During Murphy's tenure with the Mets, he was asked to play multiple positions but possibly never spent enough time in one to perfect his defensive abilities. Coming up as a third baseman, the hot corner was unavailable to him due to All Star and Gold Glove Award Winner David Wright. This sent Murph to have stints in left field, first base, and finally settling at second. By never having solid ground under him long enough to establish his footing and elevate his defensive skill set, Murphy made his fair share of mistakes in the field but also demonstrated some flashes of incredible athleticism. Daniel Murphy is not unfamiliar with the highlight reel (as shown in the clips below), but does that make up for all of the double plays not turned, the errors made, and the runs that scored because Murphy couldn't make the routine play?
Daniel Murphy's value was attributed more to his ability at the plate rather than in the field. His value was no more apparent than during his historic 2015 playoff run. In 14 games, Murphy tallied 13 runs, 19 hits, 2 doubles, 7 home-runs, 11 RBI, 6 walks, 1 stolen base, .328 avg, .391 OBP, .724 SLG, and 1.115 OPS. Daniel Murphy's playoff run can be argued as one of the greatest of all time. He was also the first player of all time to homer in six straight postseason games and the first player since Hall Of Famer Lou Gerhig to have a hit, score a run, and have an RBI in seven consecutive postseason games. Daniel Murphy may have single-handedly carried the New York Mets through the playoffs and into the World Series while winning the honors of NLCS MVP. Just as the world thought this Cinderella fairy tale story could only end one way- with the Mets hoisting up the World Series Championship, Daniel Murphy made a costly error in the 8th inning of game 4 which led to another defeat.
Daniel Murphy became a free agent at season's end after rejecting the qualifying offer that was extended by the Mets- thus leaving a gaping hole at second base.
Mets' General Manager Sandy Alderson pulled off some of his "Maverick Magic" sending pitcher Jon Niese over to the Pittsburgh Pirates for second baseman Neil Walker. Niese was essentially a man without a rotation spot with four out of five spots securely locked up by Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, and Matz while the fifth spot would be eventually filled by returning injured star Zack Wheeler. The trade was filling an obvious need for the team and extinguishing a log jam in the starting rotation and dealing from excess.
Walker who is a converted catcher, also spent some time playing different positions such as third base and even the outfield before settling in at second. Neil Walker, however, was able to hone his defensive prowess due to all of his hard work and duedilligence without being moved elsewhere. Walker is not just known for his defensive skill set, he won the Silver Slugger Award in 2014 after a year when he batted .271 avg, .342 OBP, .467 SLG, .809 OPS, 74 runs, 139 hits, 25 doubles, 3 triples, 23 home-runs, 76 RBI, 2 SB, and 45 BB. Walker also finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2010, behind names like Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, and Starlin Castro. Such accolades to accompany his defensive abilities make him more than a sufficient suitor to takeover the position left by Murphy.
Below is a side by side career snapshot of Murphy and Walker:
Walker Murphy
Age 30 30
Avg .272 .288
Hits 833 967
Runs 405 422
Doubles 174 228
Triples 17 20
HRs 93 62
RBI 418 402
SB 26 57
BB 278 218
OBP .338 .331
SLG .431 .424
OPS .769 .755
Putouts 1542 2438
Assists 2251 1559
Errors 43 86
Double-Plays 525 432
Fielding % .989 .979
Strikeouts 593 440
As the comparison shows, Daniel Murphy has the edge in most hitting categories while demonstrating the speed and ability to steal more bases than Neil Walker. The lead in the long ball department goes to Walker as he has proven to have more pop in his bat than Murphy. While Daniel Murphy doesn't show the patience to draw the amount of walks as Neil Walker, he has proven to be a much harder batter to strike out. At first glance the fielding percentages are closer than one would think. Taking a deeper look at the statistics though, Murphy has committed twice as many errors as Walker, dished out over a thousand less assists, and contributed to almost 100 less double plays. Yes, some of these stats may be skewed a bit due to the positions Murphy played (LF/1B) while Walker has spent the majority of his major league career between 2B/3B. While the offensive numbers are close, clearly the defensive side weighs in favor of Walker.
Daniel Murphy and Neil Walker comparisons will continue to be made all season as Murph's season develops in rival DC and Walker's inaugural season commences in Queens. It will be hard for Walker to win the crowd over as not only was Murphy a fan favorite, but also fresh in the minds of fans was his playoff performance: at least offensively. Maybe after the first few games against the Washington Nationals when Daniel Murphy comes through in the clutch for a National win or muffs a play in the field will help to change his favor. Walker just has to play his game of baseball: saving runs, getting pitchers out of jams all the while adding some offense.This will lead to winning more ball games and potentially getting back to the playoffs and beyond which is all the Orange and Blue Mets' Nation truly wants. No matter how Neil Walker produces for the Mets in 2016, the fans may not have time to grow an attachment to him because as always, there is a young prospect waiting in the wings, knocking on that second base door...
Pictured above is second base prospect Dilson Herrera
