Daniel Murphy attempts to explain historic power surge
Daniel Murphy's postseason for the ages has defied all expectations and explanations, but after he delivered again for the New York Mets on Sunday, he gave his best attempt to shed some light on what has enabled him to piece together one of the most memorable offensive performances in postseason history.
With his fifth home run of the postseason in the Mets' 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the NLCS on Sunday, Murphy nabbed a chunk of franchise postseason history, tying Mike Piazza for the most career postseason homers in Mets history, amongst other accomplishments.
After another clutch performance, Murphy attempted to explain why he's been hitting the ball so well this postseason.
"I can't," Murphy replied when asked by ESPN if there was anything in particular that brought on his power tear. "[Hitting coach Kevin Long] and I have tried to work on getting my foot down earlier, trying to get on time, and I think that's helped. It's allowed me to swing at better pitches."
The 30-year-old second baseman has now hit five home runs with eight RBI in 28 at-bats over seven games, five of which were in the NLDS.
Although Murphy's performance has been a sensational individual effort, he notes that it's the Mets' fortified lineup that has enabled his success.
"I've said it before, but we saw the way [Yoenis] Cespedes swung the bat behind me tonight," Murphy said. "You know, drove a ball to the wall in right field and had a base hit in the 5-6 hole. With the way he's been swinging it in the second half since he's come over to us, it's definitely given me a lot more pitches to hit."
