While listening to Mike Francesa today on lunch during work, I heard a fan call and ask him his opinion Daniel Murphy. Here’s what he had to say.
“He’s a good hitter, but he’s not a good baseball player,” Francesa said.
The numbers say that Francesa may be right. While Murphy, a soon-to-be free agent, is a doubles-machine, his defense and decision-making skills are average at best, and his on-base percentage (.324) and slugging percentage (.449) leave much to be desired.
He’s definitely clutch though, and it should be interesting to see how his market develops. He doesn’t hit enough homers to be a designated hitter, and his defense could be considered a liability. It’s hard to envision how the Mets would replace his ability in the clutch.
Here are some stats.
- Hit a tiebreaking, game-winning RBI-triple in the seventh inning on September 14 at Cincinnati…Leads the Mets with 69 RBI…30 have come in the seventh inning or later…The only NL players with more late-inning RBI are A.J. Pollock (34) and Carlos Gonzalez (32)…Courtesy of Elias.
- Has hit safely in each of his last seven games (.462, 12-26)….Batting .370 (17-46) with five doubles, two triples, three home runs and 10 RBI in 11 games dating to September 11.
- Hit his 13th home run of the season on September 23 vs. Atlanta, tying a career-high…Also hit 13 home runs in 2013.
- Became the sixth Met with 500 career games at second base on September 23 vs. Atlanta…The other five are Wally Backman (680), Felix Millan (674), Doug Flynn (531), Edgardo Alfonzo (524) and Ken Boswell (505)…Information courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau.
- Doubled twice on September 22 vs. Atlanta to give him 226 career doubles as a Met, passing Ed Kranepool for second on the Mets all-time list…His 36 doubles this season are tied for sixth-most in the National League.
What do you think? Should the Mets bring Murphy back next season? How much would you give him? Tell us in the comments section below.
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