Daniel Murphy missed ten games at the end of the 2016 regular season as he worked his way back from what Washington Nationals’ manager Dusty Baker described at the time as a left buttock strain.
“I’m just glad that we shut Murph down when we did,” Baker told reporters before the start of the Division Series.
“We had the luxury to shut Murph down when we did, because if he’d have played any longer he would have probably been out for the entire postseason.”
Murphy returned to make a pinch hit appearance in the final regular season game and played in all five of the Nats’ postseason games, going 7 for 16 with three walks and a K in the NLDS loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He finished the first year of his 3-year/$37.5M deal with the Nationals at career-high 5.5 fWAR, with a .347/.390/.595 line, 47 doubles and 25 home runs in 142 games and 582 plate appearances.
Murphy, 31, talked this past weekend at the Nationals’ Winterfest event about how he was doing now, two months removed from the injury and the end of his first season in D.C.
“It’s getting there,” he said. “For me, personally, speaking with [Executive Director of Medical Services] Harvey [Sharman] and the training staff, it’s going to be something that I’ve got to be diligent about. It could potentially be reoccurring.
“I’ve got to be, in my older age, a little bit more diligent in certain areas of the game, whereas hopefully, been able to put some work in some other areas, so I’m trying to take care of the body now, not that I’m an old man, I’ve just got to be a little more aware of that.”
So how bad was the injury, really, now that the season is over and there is no reason to keep it quiet for strategical purposes and all?
“About the same I told you when you guys asked that in the postseason,” Murphy joked.
“It was good. I felt good. Again, the training staff did a great job in getting me healthy.
“I think that is what now I’m more working on: glute exercises, stabilization stuff to try to take the pressure off my hamstrings.”
Murphy said nothing much has changed from previous winters as far as how he is preparing for the 2017 campaign.
“Not much at all, I think it’s just more focused on laying the foundation from a lower body standpoint,” he explained, “whereas I probably would have started hitting a couple times a week by now, but I’m hitting a little bit, but more staying away from that right now, so it’s more weight-lifting and trying to lay the foundation.”
Looking back at his first season in Washington, Murphy said he was, of course, happy with the way things went in the regular season, though the end came quicker than anyone in Washington expected in the postseason.
“It’s definitely bitter sweet,” Murphy said. “Because you’re able to see what we were able to accomplish as a ballclub and then you run into the best pitcher on the planet [Clayton Kershaw] — it seemed like every day of that series. And he did his job and threw the ball really well. I think what it is, as I take a step back during the season, it makes me appreciate it more, because they’re so tough to come by, the postseason, but I think if you can go in, if you can punch your ticket to the dance, you’ve always got a chance.”
Murphy started the season looking for more consistency on defense after some high-profile gaffes in his 2015 postseason run with the New York Mets.
He talked Saturday about how he assessed his defense in 2016.
“I felt like I caught the balls I was supposed to catch for the most part,” Murphy said.
“That’s always my goal, to make the routine play. The spectacular play, whether some would deem it spectacular, or that’s just me, that’s kind of icing on the cake, but again, it’s still something that I want to be really diligent about. The two biggest things are make the routine plays and turn my double plays.”
As for the offensive end and his season as a whole, Murphy, who ended up a finalist for NL MVP, said he just wants to stay focused on attainable goals.
“From a personal standpoint, I just think about some of the things I did well, some of the things I’d like to improve upon and some of the biggest things that I look at are attainable goals. What’s an attainable goal heading into the season?
“I can make the routine plays on defense, I can turn the double plays, and from an offensive standpoint, I can pick out a good pitch to hit and try to hit it as hard as I can. Those are attainable goals. I can’t guarantee there will be hits, that I can’t guarantee, but controlling the process is something that I’d like to do this year.”
And at the plate?
“Probably give away less at bats, is probably one of the things in my control, from a numbers standpoint,” Murphy said.
“I can’t really tell you because you’ve seen enough guys go out there and [hit] four bullets in a ballgame and have nothing to show for it, so the process is within my control and staying engaged for 162 games is within my control as well.”