Daniel Murphy had the best answer about Pete Alonso’s NY Mets free agency

Darryl Strawberry had very fan-centric thoughts when it came to Pete Alonso leaving the New York Mets. A little uninformed, but also not completely wrong, he spoke from personal experience and how legacy matters more than dollars. Strawberry is entitled to his opinion. Alonso will indeed question his decision if the Mets win multiple World Series while the Orioles do nothing.

Another former Mets player who knows about leaving in free agency is Daniel Murphy. Around the Mets plenty these days with spot starts in the broadcast booth, he spoke his truth about Alonso leaving.

“It wasn’t that both parties didn’t want each other. They went through something similar last offseason. Pete got a term in Baltimore that was completely deserving, but was something different than what David Stearns and Steve Cohen had an idea for how they wanted to construct their roster. I don’t think either party will blame each other at all. That’s the game. Ain’t nothing malicious about it.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Murphy have such a perfect, down the middle take. A finalist to replace Tony Clark as the player representative (it could still happen in the future), he ruffled no feathers and sounded like he’s ready for a political run minus the mudslinging.

Daniel Murphy is 100% right about the Pete Alonso situation

Murphy relating to Alonso probably isn’t what Mets fans want to see. Murphy immediately proved the Mets were foolish for letting him leave. In his first year with the Washington Nationals he finished second in the MVP race.

Murphy going to D.C. and Alonso to Baltimore right down the road links them together in a mild manner. Each had some big playoff moments for a franchise without a whole lot of anniversaries to celebrate in October. Just a decade apart in their departures, Murphy’s take is a lot more present than what Strawberry seemed to think.

What Murphy can’t speak on is becoming a franchise icon. Other than 2015, Murphy was just kind of a good player who regularly moved around the field and was never regarded as a strong defender. He didn’t set multiple franchise records like Alonso did. He didn’t get the mega-offer the Orioles issued to Alonso.

As fans looking on from the outside, it’s difficult to understand the business side of things. Surely there’s sports animosity of some kind between Alonso and the Mets, but not at the level where he’s going to refuse to tip his cap at Citi Field or return to celebrate years in the future. Landing in the American League will require us to go out of our way to check in on how he’s doing over the next 5 seasons while Murphy and even Strawberry made more regular appearances against the Mets. With Alonso, we’re getting one a season and it’s going to be in Baltimore half of the time.

Murphy’s neutral answer tells it like it is. The Mets and Alonso both wanted each other, just at different rates. The Orioles wanted him more. It really is that simple.