It’s difficult to establish just how otherworldly Daniel Murphy’s dominance of the MLB postseason and sports betting odds has been. However, the fact that he has hit home runs in six consecutive postseason games, the last two against the Dodgers and all four against the Chicago Cubs, makes him the only person ever to do that in major league history.
A Look at the MLB Betting Profile on the Mets’ Daniel Murphy
How will @Royals contain Daniel Murphy? #WorldSeries coverage presented by @TMobile: https://t.co/OIYx5ZvRao pic.twitter.com/rH1Bh7hV4B
— MLB (@MLB) October 26, 2015
When the New York Post asked him to explain where this power surge has come from, he said, “I don’t know. I wish I could explain it. I would have done it like six years ago. I can’t explain it. I can only thank [hitting coaches] Kevin Long and Pat Roessler for the work that they’ve put in with not only myself, but with all the guys hitting. I wish I could explain it. I can’t.”
Cubs manager Joe Maddon, of course, is aghast at the power that Murphy showed as the Mets basically steamrolled over Chicago on their way to the World Series. As Mets captain David Wright told the Post, “It’s fun to watch. Being a hitter, I understand how difficult it is to do what he’s doing, to continue this hot streak for 10 days or whatever it’s been. I mean, it’s impressive doing it off these pitchers.”
That’s right – Murphy hasn’t been slamming home runs against tomato cans. He’s been raking off the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Jake Arrieta – three of the most dominant pitchers in baseball this season.
What’s funny is that these might be his last games with the Mets. Because of his defensive shortcomings, the Mets are not likely to offer him a big free-agent deal after the World Series. They might extend him a qualifying offer, but team sources have said that they’re not opening the vault for him. That qualifying offer might be enough to keep him in Gotham, but then again, it might not. And the Mets almost didn’t even draft him in the first place.
Murphy became a member of the Mets organization in the 13th round of the 2006 MLB draft, when the Mets chose him with the 394th overall pick. At the time, he had issues with the meniscus in his right knee, which meant that mobility would always be an issue. Now, with the Royals offering lower quality in their starting pitching than what the Cubs had, it will be interesting to see if Murphy can continue his momentous streak — or if the time off between the NLCS and the World Series will prove to bring him back to earth.
