Murphy humbled to receive tribute, throw 1st pitch at Citi Field

NEW YORK -- Before the start of Saturday’s straight doubleheader against the Phillies, the Mets honored the career of former second baseman Daniel Murphy at Citi Field. In addition to the video tribute of his eight-year career in New York, Murphy threw out the first pitch to his oldest son, Noah.

“It’s really humbling to come back here and think of the great history the Mets have and to be welcomed back -- not only today, I guess, for Old-Timers' Day,” Murphy said. “It’s kind of funny to say. It’s great to have the family here with us.”

Murphy, 38, officially announced his retirement from professional baseball for the second time on Aug. 15 after stints with the Angels organization and the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. He indicated he could no longer go from second to home on a base hit. The first retirement came after the 2020 season after 12 seasons in the Majors that also included stints with the Nationals, Cubs and Rockies.

“I’m not good enough anymore [to play baseball], so I’m not going to try,” Murphy said. “Hopefully, any opportunities that I have to help someone further their career in baseball, I would like to help.”

Murphy played for the Mets from 2008-15 and had a slash line of .288/.331/.424. The highlight of Murphy’s career came in ‘15, his final season in New York. Murphy was a big reason the Mets went to the World Series that year.

In the National League Division Series and NL Championship Series, Murphy went a combined 16-for-38 (.421) with seven home runs and 11 RBIs. He hit a home run in six consecutive games, a postseason record. Four of those homers came in the NLCS against the Cubs, leading Murphy to earn Most Valuable Player honors for that series. Murphy credited then Mets hitting coach Kevin Long, who told him to use his legs more at the plate. It helped him find power during the postseason.

“I was under the radar because everybody had a game plan for Yoenis Céspedes and he posted every night, too,” Murphy said.

Although he was the driving force of the offense in that magical run, Murphy was happy that teammate David Wright was part of the postseason experience. Wright, according to Murphy, was the definition of a team leader.

“I can’t underestimate how much I learned from David and how influential he was on my career,” Murphy said. “[He was a] true pro and shows up to work every single day. If you're stinky like we were for a reasonable portion of the time I was in New York, he was the one who was answering all the questions on top of being productive on the field. What could you complain about when David was there every single day, playing as hard as anybody does?”

Murphy has followed the Mets this season and is a self-proclaimed fan of Orange and Blue. He is disappointed they are not in the postseason, but is cautiously optimistic about the direction of the franchise in the next couple of years. Entering Saturday’s action, New York is in fourth place with a 72-86 record.

“It’s disappointing anytime that you head into a campaign like this with reasonable expectations that you are going to make the postseason,” he said. “But also, at the same time, I played long enough to know the [opponents] get paid, too. It’s just one of those years where, from the outside, there was a struggle to just get some momentum going on a consistent basis. …

“They didn’t quite put themselves in a position to make additions at the Trade Deadline, and I think it was reasonable to take the path that they did and give great hope for the future.”