Daniel Murphy was hitting .198 in April, after which he turned to hitting coach Kevin Long for advice. Now, it’s paying dividends.
Murphy, who has homered in each of the last six playoff games heading into Game 1 of the World Series, adjusted his batting stance so he could have better balance, he told reporters Sunday at Citi Field. He got his front foot down earlier and was able to move his hands through the zone faster.
“I’ve spent my entire career late to the ball,” Murphy explained. “He had broken down everybody’s swing, I think that was going into spring training. So, when you have somebody in the offseason who has gone through that much film to prepare himself to get to know you to prepare himself for spring training for the season, I feel like you almost have no choice automatically but to just buy in because you know he’s buying in and he’s all-in.”
Murphy used those adjustments and hit .342 in May and June. Then, after the All-Star break, he generated more power, hitting nine home runs and slugging .490 in the second half of the season.
“All the credit goes to Daniel,” Long said, according to NJ.com (Oct. 25, 2015), when asked about Murphy’s turn around. “He stuck with it and truly believed. … He always says it, ‘I’m not hunting for hits anymore, I’m hunting to do damage.’ And there’s a big difference.”
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