David Wright talks Daniel Murphy's retirement: 'I couldn’t be more proud'
Former Met Daniel Murphy retired, again, earlier this week but it was this latest attempt at the big leagues that wowed former teammate David Wright.
Murphy originally retired in 2021, but made a comeback bid in 2023 when he joined the Long Island Ducks in March before signing a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels in June. The former captain of the Mets was back at Citi Field on Thursday for the "Battle of the Badges" charity game between the NYPD and the FDNY, and was asked about Murphy’s decision.
Wright said he spoke to Murphy the day he made the choice to retire for a second time. The former second baseman just took a red eye back to Florida when Wright told his former teammate how much he appreciated what he did.
“I told him, I couldn’t be more proud because there’s no way on God’s green Earth that I could pick up a bat and hit .294 in Triple-A,” Wright told the media Thursday. “It’s amazing to think what he did having sat out of baseball two or three years.”
In 38 games in the Pacific Coast League as a member of the Salt Lake City Bees, the 38-year-old slashed .295/.379/.362 with one home run, seven doubles and 25 RBI.
Wright admitted that when he first found out Murphy was returning to baseball he didn’t know what to think of it. He even giggled at the thought, but he was happy that his friend proved him wrong.
“I didn’t think he would have success and he proved me and a lot of other people wrong when he went out there and played really really well,” Wright explained. “And that shows the kind of player he is, the kind of work ethic he has to go and compete with kids who are 15 years younger than him. And not only compete but excel was pretty impressive. But as a friend, a former teammate, I couldn’t be more proud and I’m very happy for him.”
While Murphy did not make it back to the big leagues before calling it a career, his impact on the Mets organization will never be forgotten.
Murphy played 903 games with the Mets and had a .288 batting average to go along with 62 home runs, 228 doubles, 20 triples, 402 RBI and a .755 OPS spanning seven seasons from 2008-2015. He also had that memorable run in the 2015 postseason when he hit seven home runs in 14 games, including a postseason record six bombs in six consecutive games against the Dodgers and Cubs to lift the Mets to the World Series.
The infielder was rightfully named the NLCS MVP after the Mets swept the Cubs in four games.
“He’s really one of the more underrated players not just with the Mets but in baseball,” Wright said.
