The Global New York Mets Blog: Murphy's Law: The trials and tribulations of Daniel Murphy

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Murphy's Law: The trials and tribulations of Daniel Murphy

If there is one person who can represent how this season has gone for the Mets it has been Daniel Murphy. He started the season in left but has been playing first base since around midseason. However, we tend to forget that he's been one of the players that we've been relying on to contribute due to all the injuries that have occurred throughout this season. We also fail to realize that he is in his first full year in the major leagues.

Last year in his 2 month stint in the major leagues Murphy had a batting average of .313, a slugging percentage of .473, and an on base percentage of .397. This season up to this point he has had an average of .262, a slugging percentage of .412 and an on base percentage of .311. Now this is a pretty big drop in just one season. But people don't seem to realize that he's only in his first full year in the major leagues. Something like this is to be expected but not necessarily to this extent. Murphy also now leads the team with 11 home runs this at this point in the season. If that doesn't say lost season then I don't know what does.

Why are we so quick to judge on someone who deserves his time to grow? I certainly believe that he can contribute to this team when we are back at full strength. Now just recently on WFAN Mike Francessa has said that he can see him going along the path of a Don Mattingly or a Mark Grace. I actually agree with this. From what I've been told Murphy has a very similar player to Mattingly early on in his career at the plate. A hitter who mostly hits the ball the opposite way. But Francesca also said that he can see him become the next Matt Franco. For those who don't recall Matt Franco, he was a bench player who did nothing flashy his entire career. Unfortunately I can see this coming true also.

Only time will tell what the future holds for Murphy. I hope that he is successful in his tenure for this team, and that he will contribute for us for a long time to come.