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New York Mets fans of the past decade surely remember the Babe Ruthian effort from second baseman Daniel Murphy during the 2015 postseason, when he became the first player in MLB history to hit a home run in six consecutive playoff games.
Despite his historic performance at the plate that postseason, Murphy told Heavy Sports that his favorite career memory came on the basepaths.
“My favorite play all-time is when I had the good fortune of going first to third on Lucas Duda’s walk,” Murphy told Heavy at the Mets’ spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
His heads-up baserunning play came with future Hall of Fame pitcher Zack Greinke on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers with one out in the top of the fourth inning of Game 5 of the National League Division Series. With the Dodgers leading 2-1 and the series tied 2-2, Murphy advanced from first base to second base on Duda’s walk and kept running safely to third because nobody was covering the bag given their shift formation against the lefty-hitting Duda.
Murphy would score on a sacrifice fly by the next batter, Travis d’Arnaud, to tie the game 2-2. Murphy paired his stolen base with a 3-for-4 night at the plate, a home run and two RBIs as the Mets went on to win 3-2.
His baserunning is a reminder of a rare but exciting play that’s been lost from the game since MLB banned infield shifts.
In nine games against the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs across the NLDS and the National League Championship Series, Murphy hit an absurd .421/.436/1.026 slash line (1.462 OPS) with 7 home runs, 11 RBI and 11 runs scored in 39 plate appearances. His performance propelled the Mets to their first World Series since 2000, but they fell in five games to the champion Kansas City Royals.
Murphy, a three-time All Star who played 12 years in the majors, finished the 2015 postseason with a .328 batting average, 7 home runs, 11 RBIs and 13 runs scored in 14 games.
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Daniel Murphy: ‘I Hope the Fans Thought I Played Hard’
Murphy’s 2015 campaign was his last of seven seasons for the Mets. He signed with the Washington Nationals as a free agent that offseason and had a career-best season with the Nationals in 2016, finishing second in NL MVP voting by hitting .347 with 25 homers, 104 RBI and a .390 on-base percentage.
Murphy’s Mets career was sometimes marred by blunders in the field and running the bases, but his heads-up steal in Game 5 of the 2015 NLDS was indicative of the player he wants fans to remember him as.
“I didn’t always play well, but I hope that the fans thought I played hard. That I could control,” Murphy told Heavy.
Murphy retired after the 2020 season. He got an itch to play again three years later, making a comeback attempt last year that ended with him reaching Triple-A in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He appeared in 38 games for the Salt Lake Bees, batting .295/.379/.362 with a home run and 25 RBI.
“I think that is exactly where I should have finished, Triple-A is as high as I should have gone,” Murphy told Heavy. “I had a blast.”
Daniel Murphy Shares Another Unforgettable Mets Moment
The Mets welcomed Murphy back into the broadcast booth this spring to call a couple of spring training games for SNY. He spoke about the atmosphere at Citi Field in the 2015 NLDS and how Mets fans responded to Chase Utley, the Dodgers second baseman who slid into Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada to disrupt a double play. Tejada broke his leg on the play.
“When Chase Utley was introduced and he got his reception from the Mets fans – which I thought was quite well deserved, how they received him – it was as loud as anything I’ve ever experienced”
– Daniel Murphy