Daniel Murphy and Terry Collins together again on episode 5 of The Terry Collins Show! #mets

Welcome to episode 5 of The Terry Collins Show. The weekly podcast covering all things NEW YORK METS.

On this episode Terry and co-host John Arezzi recap the Mets up and down April. They compare the walk off HR by Mark Vientos this week to the Wilmer Flores walk off in July of 2015. Plus – Carlos Mendoza proving to be a real players manager, the reasons the Mets must re-sign Pete Alonso and much more.

On Talkin with TC – Terry brings on one of his favorite players – Daniel Murphy. Murphy and his skipper share stories and answers from the fans.

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Host: Terry Collins

Co-Host: John Arezzi

Creative Director: Marsh

Executive Producers: Mark Milliere and John Arezzi

Copyright 2024: The Terry Collins Show

[Music] hey dun Met fans and welcome to another edition of the Terry Collins show I’m John Ari and joining me direct from Port St Lucy Florida the former Skipper of the New York Mets and analyst for sny’s baseball night in New York and the man this show is named for Terry Collins Terry how you doing I’m great great John how are you today uh doing very well uh we have another good one this week uh the hits just keep on coming uh today’s guest that you’re bringing on talking with TC none other than Daniel Murphy yeah you’re gonna love him you’re gonna love him this guy is a baseball player from the from the get-go watches the game intently studied the game was never out of any any pitch during the ball game you mean you know you you figure over a number of times a lot of time you know a lot of guys would come in off having a bat they want to go in to see the video what their swing was like you know they spit send time in there Dan Murphy was on the bench he was on the bench supporting his team you know he could always watch those at bats at when the game was over so great teammate from obviously you know maybe the best postseason performance of anybody I’ve ever seen and I will tell you what you know that that five days or six days off before we had to get to the World Series I think cool Dan off a little bit but he was I have never seen anybody perform on on the level he did during that playoff series he was on fire and we look forward to talking to him shortly right on the talking with TC segment but let’s get uh to the Mets it was an eventful weekend for them uh they went out to the West Coast they they did fairly well came back a 500 lost a couple games to St Louis opening up this series uh but it was an eventful weekend on on on on a few different fronts and I I want to get to Sunday’s game first and I want to talk about uh the pitcher Jose Quintana the first met starting pitcher this season to go deep into the game uh completed the seventh inning he’s in the eighth inning he gets the first couple of outs and then Here Comes Carlos mendosa and you could see Quintana saying you know stay where you are uh but uh mendosa comes out and doesn’t make the change he allows uh Quintana to finish the inning of course Quintana strikes out the last batter uh one two three uh completes the eighth um I thought it was great to see both um Jose wanting to stay in that game and the skipper allowing him to do so what’s your thoughts on what happened there well I totally support it I think it’s you know one of the things as a manager you’ve got to do to create that those relationships with some of your players you know I obviously there are some that I did are that are famous in New York but you know that is a situation that hey he said look I’m okay I’ve still got it you know this is my game this is my hitter I’m gonna finish this inning and you have got to let you’ve got to let those guys in my opinion show you that they can do it and then at the same token when you do let them stay in the game that bond that you have with this guy is you know is solid and now the next time that maybe happens you may walk out and you’re pretty sure that you want take him out and you know he may say hey look I’m okay again you’re going to say you know what this is my call now and you’re coming out and he’ll and he he’ll understand because you gave him that opportunity to stay in the game and and I think it’s a huge move and I think it was great for Carlos yeah I totally agree it was great to see it happen it doesn’t happen enough I think but it was great to see that Synergy between manager player he got the job done and it was it was wonderful to see uh a couple other things that happened over the weekend uh JD Martinez made his debut uh he got two hits including a double on his debut night on Friday uh uh and he went three for n over the weekend so what does it mean for the Mets now to get this guy in the lineup finally and how does it boost the team as a whole having a guy like JD with him well you know we we’ve been talking John for a lot and you and I talked before we even started these podcasts about the importance of you know this the the development of your lineup and the construction of your lineup and we said in you and I talked in spring training about the importance of having somebody protect Pete Alonzo I mean and we saw it yet we saw it basically in Sunday’s game you know where they walk Pete with you know that go-ahead run a second base well you get an offensive player like JD Martinez hitting behind Pete Alonzo who also is a 100 RBI guy it changes everything dramatically it may be a situation where you know JD’s hot and Pete’s you know in one of those funks where they’re going to say who do we want to face we want to face pet or we want to face JD and so I I just think it really makes the lineup solidified and I I think he’s going to be a huge addition you know what it’s going to take him a little few more bats to really get in the groove of being back in the big leagues but he’s a great pickup and he’s going to do he’s going to be a big help as the season moves along yeah his professionalism just his demeanor his uh his presence you know there’s there’s a there’s a guy in there now that is a stud and then can can come and deliver and he will be delivering this year so it was great to see him in uniform finally and you got to give accolades to Pete Alonzo he hit his 200th career home run uh also and now uh uh eight home runs already for Alonzo in the month of April so he’s on Pace to have another great season and is it wise for the Mets to go against everything that has been said publicly and maybe try to lock them up instead of playing this Russian roulette game they are playing with them right now for a guy that means so much to the city of New York and so much to the fans of the New York Mets yeah you know John that’s a great response but let me tell you something the guy that is taking care of Pete’s uh contracts and stuff he can let that happen I’m telling you this is not this is not what Scott Boris does so all Pete’s going to do is go out and have another big year and you know what all we can hope for is that we’re going to watch him hit his 400th home run in Mets uniform so so you know we’ve got to just be patient it’s going to play out the way it plays out but uh you know I’m I’m very excited for him he’s a you know he loves to be in New York and he’s become a you know we all knew he was going to be a star player we knew he was going to hit and hit for power but he’s become a great teammate also and that’s going to make a big difference yes I believe so and uh I I had to bring something up because you were in The Dugout obviously the entire 2015 season and for many many years Vientos was called up uh this weekend Starling Marte had to go on the bereavement uh list uh he’ll be coming back in a couple of days and uh we certainly wish him well and everything uh that that caused this and vantos is back with the Mets after great spring training he expected to be part of the team and it didn’t happen they got JD uh Vientos was kind of the odd man out and he goes into Triple A to Syracuse and he starts raking in the minors and then he gets called up this weekend and and what does he do I mean he goes three for four uh this weekend and he hit uh what a lot of people are saying is one of the most exciting walk-offs in many many years and when I looked at the walk-off and then I looked back at the Wilma Flores walkoff in 2015 with two young players who obviously want to be part of the organization and with the New York Mets I had to get your take on it so we’re going to play both of those for you uh the first one uh I think we should go to uh maybe we should go to Wilma first in 2015 to see that emotion from him and then we’ll go to uh viento so uh Marsh our engineer producer uh play that Wilma Flores walkoff from July of 2015 count is low Flores drives it deep left center field Tor back near the wall it’s out of here Flores ends it with a home run Wilmer Flores night at City Field comes to a fitting close and the Mets win at two to1 and 12 [Music] two nights ago he thought he was traded in tears on the field he gets his fourth Standing Ovation of the night as he it with a long ball and maybe tears of joy now the trade that wasn’t made might be the biggest hit for the Mets All [Applause] Season amazing Terry that’s got to bring back memories for you right it sure does it’s uh been an incredible moment I mean you just it captivated one of the craziest weeks I’ve ever spent so look at Murphy better guy yeah amazing all right March four uh that was uh 2015 and uh this young man Mark Vientos one of the top prospects for the Mets organization disappointed to be sent down to the minor leas comes up finally gets his chance and in the 11th inning of Sunday’s game this is what happened for the ninth Fly ball center field back goes SE to the warning track back at the wall it’s out of here Mark fos wins the game for New York with a TW run Homer mark fento back in the big leags with a bang a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th and the Mets win it 4-2 [Music] that is a whole lot of picked up frustration leaving the body of Mark Vientos set back to the minor Lees despite a great spring came up yesterday got a hit off the Ben today a base hit his first time up and a two-run hmer to win it in the bottom of the 11th after the Mets have been down to their final strike and the Mets pull one out against the Cardinals with three in the bottom of the 11th CA by Mark Vientos is towering home two strikes on Vientos two strikes on Bader and lior couldn’t put it away you got to feel so good for Mark Vios brought up last year didn’t play quite as much as expected that was amazing to watch and Terry I mean nine years ago Flores and now Vientos do you see a comparison there and what do you think well it’s a little early with you know Wilmer was late in the summer you know huge right we at right after the trading deadline I mean a huge impact for us as we were all of a sudden making that run but here the Mets are who had they’ve had a little bit of a rough week you know even though they played 500 in California they came home they lose two two of the first two games in this series against the Cardinals big home run but it’s a bigger home run for Mark Vientos you know here’s a guy who went to the Min leags and a lot of times John when you get sent back down you’re frustrated you’re upset you’re frustrated and you can get off to a horrible start you know what he went down he said I belong up there and I’m going to show him they made a mistake and he went down and he played great great offensive start he came up and now here’s his opportunity and they you know you’re going to hear Dan Murphy talk about it you know every so often you get opportunities and you got to make the most of them you know anybody could have been in that lineup but Mark fenos was in that spot and you know what he’s come through and it’s going to change everything how he looks at the game his confidence whether or not he can play there the confidence his teammates have his manager has his hitting coach coaches have it’s it’s just a huge home run for him it is and uh in the post game he said it was the best feeling he’s ever had in his life so we congratulate him and now the Mets have a tough decision when Marte gets back from bereavement what are they going to do so uh I guess we’ll have to wait and see yeah those are the those are the fun decisions even though they’re hard they’re fun because you know what you you’ve got to pick two good you have two options and you know sometimes you can’t go wrong yeah well finally uh Terry it’s uh we’re entering May first month of the season’s over uh what’s your evaluation of the New York Mets right now after the first well obviously getting off to an 0 and5 start they’ve battled back and got themselves over 500 you know what we got a long long way to go but they still you know they have battled back they’ve kept themselves in games you know obviously that we got to get you know we got to keep away from the the injuries to our pitching staff um Bullpen stepped up Garrett has been unbelievable uh you know Diaz has been great you know we got a couple injuries just some guys got to get reallyy back and Smith back but you know what again it’s next man up and that’s what you and I’ve talked on you know nobody in baseball feels sorry for you so what you got to do you got to find someone else who could come up and feel those little bitty rolls are those situations where hey we got to get a couple outs here so we can get to the next guy and uh you know I think they’ll find that guy because they went out and and got some depth this past winter yeah yeah so uh coming into May uh we’re we’re hopefully we’ll be hitting a stride uh so we can’t wait to uh keep watching the season unfold it’s given some Medfield some Thrills already especially with the Vientos walkoff and uh I’m sure there’ll be a lot more of those memories coming up uh Terry this week in Mets history April 24th 1962 Mets manager Casey stangle was fined $500 by baseball commissioner Ford Frick for appearing in a Rin gold beer advertisement while wearing a Mets uniform uh and on April 25th 2015 after beating the Braves six to3 the Mets uh tied their franchise record winning 11 games in a row giving them a record of 13 and3 and uh I think you remember that season in 2015 yeah I sure do I sure do and that’s you know again the streaks are great but you know you go back to Casey you know Casey was kind of like the the grandfather of baseball at the time so I’m sure that $500 I’m sure the team end up picking that up for him because that’s a huge advertisement especially in ‘ 62 when they weren’t very good to to have their uniform on TV for an advertising was probably big for everybody yeah that $500 was probably a lot of money back then a lot of money back then yeah you bet did you ever appear in any uh commercials during your ten tenure as mess manager well uh I don’t know if Yeah we actually Joe gerardi and I did a Dunkin Donuts Commercial in New York um you he had one type of coffee I had another and we argued about which was the better and at the end of it Joe said well we’ll find out who’s better on the field next week so kind of a thing but it was a lot of fun and we had full full life-sized posters in Dunkin Donut stores for for two months after we did the commercial very very cool great branding for both the Mets and the Yankees at that time well ter we appreciate it very much and now it’s time for talking with TC and now it’s time for talking with TC in a very special uh segment today our guest this week a beloved member of the New York Mets alumni he had one of the greatest individual postseasons in Major League Baseball history in 2015 when he hit a home run in six consecutive games breaking the record set by Carlos Beltran and became the second person ever following the immortal lug garig to have a hit score a run and an RBI in seven consecutive postseason games that year he broke Mike Pat’s record for most home runs in Mets franchise history in the postseason he was the 2015 NLCS MVP a three-time allar two-time Silver Slugger Award winner and someone who will always have a special place in every Mets Fan’s heart let’s bring on Daniel Murphy Daniel how you doing I’m doing well John thank you uh that was a humbling introduction I appreciate it hey Skip how you doing I murf thanks for coming on and uh you know I was telling these guys when we were trying to pick people to be on I said well one of the guys I’ve got to have on is Dan Murphy and I was telling him the story you know when I first ran into you we uh when I was the field coordinator here we opened up our camp you know in January and and remember you remember when Keith came out and he was going to Keithan and put on a demo or talk about playing first base you you know you were kind you weren’t sure if you were going to be at first or outfield or where where it was going to be and I remember the first thing went after the first day after Keith was talking you came to me and you said hey I want I came here to do some work are we going to do some work are we we going to listen and and I never forgot it never have ever forgot it and then the next that that summer at the of course at the end of spring training you got hurt and I spent when I would come down to St Lucy to go watch the clubs and the rookie club or the a club here who’s always sitting out there watching the game Daniel Murphy who never missed a day rehabing his knee injury and just sit there and watch the game and talked about the game and I said this guy’s a baseball player I’m GNA find a spot on this team for me he’s gonna play for me so thanks for coming on the show we’re really excited to have you on well skip thank you for having me and as you say that like the further I get away from playing the more I appreciate and can say sincerely thank you because to have Advocates like you to basically you know want me on your ball Club even after getting banged up like that like it’s they can give these at bats to anyone in this playing time to anyone and I’m humbled that you you know took me North with you and uh we got to do this together because I remember yeah Mex was down there in Camp that year and like he was talking about first base and he probably got into maybe a couple minutes of it and I thought we’re playing a different game like he just he’s so much better over here than where I am right now and he was just the nuances he was talking about and I was kind of like I I need to start with like tackling this thing securing it and getting it over to the the pitcher who’s covering but he was yeah it was fun to talk to him about that but it gave me a real appreciation that I maybe I came to you and said the work like if I’m going to get nearly in the not even in the class of Keith but to be able to play this position the way he’s talking about I’m going to need to take some ground balls over here and somebody’s going to need to stop start wailing away at me so no I remember that year and again sincerely skip thank you because like well they’re hard at B you know one of the things yeah well first of all we all knew you were going to hit I mean that was one of the first things I heard when I came to the Mets was you know asking about guys in camps and and they all talked about this guy can really hit we just got to find a place for him to play and certainly still looking Skipper still looking oh I will tell you this Dan and I’ll tell that I’ll tell you another I’ll tell these people our fans another story you know when I asked you to go to second base and you never hesitated you said okay and again you started taking ground balls there and every day I used to see it every day we’ walk off the field in spring training and years ago John the batting machines used to have what they called the iron mic which was a you know a long stiff armed batting machine that threw and in the cage Dan used Iron Mike to learn how to transfer the ball make turn in double plays his footwork every day in the cage he would do it so he could get better at second base and he became a darn good second baseman uh you know and of course you know the back played but you know what he I could tell you a hundred times plays he made did save us playing second base and he got really really good out there well thank you I appreciate skip well you remember that day that was in 2011 I that was coming off the year where I had gone to turn a double play in Buffalo and got walloped and didn’t protect myself so I thought rule number one I need to be able to get this thing out of my hands after we secure it out so I don’t get myself killed and I was like well where can I go I was like well stick a quarter in that iron mic machine and I’ll just I’ll just try I can’t get worse you know I already got and so yeah I remember going in there but it worked out perfect because I could change the Cadence of it I can make it a little quicker and so I guess yeah however however bad I still was it wasn’t for lack of effort cuz you know I when I I really learned a lot at second base cuz like you know just the way the game is played like you know the off the offensive team is coming in there and these outs are so precious that I don’t blame anyone for coming in there legally to try to get you and bust this double play up like that’s an extra swing and turn it back that we get and so if I don’t put myself in a position to be protected like that’s on me I know what’s going on around this bag so when we got to camp in 11 I was like I can’t I ain’t getting tackled again you know what I mean that’s just not going to happen yeah and that you know that’s obviously where the game has changed today but you know I I I can attest to the fact you know playing second base years ago man you had to you better get the ball in the air and you better get it headed to first base because they’re going to get you yeah and the more those feet are on the ground the more dangerous it is for that second basem so you know it was a but just to watch you know just to watch Dan again when you’re coming from where I came from and I grew up pretty much most of my time is a development guy and to see a guy who’s a major league player on his you know naturally to switch a position and yet work so hard to say hey look I if I’m G to play here I’m GNA get better at I’m just not going to let my bath carry I’m gonna you know I know there’s two sides of the ball here so I’m going to go out there and I’m going to be a usable guy at second base and I just thought you know I applaud of the fact that you work so hard at it you know on a daily basis well those pitchers are working hard you know what I mean and so well like I watch baseball now and this is just a little funny one but in the big leagues when there’s a routine play hit and like the infielder misplays it I I gasp a little bit I probably give a picture into what I did on defense anyway but like when a ball doesn’t get secured in the big leagues that’s meant to be made an out it kind of startles you a little bit because you can feel like this inning is off schedule now now now this pitcher who’s done his job um I haven’t helped him out now I got to ask him to do something now they do it and they go hard but like when they get outs I wanted I just wanted I wanted those routine plays you know those outs are so valuable and so you know that’s what I tried to do on defense yeah and and you know you know John one of the other things people don’t realize you know I put when David got hurt I moved murf from second here I asked him to go play second base and then a year later David gets hurt and I asked Dan hey look I’m going to put you at third and we didn’t skip we didn’t miss a beat he went over there played his butt off at third base and you know but there were times I’d put him at first played great at first base so you know everybody teases you know once in a while they’ll make a joob about murf’s defense let me tell you something this guy played all over the field and did whatever I asked him to do never complained showed up every day you know and one of the things I always remember was talking to about the general manager one day one day and I said you know I’ll tell you one thing about murf when he comes to the ballpark you know exactly what you’re getting and that’s Max effort and I said I know how he’s going to approach it I know what kind of a teammate is you know a lot of times I was always Dan I was always afraid because you know you were on those umpires pretty good man from that bench you know knew I was petulent child I was always afraid because he would John he backed up every teammate on every at bat he wasn’t one of those guys guys who went out played second got his at bat went in had a cup of coffee when he wasn’t coming up not him he was on the top step watching the game and I’ll tell you what he was a a beloved teammate in that 12s well skip you created that yeah you created that environment though like it was it was easy to just go out there and play hard for you for you know just the the atmosphere that we had in the clubhouse and and also you took the pressure off like it’s you cut the lineup I I just get to go play freely for you and so if it’s at second at first at third wherever it is in the lineup like I always figured that’s not going to help me get base hits and make plays you know what I mean wherever the skipper puts me he he’s trying to do what’s best for us and we’re trying to win games and I’ll go out there and have a bit of fun and play and so yeah John you got questions for Dan oh I got uh some questions for Dan for sure when you’re talking about the versatility and all the different positions uh that you played seamlessly uh Dan was there any one position that you kind of preferred over another or did you just want to play uh for your Skipper and and do whatever he wanted you to do and play wherever he wanted you to play well first both uh but my preference would be first base you get a bigger glove and then also growing up in like when the senior circuit had pitchers hitting like if you’re aggressive you can take some outs from the opposing team if you get up in there on that pitcher and you get if you’re willing to get in there and stick your nose in there on some Bunch you can take the lead Runner out and I’m I love doing that from first base I would just go out there slinging the ball all over the place trying to get a lead Runner so that I would say at first base since it’s defense I had somewhat of the temperament to be defensive but then like my wife Tori she was a pitcher but she’s on defense but she doesn’t Retreat she plays defense on the front foot and on first base it was one of the few places on the diamond that I feel like I could get on the front foot it gave me that giant glove too as well you know what I mean it’s like a big old butterfly net over there and so I would just kind of air it out at first Bas so that was the position I enjoyed the most you were such a beloved player for the Mets organization I mean that 2015 season was so magical in so many different ways and you can never stop watching those highlights and and how uh passionate you were how emotional you were that season will always stand out the postseason incredible what were your greatest memories of that 2015 season that was so magical for everybody in New York I’d say an interesting start to it was cuz I got banged up that year in Arizona and I felt so bad because I think we had had a night game the day before maybe in San Francisco gotten in late to Arizona and I could kind of feel something warming up and I I should have been able to put the governor on it enough to get through the ball game but anyway I ended up getting down the line and I felt something go and I went to to the skipper and I was whispered his ear as I skip I got my quad you know what I mean and so I’m gone now end up being like three weeks but one of the cool things was never being hurt but John nce um and his wife they provided their home in St Lucy and we had just had Noah and so Tori and I kind of got to be this family in a unique way where it was rehab in St Lucy home for the afternoon and kind of get to be dad so by the time I came back I mean I always was but I was like buzzing I think we played the Cubs um when I we first got back and Kyle Hendricks was thrown and we end up winning that ball game so one of the memories I have is I think probably a bit selfishly I had I had more energy maybe later in the year because of this being hurt early in the year and get to spend this time with my family and then the events around um Flo you know in the trade deadline um you know you you talk about just the atmosphere like Wilmer Flores and I in tahada like I met these guys when they’re 16 years old like we’re doing instructs together I’m you know not an old man but coming from college I’m 21 and here we got these guys that come in and so we had done life together throughout the minor leagues like this had been years in the making and to see flow so well obviously emotional but just this this love you felt like he that you knew he had for this organization the only one he knew and then he ends up staying he ends up hitting the Homer and then we get cess who doesn’t get out like the entire rest of the season almost wins the MVP playing on the senior C circuit for two months and then when we get and then so that’s another one and then you know I just remember playing the Nationals and just kind of feeling like we were turning that tide you know David scores in DC and he gives the F fist pump and you’re like oh this feels different you know this feels different even another one skip you remember this when we beat we swept DC at our place on the Sunday night game and then we went down to Miami and that loyer to sleep aquarium they got down there which I I didn’t mind going down there but like you got to like you got to get up for these ball games and Michael conforto went down there and kind of took that series over a little bit for us and it made reminded me of like when the when the when those younger guys come in they’re so hungry and so focused and then from there we you know end up getting into the postseason um one last thing not last thing I remember but heading into the postseason I remember cuz um what the three teams in in the central had 100 wins but they end up being Wild Card teams because they didn’t win their division and I remember people were somewhat up in arms because we we weren’t a wild card team whenn your division you know what I mean so I remember that in Baltimore I hear you you know what I mean uh and then heading into the postseason you know kind of with the playing the Dodgers that was you know Dan every one of the questions I get a lot of times doing this show or I do you know I do some stuff with SNY I I get question of you know how what how’ you feel when all of a sudden you know in 2015 you made the deal for cesp and I said you know it wasn’t just cesp yes when rebay showed up Kelly Johnson you know Addison Reed Tyler Clifford you know my question now is I know how I felt what did it what what impact in the clubhouse you were in there every day what impact did the other guys have when when those kind of deals were being made I’d say first like to answer that first and then I’ll come back to huge impact but do you remember the um meeting you had with us it’s like me Flo Duda Ruben and it was kind of like fellas we got some players coming in some proper major league players and this wouldn’t say this hasn’t been a meritocracy to this point in the years that you’ve been in the big leagues but best man plays now and I was like well it’s uh it’s it’s it’s time to get you know what I mean and so I remember you calling us in there and just putting us on notice not we’re all trying to get to the same place but if you don’t play then you’re going to do it from the bench basically is what I took from it and then when cess comes in he played every day he just stick a quarter in him I remember you tried to give him a day off you’d try every now and then to give him one and he’d tell you no cuz we were Locker mates and I was like my goodness this guy just goes all the time and Addison and clippard were just these stabilizing pieces and players in the bullpen and Kelly and and Juan were so much more professional than I could have ever expected guys that had been through regular seasons number of years been into the postseason and they just each bat that they would take they would they they took it as if they had been there before I mean Kelly Johnson when he hits the the big Homer in DC if I’m not mistaken I think he cracked a big one for us um was at the same game did Kirk new and Heist as well too I don’t know did he I might have dreamed that but right like they were just they were professionals and not say that we weren’t a team of professionals already but they raised the level and of the intent going forward and then also you you couldn’t help but just feel the front office put this seal of we believe in you let’s let’s let’s go like here here is all the help that we can get you go Sprint Sprint through the Finish Line it’s fast as you can and as hard as you can go so that’s that’s what I think of the trade deadline and then now I mean it was the first time we had gone through it at least I have and making additions and it really I would say stayed with me and impacted me at at how important I believe trade deadline Acquisitions are when you’re there like I think it’s massive when you see major league players come into the clubhouse and you’re like okay this this is the no messing about time of the year because we got proper Major Leaguers in here let’s go I wanted to uh follow up with you on the what you brought up some of your greatest memories I ne I will never forget uh Wilma Flores when he hit that game-winning home run you know that night that will be remembered forever it looked like you when you got out when you got out of the Dugout it was like you were walking on air I mean the way you were twisting and turning and the Elation and meeting Wilmer at home plate one of the one of the most indelible memories that I’ll ever have uh as a Mets fan watching a celebration like that so uh that was really really magical and I’m going to segue into something that uh you know that really hurt a lot of Met fans is when you left I mean after the great season you have after the great postseason you have uh does it kind of bother you to this day that the Mets didn’t extend you or give you a multi-year deal to kind of show their appreciation for all the wonderful things you did for the organization especially that year and how beloved you were are from the fans or is it just kind of a business no it doesn’t bother me at all I mean in the sense that I would have enjoyed staying but I didn’t feel that me leaving and going on to another organization ever felt malevolent in its nature like I so I’ve been kind of reading about the dead ball and you know there’s a I was listening to it last night and you know uh Hans lbert I think’s playing for the Pirates but he ends up getting a base hit off of uh one of his best friends that looks like it’s going to cost the Cubs the pinnet in 1908 and hans’s ball Club is out of it and they’re talking as they walk off the field to the clubhouse and Hans is apologizing I would have I would have given up my year’s salary to not get that hit and I forget his friend’s name now I but he says uh it’s all part of the game and it is it’s not malicious in nature um and also at the same time like we got a qualifying offer too like we were we were extended a qualifying offer that um my wife and I and our family with um a and Seth levenson decided that it was in our best interest to decline the qualifying offer in an effort to find a multi-year deal and then as the offseason unfolded you know Sandy and Terry you guys bring in two great players Neil Walker and asral Cabrera it didn’t feel like that was a directed attack at me other than there are two good players available that they that the Mets Acquired and also at the same time I did think it’s going to be difficult for me to find a place to play there and and then you know now I’m looking for a job because that was also a place where there would have been some work and you know we get to around Jesus’s birthday and baseball players want jobs I’m I’m no different than anyone else yeah it was uh it was sad for the metch because we loved you I mean that that was the day to this day and then when in in August uh 2022 you took part uh at the first Mets old-timer game since 1994 and you got such a great reaction being back in the uniform at City Field uh did that give you kind of an itch like maybe I should you know try this again and and that’s when you got signed by the Long Island Ducks did that have any correlation I would say that uh first Steve Cohen and Alex Cohen did a wonderful job I had an absolute blast at the older’s day I didn’t necessarily think it at the time when I went to go play again last year but I would say it would be naive of me to think that going into to New York back to New York and putting on the uniform again didn’t bubble something up within me because it was no more than a couple months later that I kind of went on this adventure of observing and studying the swing but with a a different set of eyeballs and so that was along with playing in the oldtimers game kind of I think spurred me forward and so you know I just started consuming my baseball differently and I started kind of learning that like Ted Williams and Babe Ruth and Willie Mays they didn’t take in and learn baseball the same way I learned baseball they learned BAS in the sand lots unsupervised with the freedom to express and create however they saw fit and that’s not to say there’s not a place for drills you know what I mean because we want to get sharp but we do drills in the Army and they’re children and I think that they would probably prefer to just play and I think that the the guys from the turn of the century through Ted Williams they just moved differently than me and another thing that really spurred my interest in it was how I got injured like I had a knee surgery a micr fracture surgery and I had my knee injuries but to have the joint wear away from swinging fundamentally a stick and throwing a stone seemed like maybe I wasn’t doing it as as properly or as optimally as I could for long-term health and then I go and watch Ted Williams and I’m like oh I don’t swing like him he has a different movement but children get in the same positions that Ted Williams and Babe Ruth do so all this to come together that I was moving just fast enough I felt like to get fired in spring training last season and I couldn’t find a job in Camp with anyone and so Wally gave me a gig up in Long Island and I was like yeah I want to try this stuff out um and really honestly is free play it’s the best way I can describe it um it was it was the first time in a bit that I remember not chasing like in some capacity like the bag you know what I mean finances and so watching kids play and then getting my own opportunity and some of that a lot of that has to do with the blessings that I and my family have received from baseball like I could just go on this summer vacation my wife’s a rock star because it was a massive amount on her we got four kids We snuck another one in on your Skipper who got 18-month-old so there’s four of them now I didn’t know that yeah yeah and so but I really just went and free played the way that you know Noah my oldest son does and extended after school like he just goes in place and so that’s kind of what I did and I’ve really ref fallen in love with baseball it’s so American it it’s our game and it’s really is it’s it’s two heavyweight Fighters going at each other from 60 feet away and then all hell breaks loose and like I love it because you can be like you can overpower it you can play a scientific game like there’s all sorts of games that you can play and I yeah it’s the best you know you know Dan one of the things that amazed me I mean I we all knew you had back to ball skills everybody knew that but before the the playoffs towards the end of 2015 when you went Kevin and Pat got together Kevin long and Pat russler got together um and you altered you you know they brought up the fact hey when you hit the ball in year you do huge damage was it easy for you to say you know what yeah I can do that I you know what I’m just GNA start hitting more fly balls I mean because that’s what it looked like from the side you just say well you know I have the ability to hit the ball so I’m gonna you know what I’m going to change my swing a little bit and I’m going to get the ball in the air more and obviously you know the next four or five years you were an absolute Dynamite you know not just a hitter but a power hit yeah I wouldn’t I wouldn’t ever say that it was easy what I think that Kevin and Pat did was they were so observant and and I had such a great relationship with both of them that when they would come and tell me something I could feel that they were doing it from this investment that they had taken in me and our ball club and everyone else and so scks and and Kong kind of basically sat sat me down and explain me like you have a unique skill it’s accuracy like I don’t swing and miss a lot it’s like okay if you swing at bad balls that’s going to be a problem because you’re going to make very weak contact but if we’ll tighten your Zone up we’re going to scoot up on the plate and now when you go to swing and what Kevin did really and Pat is they took the governor off of me I said pull go pull and so I would equate it to like we were talking about golf a little bit um I think all fair but if I I think of the the Batters box like a t box all right so staying inside the ball and hitting a fade you know what I mean that’s going to be hit not as hard as the draw and I’m going to take on the big carry so now I’m going to move the ball right to left and hit a fade and I got to hit it to the biggest part of the ballpark what Kevin basically said is hit the draw you know what I mean hit the draw and take the shortcut and so I would kind of start looking at I mean if you look at the construction of the field and this is what I really started enjoying when I talk to the like my son’s team is I’ll tell him to pick an outfielder play against your favorite out there’s only three of them out there look at all the space they have to cover I don’t want any of these infielders to catch my baded balls the pitcher either and I got the sneaky sucker behind me trying to take stuff as well too the catcher so you have all this area defended and basically Kevin was like play against the right fielder and the center fielder and then I was accurate and he goes let it eat we’ll sort it out you know what I mean and I was very fortunate in that about one of the first games or two that we did this and we had this talk we faced Jordan Zimmerman in the Sunday night game and Jordan was a better matchup for me because he is a strike thrower and so I’m I’m good against strike throwers if you throw me bad balls I didn’t like to walk much and then because I I like to swing and I’d be accurate but like Jordan he’d meet you right in the zone and I was like oh perfect I’ll try to beat you there if I can and I end up hitting a home run off of them and I was like oof that felt good and it really felt more like this release and this Freedom that I would probably say that I try to give and and teach to kids now it’s like swing as hard as you can swing as throw the biggest punch you have I don’t want to give you a smaller punch for the sake of accuracy let me let’s work on your biggest punch and we’ll make that one more accurate and then the scoreboard will tell you when you need to throw a smaller accurate punch and when you get to throw a big kind of accurate punch and so that’s what I feel like Kevin and Pat allowed me to do and yeah I got some reward for it early and then you just kind of ride the wave you know what I mean that’s what Pat R used to say I’d want to come in and mess with something and he would just be like murf wide the ride the wave just ride the wave and so yeah those those guys made coming into the office fun I mean coming into work in the in the cages it was just great fun we were hunting that’s what Kad used to I mean basically used to explain it like we’re out here hunting you there’s nowhere to breathe if it ain’t if it ain’t CES it’ll be David if it ain’t David it’ll be Duda if it ain’t Duda I’ll sneak up on you you know what it means somebody’s going to get you yeah so John I know the fans have some questions for murf you got them with you oh yeah I certainly do but before we get to them I had one last question for you uh uh Dan um we uh heard you over the spring announcing a couple of games for SNY uh is that something you see yourself doing more of in the future is announcing yeah I I think that I may get asked to do it again and I would I would like to I did enjoy it it was a unique perspective and I was kind of getting used to it from watching it I’m NE I’ve never been that far away from the strike zone but needed to pay very much attention to what’s going on on the field if that makes sense so like like I all of my focus is usually on the strike zone and so because I think it’s just a fight over that real estate I think Sandy Alderson was absolutely right in recognizing this game as a fight over the strike zone it’s the most important real estate in our game and so it did take me a bit of getting used to but to be able to work with Gary and Ron and how graciously they treated me I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction into the industry and so um I didn’t love it when I kind of rewound it and listened to it but I think everybody’s probably that way in some capacity I hope the fans I was able to give them something unique um I was definitely nervous my first time doing it um but I I do look forward to hopefully doing it again it gets easier every time you do it you know rewind every show that we do and I’m like I should have said this better or that better but uh yeah I just I enjoyed it personally to to see in the booth there all right we’ll get to the fans questions we had F uh questions that came in from not only uh Instagram uh and Facebook and X so uh I got a few of them that I’ve picked out here um so the first one really kind of Segways into a a previous question is from Edwin Perez and we got this on the Terry Collins show page on Facebook would murf ever consider coaching or managing in the big leagues I would consider definitely coaching I’ve skip I have so much appreciation for you in the managing I I wouldn’t say that I think I could be a hitting coach right now but I’d have a much better chance of being a hitting coach than I could a manager there’s so many things that that you have authority over and so much responsibility that that a manager takes on that it seems overwhelming thinking about it right now um but the idea of showing up to the ballpark every day and and talking about the opposing pitcher and and and formulating a planet how best to attack him like yes that that sounds like it would be great fun the biggest deterent I would say is is is my wife and children you know being able to be present for them um but it is something that I get my hitting fix by watching my boys and the rest of the the kids they play with but I do I do very much enjoy getting ready for an opposing pitchure we got another one that came in this time from uh X formerly Twitter uh Patty in New York City Patty and NYC uh with your amazing 2015 postseason and then being a runner up for the MVP in 2016 can you compare those two seasons and did you enjoy one more than the other no I would say one more though enjoyed them both in different ways the the one in the the 2015 season in New York really was this crowning not crowning because we didn’t win at all but I think of when I think back of it well we w a pin it I don’t think that pin it well and following John McGraw and the turn of the century those pennants are a big deal so I’m going to I’m gonna hold on to that Skipper we got our pennant um but the the 2015 season just felt like to me this kind of graduation of a core group of players and men that I had come up with like I played winterball with Lucas Duda in what 2008 I think or seven in Hawaii and I’d already mentioned that Wilmer Flores and Ruben tahada were I think we’re in our first instruct Yuri’s familiar like Bobby Parnell I came up with him and n and so and then you know David is waiting for us in the big leagues to to teach us what it looks like to be a professional Major League player and to go out your business so like to just to get that far you know unfortunately not to win the World the World Series but that is so special because of the relationships that had been built going into it and then selfishly from a regular season perspective it was great fun to get that many hits in 2016 for someone who’s looking to get as many hits as they will give you that was fun um and a bit unique in the sense that not that we didn’t enjoy New York it was just different that we purchased a home in Alexandria as our family was grown so it was the first time on a multi-year deal and that’s not to say that like I didn’t appreciate singing for my supper like that’s part of the game you know what I mean you work on one-year deals and then if you are blessed and we were to get a multi-year deal we did and and we’re able to get a home so that was a unique experience in DC but the relationships that my wife and I built in New York over the decade that we were there will stand the test of time that that Run Deep Well we got one more and this one is from Instagram uh and uh super beavers ask uh can you compare the fan bases in the different cios that you played in is there any particular favorite and what city would that be the you can feel the richness in the history of baseball in New York it’s just it’s undeniable and the allean fields are what a couple miles from Queens I mean the the game the game was born there in New York and you can feel it in in DC is probably a bit different in the sense that that’s not the same ball club that was there at the turn of the century they’ve had some you know some team leave and then and then come back and then somewhat adding into the transient sort of nature of the era in in DC and the turnover that happens every couple of years but very passionate fans when they come out you know but just more fans that you would run into that that haven’t always been in Washington Nationals fans because they may have grown up somewhere else but like if you love National League Baseball in New York then then you love National League Baseball in New York like you were born into that so um Chicago I I was there for two months in a pinnet race and the day games there were were unique to do all the time I enjoyed that as well too and then for the fans to come out and then actually I just saw the Chicago heading into New York to open up a series with the Mets and it made me think about um us hooking up with them in 15 and then playing there and then I will say that in Denver finally like they they were a fan base that came speaking of myself personally I didn’t always provide a very good product for them I wasn’t very productive but they still came out uh to watch and so but New York you can feel that that is the capital of baseball in my opinion got it we really appreciate it and uh finally I’m going to throw it back to Terry but you could just see the mutual admiration between the Skipper and the player uh so this relationship this bond that you’ve two developed with each other is very Everlasting so uh it’s it’s wonderful to see you interact with each other and we want to thank you yeah Dan I gotta thank you again for coming on I I just want to tell you you know there’s you watch it sometimes you watch enough movies and TVs and there’s always phrase you know where you know the game needs Dan Murphy Major League Baseball needs Dan Murphy they need the passion they need the baseball players in you uh you know to keep this going and to keep those young players that are coming up today you know they need to be reminded about how special the game is and what it provides and you know and I think you hopefully you stay on the field in some capacity I know I know you’re a tremendous father and you’re gonna you want to see your kids grow and I certainly understand that but when the time is right I hope you get back on the field and provide all of those things that you just got done talking about here for 30 minutes and because it it makes an impact it made an impact on me the first time ever met you and you know and I love baseball so you I think the difference that you can make on some young guys coming up would be huge so good luck and thanks again for being on and I missed I miss having conversations I was this was a great one oh skip I love the ball talk and again I I really cannot thank you so much for the opportunity you provide me and our family like you could have give those reps to anyone and I thank you that you gave us a chance at them I really appreciate it well thank you Dan and thanks for being on today all right skip what an outstanding individual not just hearing his stories about baseball but hearing his stories about his family and uh what a great uh segment with Daniel Murphy I I agree John he’s a special person great human being one of the you know great family men there was and you know he’s got a lot to add he has a lot to bring you know his passion for the game his knowledge of how to play the game correctly and I’m going to tell you nobody played it harder you when preparation and got it ready and I’m telling you he went there don’t let him kid you there were a lot of nights he went out there and he was on he was running on thin air boy he was because he played so hard and we had such passion for it but uh you know it was pretty funny you know he didn’t bring it up but you know in today’s game you know everybody’s worried about nutrition Dan Murphy ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before every game 162 times and now they can’t even have peanut butter in the clubhouse so it’s a tells you that you know the game has changed but Dan Dan’s one of the best yeah he was I thoroughly enjoyed that one and uh Terry now it’s time to get some questions from the fans we got a couple of them uh this week and um here’s one that comes from our Facebook uh fan page this one is from Big Mike from Long Island City field has been named 2024’s best ballpark food by USA today’s reader Choice Terry what is your goto ballpark food hot dogs I mean you can’t go to a ballpark without having a hot dog I don’t think I’ve ever been to a game where I’ve ever eaten food at a game that I didn’t get a hot dog so and I know I’ve heard all about all the great food at City Field you know guys used to send the clubhouse guys up to you know get hamburgers and pieces of pizza and some of the other stuff that’s at the stadium but if I’m going to go to a ball game I’m having a good hot dog yeah yeah exactly I love those vendors at City Field as well and I love those Nathan dogs believe me with some Crut uh and a soda all right next question final question this one comes from Instagram Tommy D from West icela over your career who was the most memorable character you managed in your baseball career wow I’m sure a lot of them but that is yeah most memorable character that I I will tell you one of the guys that we had in New York who was always behind one of the I had two I will tell you there was two cuz I had one in Houston Luis Gonzalez in Houston was one of the best pranksters I’ve ever been around he didn’t let any money get in the way of a good prank I mean he took one of my coach’s cars and to and put all flashing lights on it during a game one night and he came out and got in his car and the lights were flashing and they had blue lights underneath it and they they had like a it was crazy going and then I’ll tell you Justin Turner one of the funloving guys in the clubhouse had a great time he’s the one who you know put all the pies in guys faces all the time and uh there was always something going Justin always had something fun to fun to do with the guys well thank you Terry for that and if you want to ask a question uh for Terry send us an email or respond on social media when we ask for those questions send your email to the Terry Collin show gmail.com and of course you can follow Terry on X and Instagram Terry collins10 and for those of you on Facebook we do have that uh Page open it’s doing really well in the first few weeks so follow Terry there simply at the Terry Collins show and that’s going to wrap it up for this week Terry next week uh we understand uh you have not one but two special guests to talk about the state of pitching in baseball today yeah I I’m gonna bring on two guys John I you know I’ve had all my years in baseball I’ve had some great pitching coaches and I’m bringing on two of them to talk about the situation with pitching uh one is Dave Wallis who’s a longtime pitching coach for the Red Sox the Dodgers uh the Atlanta Brady he ran the Atlanta Braves minor league pitching for a long time uh and another one’s Dan Wharton who was my pitching coach in New York who really was responsible for the you know blossoming of Jake deg gram Noah card Steven matz you know Zack Wheeler Matt Harvey I mean jice Familia and those guy and I want to hear their take on what they feel is the cause of all of these sit all these injuries that are causing that are happening to pitchers today because we didn’t see this years ago and we still had guys to threw hard so I want to we’re I I think it’s going to be a great discussion yeah very timely of course with everything that’s going on in pitching in the big leagues today and even as these kids are being trained uh thank you Terry uh make sure you subscribe now to the Terry Collins show uh we’re wherever you listen to it on your your favorite podcast platform of course the YouTube channel as well uh so it’s uh it’s you could find Terry everywhere and don’t forget subscribe to the show because you will get notified when a new episode airs uh till next week uh when we bring on those great guests that Terry is going to be bringing on a talk about pitching this is Jon resi for Terry Collins let’s go Mets [Music]