wife has started a non for profit called Prom Series, which is her moving into the space of middle school and high school-aged foster care girls, and she provides prom dresses and provides an evening and experience. She has girls come in from foster care, and prom dresses are laid out for them to pick, dressing rooms set up, hair and makeup [provided]. It’s like, the God of the universe loves you, and we’re going to show that to you tonight. You’re worth being seen and loved, and that’s what my wife does.

She just did one in Baltimore; she’s done one here locally, and in Denver. That’s probably why Denver is so special [because] they allowed my wife to be the first to express herself in this way and did an event there in 2019.

She’s doing a back-to-school drive, I think this will be her fourth annual one, where she allows the wives, girlfriends, and fiancées of the players in each city to buy and purchase and express themselves for buying clothes for girls in foster care, hopefully in their own city. They send it out and it gets organized and shipped to these girls for back to school. She’s hoping for all thirty teams being able to participate this year; it’s been quite close.

She’s unable to do that without the relationships that we were graciously afforded to make while we were allowed to stay. It’s been really fun to watch. I’m her secretary, and I get to cheer my wife on the way she cheered me on for all those years. She’s running it and really enjoying herself, and she’s just been able to meet so many people and further fortified relationships. I’m having a blast cheering her on, and I take things to UPS and FedEx; that’s my job.

MMO: Thanks so much for some time today, Daniel. It was great chatting with you.

Murphy: I really appreciate that, Mathew. Thank you.

The post MMO Exclusive: Three-Time All-Star, Daniel Murphy appeared first on Metsmerized.

In a chat for ESPN Insider, baseball analyst Keith Law fielded a couple of questions about the Mets including one on Juan Lagares.

Keith Law: Pretty darn good defender, better than I’d ever heard (never saw him before he reached the majors). He was 10th on my Mets prospect rankings before 2012, so he was on the radar, but spent about a decade in Savannah before he finally hit enough to move up the ladder.

Joe D: Law is right in that Lagares spent a ton of time in Savannah that included one full season and parts of three others, but there is a backstory to this that needs to be told. At the age of 17, Lagares was playing shortstop for the Mets’ Dominican Summer League. The following season at 18, he was skipped three levels (GCL, Kingsport, Brooklyn) and began the year in Single-A Savannah – a jump that he was clearly not ready for, and he was the youngest player in the league. Apparently Tony Bernazard, who made that call, was bent on rushing this raw talent up the food chain as quickly as he could. It was a bad call. Lagares remained in Savannah for the entire season and batted a disappointing .210/.262/.317 in 304 plate appearances.

In 2008 and 2009, Lagares was now being tossed all over the place, making stops at the Gulf Coast League (Rookie Ball), Brooklyn (Low-A) and eventually two more stopovers in Savannah. By the time he was ready to be promoted to Advanced-A St. Lucie, the decision was made to convert him from a shortstop to an outfielder because he was being blocked by Jose Reyes. He started a fourth season at Savannah being tested at all three outfield positions where they decided he was best suited for center field.

Ironically, he’d be moved to a corner outfield position once Matt den Dekker came along, even though many outside the organization believed Lagares was the more superior center fielder.

Lagares was mishandled almost from the very beginning and it proved to be an impingement to his development and stunted his ability to have a smooth and natural progression through the system.

In 2011, Lagares finally had his breakthrough season and batted .338/.380/.494 for Advanced-A St. Lucie and then after a promotion to Double-A Binghamton he actually improved, posting a .370/.391/.512 slash in 170 plate appearances. The rest as they say, is history.

Since his promotion to the majors in April of this season, Lagares has enjoyed steady growth at the plate and has made adjustments along the way while working with hitting coach Dave Hudgens.

After batting .234/.255/.340 in sporadic play that included week-long stretches on the bench, Lagares has finally cemented himself as the Mets regular centerfielder and he has responded with a .294/.336/.500 showing in the second half. As an everyday player and fixture in the lineup he even earned himself a National League Player of the Week honor in late July – a month that saw him post a team best .937 OPS.

Defensively, the 24-year old centerfielder is rated among the best in the majors and leads the National League with 12 outfield assists and is second in DRS (defensive runs saved) at his position despite only logging 57 games as a starter.

The Mets will have many questions going into the 2013 offseason, but center field isn’t one of them.

The post How The Mets Almost Derailed The Career Of Juan Lagares appeared first on Metsmerized.

There is a conspiracy theory everywhere you look. I read one suggesting the Mets made David Wright captain to divert attention away from the field, where they are projected to be bad. Very bad.

Smokescreens like that never work. Besides, Mets fans are like children and dogs in a way, after awhile, they know when they’re getting duped.C’mon. Are you serious? How long do you think that will last? With virtually no hope given to the Mets this year, they’ll be coming out to see Wright and the young players such as Matt Harvey, Ike Davis, Travis d’Arnaud and Zack Wheeler. The last two you’ll probably see sometime in June.

Besides, if taking the fan’s attention away from the team is the goal, they should have done this three years ago as the attendance at Citi Field has consistently dwindled.

Wright is simply the best player the Mets have, and arguably the best player – outside of Tom Seaver – they ever produced. And best, I mean both on and off the field.

As Major League Baseball goes after Ryan Braun and others in a witch hunt over PED’s, Wright has publicly stood up against drug users. A long time ago, when I asked Derek Jeter about steroids, he said: “I don’t use them, so it’s none of my business.”

Guess again. It is every player’s business for their sport to be clean and Wright, whether or not it comes from his father who is in law enforcement, has always stood for that goal. He should be commended for that alone.

I know some don’t feel Wright is clutch enough, but that’s nonsense. Baseball is about failing three out every ten at-bats just to be good, and Wright is the best the Mets have in that regard. Who else would you rather see at the plate in the ninth inning of a close game?

Jeff Wilpon said the appointment was for all Wright has done, and will do, for the organization in the future. The Mets have been awful on the field since 2008, and even worse off it with the Ponzi scandal, numerous bad signings and public relations fiascos. With all those around him losing their heads, Wright kept his, to paraphrase Rudyard Kipling.

When it was clear the Mets were about to sack Willie Randolph, Wright spoke out for his manager – and against management – because it was the right thing to do. He blamed himself and the players, not the manager whom management had spied on with Tony Bernazard.

A leader sometimes deals with uncomfortable things, and yes, Wright spoke against Lastings Milledge coming in late. He downplays it now, but it had to be done. Players often take their lead from other players, and when somebody doesn’t hustle, Wright lets him know it in a low-key, yet effective manner.

He doesn’t get in their faces, just their minds. And, that’s what leaders, and captains, do.

The post Featured Post: The Mets Needed To Make Wright Captain appeared first on Metsmerized.

I guess this seems like a victory for the Mets but the Mets were wrong in doing this. K-Rod attacked a 50 year old man at Citi Field in front of the families of his teammates.  The 50 year old had to be taken the hospital after the savage attack.  I find it amazing that so many people are willing to look past this and just move on.

I would have respected the Mets if they had taken this grievance as far as they could even if they lost.  Of course the Mets were only thinking of that 3.1 million dollars.  I understand that they were scared of a union with way too much power, but this was not K-Rod’s first incident here in New York and with the Mets.  Let’s not forget the incident with Brian Bruney where K-Rod had to be held back.  Also last year it was reported that K-Rod had an argument with Tony Bernazard.  Then earlier this season K-Rod had a confrontation with Randy Neimann, the 54 year old bullpen coach. Clearly K-Rod likes to fight with older men.  K-Rod also violated a court order by texting his girlfriend.  It also was reported by the daily news that K-Rod at least on 1 occasion attacked his girlfriend and the mother of his two children so bad that she had to be hospitalized.  Even with all this evidence to support their argument, the Wilpons decided to take their 3.1 million dollars and let this guy continue be handsomely paid and a part of the team.

K-Rod is a bully and an abusive pig, no other way around it. The guy obviously has personal problems and should not be on this team.  I respected the Mets originally for going up against the Players Union but in typical Mets fashion they took what little money they could save and just dropped it.  Everyone wondered why the Angels would let K-Rod walk after a record setting season, and let the Mets sign him.  Obviously it wasn’t just the money, they were just happy to get him off their team.

It’s just a matter of time before K-Rod does something to hurt someone else or make the team look bad.

The post Mets Were Wrong To Settle With K-Rod appeared first on Metsmerized.

“Is the sun coming up tomorrow?”

I cannot understand where this vote of confidence is coming from.  Omar Minaya has been the General Manager since the end of the 2004 season.  In that time Omar has built a team that went to the playoffs ONCE!  As we all know in 2007 and 2008 the teams that Omar Minaya built collapsed in September.  2009 was an embarrassment as the injuries mounted, resulting in the Mets finishing in 4th place.  If the season was a week longer there was a real possibility that the Nationals could have finished about the Mets.

Omar was given up to 150 million dollars and could not put a championship team together.  Omar gave Pedro Martinez a contract that in all honesty he didn’t deserve.  Pedro was actually coming off the worst season of his career. I liked Pedro and was happy to have him on the team but there was a reason why Boston didn’t want to sign him that long.  Pedro eas injured for most of his contract and did not help the Mets win a championship.  Omar has given guys like Carlos Beltran and Frankie “Punchy” Rodriguez contracts that they didn’t deserve because they were coming off of career years.  For some reason Omar felt the need to give Luis Castillo a 4 year deal even though he was clearly on a decline.  Omar bid against himself and signed Oliver Perez to a contract that he flat out didn’t deserve.

Omar has been a horrible in season General Manager.  The Mets have needed help every year at the trade deadline but Omar except for trading for Castillo in 2007 has done nothing.  Every Mets fan knows that when July 31 is over the Mets will not make a single trade.

Last year he embarrassed the team by accusing then Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin of lobbying for a job within in the organization because Rubin exposed the inexcusable behavior of Omar’s buddy Tony Bernazard.  Omar gave an apology that made K-Rod’s seem heartfelt.  Whenever he gives a statement it turns into a downright disaster.

Now I know Omar has made the Wilpon’s a lot of money.  Remember the Wilpon’s never said their goal was to win a World Series, it was just to play “meaningful baseball in September.”  From 2005-2008 Omar’s teams accomplished that goal.  Omar has done a pitiful job as the GM.  He has not developed an impact player, he has let prospects come up way too early and he has brought guys in just because of their nationality.  Anybody who has run a organization like this should be shown the door, but this team gives him a vote of confidence.  Only the Mets.

The post Omar Does Not Deserve A Vote Of Confidence From The Mets appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Mets’ minor-league system looks a lot better now than most realized last year, when so-called experts rated it near the bottom. Those ratings will need to be re-evaluated now that five young Mets looked very good or better this spring. Left-hander Jon Niese will be the fifth starter (one scout said, “He won’t be No. 5 for long.”), shortstop Ruben Tejada will start the year with the Mets and supremely-talented right-hander Jenrry Mejia may make it as a reliever. GM Omar Minaya was determined not to take Mejia to start the spring, but the momentum seems to be swinging the other way. Plus, Fernando Martinez re-established his value as a bright young outfield prospect and first baseman Ike Davis looked terrific, especially at bat. It’s too late to give ex-Mets exec Tony Bernazard his job back, but if removing his shirt and being impolite once or twice were his only faults, firing him seems like a bad call now.

Ironically, it was Jon Heyman who kept reminding us that we didn’t have the chips for a Roy Halladay deal and made countless jokes at the Mets expense this offseason.

Still, it’s nice to see Heyman come around.

The post Look Who’s Talking Now appeared first on Metsmerized.

Go back to last year and the press conference from hell where Omar Minaya called out Adam Rubin and accused him of trying to obtain a job with player development. The announcement that the Mets decided to fire Tony Bernazard should have been a simple one.  The Mets could have easily put out a press release informing the media that after Omar Minaya’s “investigation” the organization decided to part ways with Bernazard.  Instead the Mets made a bad situation worse and added another distraction to the team.

As school children I’m sure a lot of us would ask why we need to know history and the answer always was “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I guess the Mets never heard that saying because last week was another example of the Mets not learning from history and to top it off the recent history of last year’s Bernazard disaster.

It’s been almost a week and there are still a lot of questions regarding how Carlos Beltran’s surgery occurred.  The bottom line for me and I’m sure most fans is a simple one: Carlos Beltran had surgery on his knee, he will not be able to resume baseball activities for at least 12 weeks and he won’t be back for awhile.  All the Mets had to do was tell the press and the fans why he had surgery, the result of the surgery, and when they expected him to be back on the team.  The Mets did not need to put it out in the universe that Carlos Beltran went out on his own and got surgery on his ailing knee.  Now the Mets have started a war of words with their Center Fielder and his agent.  Like many wars this war was unnecessary.  Beltran had the surgery, it was done, and the Mets even if they did not approve of the procedure should have simply lied and put on a happy face to the public.

It’s 19 days into the 2010 and already there was a scandal and unfortunately with the current way the club is run I’m sure there will be many other embarrassing moments to come, hopefully the Mets will prove me wrong.

The post It Didn’t Take The Mets Long Did It? appeared first on Metsmerized.

“most of the injuries happened while the team was on the road and that the team relied too heavily on other team doctors”

Jeff Wilpon also mentioned that the Dodgers team doctors had made the original diagnosis that Jose Reyes had a calf injury.  The Dodgers were not happy about this and felt that Wilpon was wrong when he made that statement, they released a statement of their own saying that:

“the Mets have official documentation showing that the correct diagnosis of Mr. Reyes was made here in Los Angeles in May.”

According to the Dodgers, Dr. Neal ElAttrache examined Reyes and concluded that Jose Reyes did have a partly torn accessory hamstring tendon.  The Mets decided to have Jose play in one game during that series in which he lasted only a couple of innings, he ran to first, came up lame and did not play another game for the Mets for 2009.

The Times asked the Mets to respond to Dr. ElAttrache’s diagnosis Mets public relations guru Jay Horrowitz said:

“The Mets and Dodgers doctors have spoken.”

This is so typical of this team.  The Mets have shown this whole season that they refuse to take responsibility for anything that they do wrong, always trying to blame it on someone else.  We saw that earlier this season when Omar Minaya had to fire his friend Tony Bernazard he tried to discredit Adam Rubin, saying Rubin wanted a job with the Mets and once again Jeff Wilpon is now blaming the Dodgers and their medical team in the mishandling of Jose Reyes’ injury.

Word going around is that the Dodgers are not happy about the Mets making these false statements and now there is a rift between the Dodgers and Mets.  I’m not surprised in the least, I wonder how the Mets will try to spin this latest mistake, they will probably embarrass themselves and most Met fans I’m sure.

The post More Mishandling Of Jose Reyes’ Injury appeared first on Metsmerized.

What is surprising though, is that some Mets fans are considering and hoping that the Mets hire Backman to replace Tony Bernazard as Vice President in charge of Player Development or Jerry Manuel as manager.

Please God, no. Let me explain why this would be a total catastrophe in the making and one that could haunt us for years to come.

Unlike his other dismissals, Wally Backman was let go for a more traditional reason this time around; his team (24-42) wasn’t winning.

“The fans in Joliet deserve a winner,” said Backman. “I’m disappointed that we could not get the job done.”

Backman is no stranger to controversy, and he has had a long history of bizarre and outlandish behavior. So much so, that he would make Tony Bernazard look like Mahatma Gandhi in comparison.

Not too long ago, while manager of the South Georgia Peanuts, Backman had a complete meltdown after one of his players had been thrown out of a game for arguing balls and strikes. It was Child Care Day and at Anderson Memorial Stadium, when a half-crazed Backman stormed out of the dugout and all hell broke loose. This is how a local journalist reported it.

Backman dropped several F-bombs on Height, then kicked dirt on home plate, prompting Height to eject Backman. The former New York Mets star responded to the move by tossing equipment onto the playing field. Not only did he hurl 22 bats onto the grass, he also emptied a bucket of baseballs down the third base line. The situation was made worse by the fact that Backman’s foul language was clearly audible since there were only a handful of fans left in the stadium. Some of those fans were, in fact, children.

When the game ended, with the host Anderson Joes claiming a 6-5 victory, Backman made his way to the Joes radio booth to confront play-by-play man Mike Janela about comments Janela made referring to Backman’s “childish”outburst.

This particular outburst took place after Backman returned from a prior three game suspension for bumping an umpire. Backman would eventually unexpectedly quit as manager of the Peanuts, with half the season left to play.

Backman showed signs of being an uncontrolled hot-head going all the way back to his first managerial job with the Lancaster Jet Hawks.

In case you’re keeping score, add five bats and three chairs to Wally Backman’s growing collection of post-ejection objects tossed onto the field. The fiery Jet Hawks manager’s most recent tirade came in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s 8-3 loss to Inland Empire, with a wildly entertained crowd of 4,522 at Arrowhead Credit Union Park cheering Backman as each item came flying out of the Jet Hawks dugout. Backman, who’s already received five ejections, has tossed a bat rack and emptied a trash can after previous differences of opinions with California League umpiring crews.

In 2004, Wally Backman was about to fulfill his dream of managing in the majors, but after just four days on the job, Backman was fired as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks following revelations that he had been arrested twice and had serious financial problems. Backman was asked during his D-Backs interview whether there was anything in his past that the Diamondbacks should know, and he answered no. Days later, Arizona officials were so shocked and dismayed at the results of their background check, that they had no choice but to let Backman go.

He was arrested in 2001 after a fight at his home involving his wife and one of her friends in Prineville, Ore. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was sentenced to 12 months’ probation, ordered to undergo an anger management evaluation and donate $1,000 to the local Boys and Girls Club.

Backman was also arrested, and later convicted, on a driving under the influence charge in Kennewick, Wash., in 2000. He also filed for bankruptcy that year to avoid paying 20 creditors as well as the IRS.

Now, I’m a firm believer in giving people second chances and in some cases third and fourth chances. I also believe that some people can change. However, the last thing the Mets need right now is Wally Backman.

What this team needs more than anything else right now is some calm in what has been a raging storm.

Many reporters and fans have called out Omar Minaya for hiring Tony Bernazard in the first place because his outbursts and outlandish behavior were well documented. None were surprised by Tony B’s antics, only that he managed to stay on as long as he did.

Backman fits this mold so perfectly. The red flags and warning signs are all there. He would be the worst choice to replace Bernazard. It would be cruel and unusual punishment to subject our prospects to yet another potential train wreck. We have suffered through enough embarrassing moments this past season. Lets not compound that by hiring Wally Backman.

The post One Nut Job For Another? appeared first on Metsmerized.

Yesterday Omar Minaya after what I am sure was an exhausting investigation into the Tony Bernazard situation finally announced that the Mets fired Tony Bernazard.  In his press conference yesterday afternoon Omar claimed that the Mets human resources department was already looking into Tony Bernazard’s behavior and an investigation was already being conducted quietly within the organization. Omar then said that Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin, the reporter who last week broke the story about Bernazard taking his shirt off and threatening 17 and 18 year old kids in the minors to a fight had been lobbying for the last few years for a job in player development.  Rubin was shocked and rightly so.

Omar Minaya is a liar, pure and simple.  Last week when Omar Minaya held his news conference to tell reporters that the Mets were “investigating” Tony Bernazard he gave no indication once so ever that the organization was conducting any sort of investigation into Tony Bernazard before then.  Let’s face it, there is no way that the Mets did not know what Tony Bernazard did in Binghamton.  Omar and the Mets were trying to sweep this situation under the rug until Adam Rubin dug it up and reported it in the Daily News.  Omar knew full well that a few weeks ago Tony Bernazard cursed out an employee at Citi Field in front of people and children because he wanted a seat behind homeplate that was being occupied by a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks.  The public did not know of these unprofessional acts by Bernazard until Adam Rubin broke the story last week.  Later in the week the Post reported that Bernazard was in a verbal argument with K-Rod, which in my mind should have been the final nail in his coffin.

Omar said in his press conference yesterday afternoon that he stumbled a little bit when he read Adam Rubin’s column on what happened in Binghamton because Rubin over the years has lobbied for a job in Player Development with the Mets.  Rubin denied these charges, saying that he has asked team officials from different teams over the years how to break into that part of the business, Jeff Wilpon according to Rubin even offered more than once to sit down with him and talk to him about breaking into the business as well as a job with SNY but Rubin turned him down everytime.

Yesterday’s press conference should have been a slam dunk, Omar should have told the press that the Mets have decided to part ways with Tony Bernazard, field some questions and wish everyone a good afternoon.  This was the perfect chance to wash our hands of this, build on some momentum from the weekend and go out and play baseball in perhaps the most important series so far this season.  Unfortunately Omar as usual could not complete an easy task.  Much like last year when he fired Willie Randolph at 3AM EST on the road this firing turned into another circus.  Attacking Adam Rubin who admittedly has written some tough pieces on Omar and his job performance is like what Adam said “despicable.”  It seems to be nothing more than an attempt at getting some payback.  Payback for what you ask?  It’s no secret that Omar and Tony Bernazard are friends outside of baseball.  Bernazard was hired in December of 2004, 3 months after Omar was named the General Manager of the Mets.  Had Rubin never reported in what happened in Binghamton, Tony Bernerzard would still be employed by the Mets, taking his shirt off, threatening to beat up kids who are away from the families and in a different part of the world for the 1st time in their lives.

Omar decided to try and ruin Adam Rubin’s credibility, pure and simple by putting this out in the universe.  Last week Omar used the word investigate about 100 times during his news conference, I wonder if Omar was investigating Adam Rubin’s past?  Did Omar call around the major’s asking for any dirt on Adam Rubin?  I think what Omar set out to do was to try and get Rubin off the Mets beat.  2Omar was not being professional, he was being personal.  You cannot attack a beat writer because he wrote an article that forced you to fire your best friend.

I think it’s no secret that I have been calling for Omar’s head for months now.  I have not agreed with most of his free agent signings the last couple of years, the lack of trades and the horrible way he has built up the farm system.  That dislike was against Omar Minaya the General Manager of the New York Mets, the public figure, not Omar the person.  I’ve never met Omar Minaya, I don’t know anybody who knows him personally so I had no reason to dislike Omar Minaya the person until yesterday afternoon.  Omar showed his true colors yesterday afternoon by attacking Adam Rubin without producing any shred of evidence to support his claims.  If Adam Rubin has been lobbying for a job the last few years produce emails of inquiry, text messages or a resume from Rubin to the New York Mets. While Omar has not yet shown any evidence that backup his claims, Omar has showed that as a “man” he’s petty and in my opinion despicable.  There is no other word to describe him after yesterday.  I wanted Omar fired because I felt he wasn’t doing a good job, it was nothing personal until now.  I will smile and maybe even dance a little much like Tony Bernazard did in Anaheim when the Mets fired Willie Randolph.

The attack on Adam Rubin shows that with this organization if you say and/or write something negative about the Mets they will fire you and/or try to discredit you.  Anybody think it was a coincidence that Matt Yaloff and Lee Mazzilli were very critical last year of the Mets on SNY and are no longer with the channel?  It came out during this whole mess with Bernazard that he would threaten the younger kids, telling them that if they didn’t do what he liked he would get them.   Adam Rubin said that he has received letter from parents of minor leaguers confirming this and I hope after yesterday and the permission of the parents he will publish those letter in his column.  Fear and bullying seems to be something Omar approves of to run this organization.

You have to admire Adam Rubin.  He’s not a columnists, he’s a beat writer, he has to be with the team day in and day out.  To write a column like he did 2 weeks ago in the Daily News knowing that he would have to see Omar and the rest of the organization on a daily basis he still went ahead and wrote what he felt was wrong with the Mets and Omar.

Last night Omar held yet another press conference, this time with Jeff Wilpon by his side.  Omar did not really apologize, he just said basically that he shouldn’t have made the comments he made about Adam in a public forum.  In fact Omar seemed angrier than he was in the afternoon.  Jeff Wilpon by the way stood next to Omar, basically nodding, sipping a bottle of water.  He did say that he gets a lot of phone calls on a weekly basis seeking career advice. The Mets and Omar had a chance to clear the air, to apologize but instead looked worse than before.

Omar Minaya I don’t like you as a GM and now I like you even less as a person and I cannot wait to see you on the unemployment line!  Omar showed that he has no class, while Adam Rubin showed a lot of class yesterday, he could have said a lot of things about Omar but decided to not too stoop to that level.  I wouldn’t mind having someone like that in the organization working with our younger guys compared to “men” like Tony Bernazard and Omar Minaya.  Mets fans it’s obvious that Omar Must Go!

The post Omar, Any Respect I Had For You Is Gone! appeared first on Metsmerized.