This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy's Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And?subscribe?to get it regularly in your inbox.
MILWAUKEE -- It was one week before Thanksgiving Day that Pat Murphy sat at the podium at American Family Field and described the day in 2020 when he was raced to the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Outwardly that day, Murphy cracked his usual jokes. Inwardly, he wondered whether he would see his family again.
So if anyone knows gratitude going into this holiday season, it¡¯s Murph.
¡°It¡¯s a wakeup call for everybody,¡± Murphy said as the Brewers introduced him as the 30th manager in franchise history. ¡°You drive to the [hospital] and guys are asking me about next of kin and I¡¯m more thinking about, like, ¡®This is the worst ambulance I¡¯ve ever seen. The last ride is going to be in this thing?¡¯ Like, I was concerned. I go Uber Black, you know?
¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking about the next stage. But then after a while, you start thinking about it and you¡¯re like, ¡®Be thankful.¡¯¡±
He is certainly that.
¡°Everybody knows, when you have something like that happen to you, it makes you more aware how precious this is and you start thinking about those two little guys,¡± Murphy said, pointing to the youngest of his four children, 9-year-old Austin and 4-year-old Jaxon. ¡°It¡¯s like, 'I ain¡¯t going anywhere.' It¡¯s about them. That¡¯s my priority in life and this other stuff is just baseball.¡±
Murphy¡¯s wakeup call came on Aug. 1, 2020. One week into the pandemic-shortened, 60-game schedule, the Brewers were supposed to be playing the Cardinals at the stadium then still known as Miller Park, but the games were postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the St. Louis traveling party.
So, the Brewers staged a workout instead. Murphy, 61 at the time, was his usual smack-talking self while hitting fungoes, but felt short of breath afterward. He splashed cold water on his face in the small bathroom next to the dugout, but still, his jaw ached and his hands were numb.
An athletic trainer, Rafael Freitas, sent Murphy to see team physician Dr. Mark Niedfeldt, who thankfully happened to be at the stadium that day. Niedfeldt took Murphy¡¯s blood pressure and said three words: Call an ambulance.
¡°I realized then I might be in some trouble,¡± Murphy later recounted.
He was right. By the time the ambulance arrived, Murphy was in full cardiac arrest. Paramedics administered morphine and began asking questions about next of kin. When jokes about the dingy ambulance were met by stone-faced intensity, Murphy told them about his daughter, Keli, and three sons, Kai, Austin and Jaxon, the youngest of whom was just 2 years old at the time.
As he recovered from surgery, calls and texts flooded in from all around baseball. One particularly prominent call came from arguably the greatest player Murphy ever managed, Dustin Pedroia, who was the star shortstop for Murphy¡¯s ASU Sun Devils before he was the star second baseman for the Red Sox.
¡°He made it seem like nothing happened, but I was like, ¡®Murph, what the hell is the matter with you?¡¯¡± Pedroia said in a telephone conversation. ¡°He¡¯s always like, ¡®Everything is going to be all right.¡¯ That¡¯s how he takes everything. He¡¯s always looking forward, always being positive.¡±
Pedroia started all 185 games in his three seasons with Murphy at ASU and they have remained close -- literally. Murphy¡¯s offseason home is in Mesa, Ariz., and Pedroia lives in neighboring Chandler, so they meet several times every offseason to catch up.
Last spring, Pedroia accepted Murphy¡¯s invitation to speak to the Brewers during one of their morning meetings in Spring Training. It was a thrill for former Brewers infielder Luis Ur¨ªas, who has long cited Pedroia as his favorite player, and for up-and-coming outfielder Sal Frelick, a Boston native who grew up a Red Sox fan and possesses many of the same attributes Pedroia made his trademark during a 14-year Major League career.
They are the kind of attributes Murphy loves in players.
¡°Knowing Murph for as long as I have, baseball is about people, and he can gravitate to everybody,¡± Pedroia said. ¡°He¡¯s definitely ready for this opportunity and he¡¯s going to be great at it.¡±
Of course, you know by now that Murphy¡¯s story has a happy ending. He made a full recovery and was back with the team by the end of that strange season. Murphy hasn¡¯t had any major health scares since, and after eight seasons as Craig Counsell¡¯s bench coach, the Brewers promoted him to the top job.
At his press conference, Murphy spoke in a quieter tone than those who know him are used to seeing. This is a serious assignment, after all, and one he¡¯s coveted throughout a career that includes long and successful stints in college at Notre Dame and Arizona State, then in the Padres' Minor League system. Murphy¡¯s only chance to manage in the big leagues was short; he skippered the Padres for the final 96 games in 2015 before coming to Milwaukee. Now, he has a three-year contract with the Brewers.
The most memorable line from the press conference -- other than associate manager Rickie Weeks¡¯ emphatic ¡°Let¡¯s [bleeping] go!¡± -- came when Murphy described his coaching style and he talked about love and discipline.
¡°I'm a big softy,¡± Murphy said. ¡°I've been rated high as a funny man. Scout scale has me at 70, and I think I've lived up to it. But let¡¯s be real. You're at this thing a long time. It's eight months together. Nobody's not trying. These guys want to make an impression. [The season] is so long that I think you have to keep it light and keep it simple, but when it comes time to compete and when it comes to time for discipline, I believe in love and discipline, in that order.
¡°Love, discipline, sometimes it gets close and not everybody understands it. I know my kids don't always understand it. But love and discipline is what this is about and with that, I think you can accomplish some things and it still can be fun.¡±
Said Pedroia: ¡°I have no doubt he¡¯ll adapt. Whether you¡¯re the bench coach or the manager, the ultimate goal is to win. He¡¯ll find a way to do that, and he can put his own stamp on it now.¡±?
Will Pedroia visit the Brewers again next spring?
¡°Believe me,¡± he said, ¡°whatever Murph needs, I¡¯ll be there.¡±