Mets All-Star Daniel Murphy took a swing at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: Who are the All-Stars in your life?
A: Jesus … because He is everything that I’m not. My wife [Tori] … because I don’t function without her. … And my son [Noah, born in March], because he’s given me perspective on my life. He’s shown me how selfish I am, which has been good, ’cause I’ve been able to kind of combat that in my life. And he’s shown us how much God loves us, because I wouldn’t give him up for anything in the world, and God gave Jesus for me. … My mother and father. … They’ve just been so selfless in raising all of us — myself, my brother and my sister. … Then, my brother’s a guy, I talk to Jonathan in baseball and life, and my sister as well.
Q: Has David Wright given you any All-Star game pointers?
A: Enjoy the experience … try not to be too overwhelmed … and I think him and [Curtis] Granderson both have said, “Try to get as much rest as you can.”
Q: Why didn’t you enter the Home Run Derby?
A: Because I’d have to hit from second base … to compete.
Q: All-Star Game memories?
A: Dave Raccaniello and David Wright in the Home Run Derby … [Matt] Harvey starting it. And then, the only other one I really probably vividly remember, is Tony Gwynn’s double. I remember watching as a kid, I think [it] scored Moises Alou to win it.
Editor’ s note: It was a double by Alou that scored Gwynn to give the NL an 8-7, 10-inning win at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh in 1994.
Q: You watched last year’s All-Star game from the Hamptons?
A: I watched the Home Run Derby, and I watched Harvey start.
Q: How come you didn’t stay with it?
A: I wanted a blow from baseball. I just wanted to get away for a little bit.
Q: What did you think of Harvey’s start?
A: He looked good. He looked sharp. And he was blowing smoke! (laugh).
Q: And David’s bid?
A: He hit some bombs. And then Raccaniello almost dotted him with a heater up and in, so we joke about that now.
Q: When Mets manager Terry Collins and general manager Sandy Alderson called you in to tell you that you were an All-Star, did you think you were traded?
A: I didn’t think I was traded. I wasn’t sure what to expect. TC brought me in and … I wasn’t sure if I didn’t run a ball out or something like that. The only other time he brought me in the office, it was like I think I didn’t run a ball out the way I was supposed to, like a pop-up. He was real quiet. I was like, “Crap, did I run everything out today? I know I’m not swinging the bat as good as I want.” Sandy was in there, I was like, “Well that can’t be it.” Then they told me.
Q: What do you think it will be like for you when you’re introduced?
A: A couple of them probably will say, “Who’s that guy?” (laugh).
Q: What will you be feeling?
A: I don’t know. … I never, never expected this. So I think excitement would be one word I would use. It’s just really, really humbling to even be mentioned in the same breath with some of the people that are gonna be [there]. … Mike Trout, and Miguel Cabrera, and Giancarlo Stanton — like, these are the best players on earth, and they let me tag along for a couple of days, so that should be pretty fun.
Q: Do you plan on getting autographs for Noah, or anybody?
A: Yes, I have gotten some advice on that. Some guys do send some things around, so I got some advice from Grandy to try to get a couple of things signed. He said, “Everybody does it, so don’t feel bad.”
Q: Who are you gonna target?
A: Well, I’m gonna try to get some team stuff, and then, as I go around, I might just carry like a baseball around in my pocket or something like that.
Q: What are your thoughts on being a part of Derek Jeter’s last All-Star Game?
A: Be able to look back 20 years from now, and Derek Jeter’s in the Hall of Fame, and everybody knows what he means to New York and the New York Yankees … it’s something I think that as I get farther away from it, it’ll be cooler. Right now it’s just kind of surreal. But to be able to see a guy like Derek Jeter, who’s meant so much to the game of baseball over the last 20 years, to see his last All-Star Game, that’s gonna be pretty cool.
Q: Why is he so universally respected in the game?
A: I think it goes back to old school in a way, that guy puts in a day’s work. It’s consistent He’s the same guy every day, it seems like — never too high, never too low. In a game of completely inconsistencies, he’s consistent, and that speaks volumes, I think, about who he is, not only as a player but as a human being.
Q: Do you know him at all?
A: No. … He gets to first base, he put his hand on my back one day in 2009, like my first year. I was playing first base, and he’s like, “How you doing, Kid?” I was like, “Uh, pretty spooked right now. How are you doing?”
Q: That’s what you told him?
A: In my mind (smile).
Q: What is your definition of an All-Star?
A: I don’t know if I have enough experience on the subject to be able to say. … I don’t know. … I like to think of someone being an All-Star as just someone who comes to work every day and helps their team win games, that plays the game the right way. I always say when I’m done, if people say that I played the game the right way, then I don’t really think there’s much higher praise than that. I wish I could control hits, I would have a lot more of ’em. I wish I could control great plays in the field, ’cause I would try to do a lot more of ’em. But if they look at me and say, “That guy came to play hard every day and he played the game the right way,” I don’t really think there’s much higher praise than that.
Q: Is it a source of pride for you that you made the All-Star Game as a second baseman?
A: Yeah. They have to call me a second baseman now, I guess, right? (chuckle). It also attributes the work that [third-base coach and former second baseman] Tim Teufel has invested in me. Like he’s really, really worked hard with me, almost to the point sometimes I gotta like face-push him away, just like, “Beat it Tuffy, I’m taking the day off today, just gonna relax a little bit.”
Q: What’s the biggest thing he’s taught you?
A: The pivot at second base. It’s the only play in baseball where you have to make the play with your back kind of to the runner, to the actual play that’s coming, you don’t see it coming toward you. And so he’s really helped me with my footwork, helped me to be more consistent, more efficient with my hands — get the ball in the air, get in a position to protect myself.
Q: What makes you an All-Star diaper-changer right now?
A: ’Cause I’m willing to do it, and it seems like my son’s on a really good schedule, that he makes sure he gets one for me before I get to the field, which is good. So what makes me an All-Star diaper-changer would be experience — I’m wiling to gain experience in this situation.
Q: You’re a big fan of Noah Syndegaard … but why wouldn’t you name your son … Bartolo?
A: I joked with Syndegaard in spring training, I said, “You’re the other Noah in my life.” I wanted to do a Biblical name … Noah, Caleb, Joshua were a couple of ’em, and my wife really, really enjoyed Noah.
Q: Why is it important for you to be an All-Star father and husband?
A: I’ll be a father and a husband from March 31 for the rest of my life. I’ll be a father and a husband long after they’ve told me I’m not good enough to play baseball anymore. It’s an awesome responsibility, it’s very humbling to look at, because my wife looks to me to lead our family, and then my son is also gonna look to me to lead him as well. And it’s a responsibility that scares the crap out of me, but I think it’s also led me back to having to rely on the strength of Jesus because I can’t do this on my own.
Q: Will Noah be at the All- Star game?
A: Yeah, he’s coming.
Q: Why don’t you carry him out with you?
A: I was wondering about that, and I’m not sure if he’s too little. We’ll get some pictures of him, but I don’t know if I’ll have him like in the Home Run Derby, ’cause there’ll be a lot going on. When he gets pissed, he’s gonna let everybody know, it doesn’t matter — Troy Tulowitzki, David Ortiz — he’s gonna scream right in your face. I admire that about him.
Q: What did you learn about fatherhood from your father?
A: From my dad, what I’ve learned is, you work. My father owned his own lawn maintenance company for about 15 years, and I don’t know if people know this, but summers in Florida have a tendency to get a little hot, and he would [be] up at 5, back at 5, and he showed me what a day’s work looks like. And then when he eventually ended up not doing lawn maintenance anymore, he went and substitute taught until he found a permanent teaching job. And then, also, he showed me that you don’t miss your children’s activities. Like he made it a point that he watched me, my brother and my sister, anything we were doing, he was there.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice he gave you?
A: Control the things you can control. That’s the last thing he said to me before I went down to Port St. Lucie after I signed. He told me cut my hair. He’s like, “You should cut your hair. You can control your appearance.”
Q: What would he tell Jacob deGrom?
A: “You’re throwing the ball really well, do what you want (smile).”
Q: Did he think you would only be a minor leaguer for a few years and then do something else.
A: I didn’t ever think I’d play in the big leagues. I mean, I did, but I wasn’t one of those guys that, you know, I was like, “I knew I would play in the big leagues.” It was something that seemed like a distant land far, far away. And then I definitely didn’t think my career would look like this. This has been a blessing that has been beyond my wildest dreams.
Q: Is the beard a superstition thing?
A: It’s a laziness thing.
Q: Does your wife like it?
A: To a certain point. That’s usually when I shave: “You look like a serial killer. You should shave.”
Q: Will you have it for the All-Star Game?
A: No, my father’s informed me I need to get cleaned up.
Q: Who’s going?
A: My mother, father, sister. … Tori’s mother and father, brother, sister.
Q: What was that White House experience like, following your paternity leave?
A: It was fun. I had an opportunity to speak on something I have really very little experience in — working fathers. I got to speak on that, I had about two months of experience doing that. It was definitely a little bit taxing at the time, just spending all day kinda traveling, especially coming from the West Coast. Not many infants get to say they get to go to the White House before they’re 3 months old, so (smile).
Q: What were your impressions of the White House?
A: The level of history to it. You walk in a room, and they’re talking about dinner parties they used to throw, and who’s been there. They’ve got a picture of like John Travolta dancing with Princess Diana that was at one of the White House parties that they throw. You just walk through and you think about the people who’ve been in there. It’s pretty cool.
Q: Describe Curtis Granderson.
A: The same guy every day. I long to be as consistent as Curtis Granderson is on a daily basis. Always encouraging, always upbeat, whether he’s killing it or he’s struggling, you would never know it, and that’s about some of the highest praise I can give somebody in this game.
Q: That’s been a career-long struggle for you, hasn’t it?
A: Yes. And to see him do it … It’s human nature for me. I’m much more pleasant to be around when I’m playing well, and it’s a little tougher to be around me when I’m not.
Q: Zack Wheeler?
A: I’ve gotten to see him mature from second base. I’m seeing the evolution of a guy who’s learned how to pitch, and is trusting his stuff, is willing to pitch to contact, and that’s allowing him to get deeper into games.
Q: DeGrom?
A: Just a really impressive athlete. Not just a quote-unquote pitcher, but you see the at-bats he takes, you see him run, you see him get down the line.
Q: Matt Harvey?
A: We get the good fortune of having Harv here and seeing him rehab, and he’s been really diligent about his rehab. I think he’s chomping at the bit right now, he sees kind of the light at the end of the tunnel.
Q: What makes Matt Harvey, Matt Harvey?
A: He takes power stuff, and he locates it. A lot of guys can throw 95, 97, but not all those guys can put it where they want and be able to throw a change up or a slider in any count, and that’s the difference-maker.
Q: Do you get a sense for his mentality on the mound when you’re playing behind him?
A: Yeah. Very competitive. He wants to go nine innings every time he gets the ball.
Q: Why have you become so tight with Wright?
A: Since I got to the big leagues, you look and see what David’s been able to do on this team and for this organization in this market, which I think we can all speak to, this is a tougher market to play in, it’s New York City. That comes with its own extracurricular stuff, everything’s magnified, and the way he’s handled it, with such class and also been productive at the same time, I think I would be naive to not seek him out. And also we enjoy a lot of other sports outside of baseball, and I think we have a lot in common that allows us to talk about things other than baseball when we get outside of it.
Q: You live in NYC. Are you recognized when you go out?
A: The over-under is like three.
Q: What’s David’s?
A: I’d say 300, most likely.
Q: Do you like the fact that it’s three?
A: Yeah, I do enjoy it. My wife and I come out of our apartment, take a right and we’re able to get to Central Park in about 10 or 15 minutes. It’s nice to get noticed, but sometimes, I look at David and how well recognized he is, and I feel like that might be fairly exhausting.
Q: Who has the sweetest swings?
A: I really like Trout’s swing a lot. I like how simple Giancarlo Stanton’s swing is now, which is scary for the entire league, because he’s figuring out that like if you just center the ball, it’s probably gonna go like a thousand feet. And he’s walking more. He’s scary. When I play second sometimes, I feel like I’m too close when he’s hitting. And then one from the past a little bit, I always really enjoyed watching Lance Berkman, he was one of my absolute favorites.
Q: Why aren’t you psyched out hitting at Citi Field?
A: I don’t know if it’s psyched out. Maybe I just get a little bit luckier than some of the guys who’ve struggled here. Just … maybe good fortune.
Q: What drives you?
A: When I was younger, it was a fear of failure [that] drove me. There still is a level of fear of failure, but I feel like I’ve been able to grow. And with my wife and my son and our relationship, and our relationship with Christ, it’s been able to relieve some of the anxiety that I used to get when I was younger, and that’s been nice. I still struggle with the anxiety of this game.
Q: Why do you enjoy playing here in this market?
A: I’ve had a small taste of success from a team standpoint in 2008 when we were in a pennant race, and I don’t think there’s a better place to win than in New York City. I don’t think there’s a better place on earth from what I’ve seen. Great city that gets behind its team.
Q: How does it feel to have a ticket plan — two tickets for $28 through Sunday — named after you?
A: It’s humbling. I never thought I’d have a ticket package named after me.
Q: Why should the Mets keep Daniel Murphy?
A: Oh, that’s above my pay grade (smile). I don’t know, I’m not a self-promoter. I really have enjoyed my time here. I want to be a part of … the turn[around]. I think we’re really close. I think we’ve got a great deal of young talent. I think we’ve been able to mix in some guys who are gaining experience, and then you add in David Wright and what he brings to us, I think we’re getting really close, and I want to be a part of that.
Q: Is 2015 the year when Mets fans should expect the winning?
A: I’m not in the business of making predictions. I know that in our clubhouse, we expect to win right now, in 2014.
Q: How difficult has it been to stay positive through all the losing?
A: You find a reason to play every day, play hard, and different guys have different motivations. I know one of my biggest ones is I want to play hard for the 24 men next to me, who are working as hard, if not harder than I am on a daily basis.
Q: Would you understand it if they did trade you?
A: It’s a business, and I understand that side of it. They wouldn’t be doing their due diligence if they didn’t assess the value of each one of their assets.
Q: Would you be crushed if you were traded?
A: I think talking to Ike Davis — different isn’t always bad. It’s just different. And so I don’t think I would be crushed. It would be disappointing because this organization’s been so good to me. Jeff [Wilpon] was the first person that texted me when our son was born. It’s been a very intimate setting for me in getting to know, not only the teammates, but kinda the front office. But it is also a business as well at the same time.
Q: What would you say about Mets fans?
A: I enjoy playing in front of you.