NY Mets Free Agent Retrospective: Daniel Murphy becomes an enemy

I remember sitting in front of my TV and watching the 2015 postseason with my dad. Every time Daniel Murphy came up to bat my dad and I would say to each other “he’s not going to homer again.” And yet, it seemed every at-bat of the 2015 NLCS he did homer once more. As a kid in middle school at the time, all I would talk about with my friends was how Murphy would be a career New York Met. Little did I know, the New York Mets career for Murphy would come to an end sooner than I realized.

Murphy had one of the best playoff runs of all time during the Mets pennant chase in 2015. Murphy had a .328 batting average, tallying seven home runs during his remarkable run in the 2015 postseason. Following the Mets’ fall to Kansas City in the 2015 fall classic, Murphy made the ultimate decision to move on from Queens. A decision that would haunt the Mets for years to come, for fans like me and the whole population of the Mets faithful.

Daniel Murphy leaves the Mets for Washington

The Amazins offered the second baseman a qualifying offer worth $15.8 million for one year. Murphy later signed a three-year deal worth $37.5 million with the rival Washington Nationals. The ex-Met was now associated with one of New York’s fierce rivals, a nightmare scenario for all of the Flushing faithful.

In his first year for Washington, Murphy hit .347 totaling 25 home runs. Even worse than that, Murphy would go onto hit .355 with 12 home runs in 52 career games against New York. Murphy absolutely loved playing against his former team, and the numbers backed it up.

After Murphy had his remarkable run in the 2015 postseason, propelling New York to its first National League Pennant since 2000, the qualifying offer the Mets offered the second baseman was not up to standard for his performance. I would have loved if the Mets at least extended a new offer to show some loyalty to their 2015 postseason here, but they did not.

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

A good number of fans will view Murphy’s decision to leave the Mets as a selfish act. However, I don’t blame Murphy for leaving Queens. The Nationals offered him a deal that was far more worth Murphy’s value over the Mets QO. Daniel Murphy clearly was looking for more value after his historic 2015 playoff run and the Mets did not give it to him. I would have loved it if Murphy had stayed in the blue and orange, but ultimately I cannot blame Daniel for the decision that he made.