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| Nationals’ Daniel Murphy is ‘the epitome of a tough out’ | Nationals’ Daniel Murphy is ‘the epitome of a tough out’ |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The earliest scouting report on Daniel Murphy, from his middle school coach in Jacksonville, Fla., went something like this: “Not the fastest guy. Doesn’t have a great arm. But he can hit.” | The earliest scouting report on Daniel Murphy, from his middle school coach in Jacksonville, Fla., went something like this: “Not the fastest guy. Doesn’t have a great arm. But he can hit.” |
| More than a decade and a half later, when Murphy became a free agent for the first time, the scouting reports read similarly. Murphy is not a strong defensive player. He is not a stolen-base threat. Murphy is a hitter, always has been, one uncommonly consumed by the craft. The Nationals will pay him $37.5 million over three years in the hope that their lineup will benefit from his commitment. | |
| Long before the postseason fates exposed the highs and lows of Murphy’s game under the brightest possible lights, before he could not stop homering — then could not field a ground ball that helped the World Series pivot the Royals’ way — Murphy was a freshman at Englewood High School, crushing junior varsity pitching. When Coach Lee Geiger pulled him up to the varsity, he threw him into the eighth inning of a game against a highly ranked team. Murphy hit a game-winning single in his first at-bat. | |
| That single, Geiger remembers, went through the left side of the infield. Murphy wasn’t pulling the ball much then, still developing the confidence to trust his hands on inside pitches. Once he learned to do that, and thanks in part to unusually long hours in the batting cages, he began to separate himself from other high school hitters. | That single, Geiger remembers, went through the left side of the infield. Murphy wasn’t pulling the ball much then, still developing the confidence to trust his hands on inside pitches. Once he learned to do that, and thanks in part to unusually long hours in the batting cages, he began to separate himself from other high school hitters. |
| “It was all upper .300s, .400s the rest of his high school career,” said Geiger, who can still recount that middle school scouting report. “He’s one of the guys that always hit, worked in the cage. He worked on his fielding, but you could tell hitting was his love.” | “It was all upper .300s, .400s the rest of his high school career,” said Geiger, who can still recount that middle school scouting report. “He’s one of the guys that always hit, worked in the cage. He worked on his fielding, but you could tell hitting was his love.” |
| [Why Daniel Murphy loves Tottenhan Hotspur] | [Why Daniel Murphy loves Tottenhan Hotspur] |
| No one heavily recruited Murphy out of high school. Only one school, Jacksonville University, offered him a scholarship. New York Mets scout Steve Barningham saw Murphy play at Jacksonville, where he grew into the Atlantic Sun player of the year as a junior in 2006. Barningham liked the short swing, the fact that Murphy hardly ever swung and missed, and his presence. Most amateur players, Barningham said, allow pitchers to dictate pace. Professional hitters control it, with routine and patience and presence. Murphy, he said, was “in complete control.” | |
| Intrigued, but not sure how to sell a player with no obvious “plus” tools to the Mets’ front office, Barningham took Murphy to lunch. | Intrigued, but not sure how to sell a player with no obvious “plus” tools to the Mets’ front office, Barningham took Murphy to lunch. |
| “One of the smartest things I ever did,” Barningham says now. | “One of the smartest things I ever did,” Barningham says now. |
| “Five minutes into that lunch, I was blown away. I had never heard an amateur remember his at-bats in such detail, remember sequences,” Barningham said. “His at-bat recall was as good as I’d ever heard anywhere.” | “Five minutes into that lunch, I was blown away. I had never heard an amateur remember his at-bats in such detail, remember sequences,” Barningham said. “His at-bat recall was as good as I’d ever heard anywhere.” |
| Scouts check up on the players they sign as those players make their way through the minor leagues. Often, early on, players don’t know who to confide in, because coaches control their fate and players are their competition. Barningham would answer the phone and listen. | Scouts check up on the players they sign as those players make their way through the minor leagues. Often, early on, players don’t know who to confide in, because coaches control their fate and players are their competition. Barningham would answer the phone and listen. |
| “The more he played, the more [calls] came,” Barningham said of Murphy. “He just loves to talk hitting and talk about his at-bats. I simply answer the phone and he goes. He loves to talk about hitting.” | |
| Murphy can recall at-bats — his and those of teammates — pitch by pitch. Sit near him in the dugout, and he will volunteer his thoughts on the fastball he saw in that 2-0 count, or about the break on that particular reliever’s slider. Murphy hollered “let’s go!” when he took the infield for the first time in late February. Known as one who chatters, Murphy jabbered through all of spring training’s sometimes dull defensive drills, telling teammates good job, that he had it or they did. But on the bench and in the clubhouse, he talks about hitting. | Murphy can recall at-bats — his and those of teammates — pitch by pitch. Sit near him in the dugout, and he will volunteer his thoughts on the fastball he saw in that 2-0 count, or about the break on that particular reliever’s slider. Murphy hollered “let’s go!” when he took the infield for the first time in late February. Known as one who chatters, Murphy jabbered through all of spring training’s sometimes dull defensive drills, telling teammates good job, that he had it or they did. But on the bench and in the clubhouse, he talks about hitting. |
| “He loves talking about hitting,” Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. “That’s the kind of guy he is. Playing against him so long, you could get a feel for who he is. My assumption of what he is like is pretty spot on.” | “He loves talking about hitting,” Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. “That’s the kind of guy he is. Playing against him so long, you could get a feel for who he is. My assumption of what he is like is pretty spot on.” |
| Rick Schu said he was struck by the rigid structure of Murphy’s hitting work, by his consistent commitment to drills aimed to train his eyes for recognizing pitches. | Rick Schu said he was struck by the rigid structure of Murphy’s hitting work, by his consistent commitment to drills aimed to train his eyes for recognizing pitches. |
| “He sees the ball really well. He swings at strikes, gets into hitter’s counts,” Schu said. “I think a lot of it is just his preparation with the eye stuff.” | “He sees the ball really well. He swings at strikes, gets into hitter’s counts,” Schu said. “I think a lot of it is just his preparation with the eye stuff.” |
| Dusty Baker, who wrote a book about hitting, said Murphy uses hitting drills he’s never seen before. | Dusty Baker, who wrote a book about hitting, said Murphy uses hitting drills he’s never seen before. |
| “The guy’s work habits are outstanding,” Baker said. “. . . He’s a student of the game, which is really going to rub off on some of the guys here. He’s got these balls cut in half that he uses, this ball goes this way and this ball goes that way. I’ve never seen that. He’s a real student. Big time. He’s the epitome of a tough out.” | “The guy’s work habits are outstanding,” Baker said. “. . . He’s a student of the game, which is really going to rub off on some of the guys here. He’s got these balls cut in half that he uses, this ball goes this way and this ball goes that way. I’ve never seen that. He’s a real student. Big time. He’s the epitome of a tough out.” |
| No one in baseball struck out less frequently than Murphy in 2015, who did so in 7.1 percent of his plate appearances. Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo used the word “grit” over and over as he explained the decision to sign Murphy. His pitchers hated facing Murphy, Rizzo remembered. He did not give in. | |
| “Everybody I played against was always better than me,” Murphy said. “[Being gritty] was the only way they’d let me stay. I was never the best player.” | “Everybody I played against was always better than me,” Murphy said. “[Being gritty] was the only way they’d let me stay. I was never the best player.” |
| [Daniel Murphy hopes to make more contact this season] | [Daniel Murphy hopes to make more contact this season] |
| Barningham remembers Murphy’s at-bats lasting two or three minutes, longer than most. Zimmerman said Murphy’s pesky prowess at the plate comes not just from a knack for contact, but from a mind-set. Murphy said he developed that mind-set over time. When you’re constantly thinking about hitting, it can be challenging to stop thinking enough to hit. | Barningham remembers Murphy’s at-bats lasting two or three minutes, longer than most. Zimmerman said Murphy’s pesky prowess at the plate comes not just from a knack for contact, but from a mind-set. Murphy said he developed that mind-set over time. When you’re constantly thinking about hitting, it can be challenging to stop thinking enough to hit. |
| “For me, it’s about feeling good in there. Once you feel good, we tend to want to hit more because it feels good. But once you hit more, leave it,” Murphy said. “If you don’t feel good that day, so what? The guy on the other side doesn’t know that. . . . You go in there and you talk yourself out of at bats because you don’t feel perfect. You’re going to get the at-bats whether you want them or not.” | “For me, it’s about feeling good in there. Once you feel good, we tend to want to hit more because it feels good. But once you hit more, leave it,” Murphy said. “If you don’t feel good that day, so what? The guy on the other side doesn’t know that. . . . You go in there and you talk yourself out of at bats because you don’t feel perfect. You’re going to get the at-bats whether you want them or not.” |
| Murphy is a .288 career hitter whose 14 home runs last year were a career high. He is known for his contact, or at least he was until that incomprehensible postseason run in which he hit seven home runs in nine games, including six straight. Murphy said the outburst was not an aberration but the product of tinkering with Mets hitting coach Kevin Long, of a greater emphasis on using his lower body and choosing to “do damage.” | |
| “If he sees it, he thinks he can hit it, and even if it’s not his strength he’ll take the hit,” Barningham said. “I think what he’s done over the last few years is, ‘All right, maybe that’s a pitch I can hit for a single, but that’s not what I’m looking for here.’ . . . Daniel got into a mind-set of ‘attack my strength instead of protect my weakness.’ ” | |
| Wherever he hits in the order — second, fifth, sixth, seventh, wherever — Murphy will play second base. He has acknowledged he has work to do there. Baker said he’s seen him committed to improving there. The Nationals understood part of what they were getting in Murphy was what could politely be called a defensive reclamation project. They signed him because of the other part of his game, the main part: They signed a hitter, through and through. | Wherever he hits in the order — second, fifth, sixth, seventh, wherever — Murphy will play second base. He has acknowledged he has work to do there. Baker said he’s seen him committed to improving there. The Nationals understood part of what they were getting in Murphy was what could politely be called a defensive reclamation project. They signed him because of the other part of his game, the main part: They signed a hitter, through and through. |