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As we entered into the Fall Classic, no one seemed more ready than NLCS MVP Daniel Murphy. With his free agency looming at the end of the series, he looked more poised for a superstar contract with every at bat. After sailing through CY Young hopefuls Greinke, Kershaw and Arrieta, the Royals rotation seemed like an easy task for Murphy.

He had been playing tremendous baseball entering the World Series, coming off a Cubs sweep with a .529 batting average and slugging 1.294. Despite playing on a Mets team with an ace-studded rotation, he had solidified himself as arguably the most clutch and dependable player for the NL champs.

Then came the Royals.

Murphy’s production quickly came to a halt, batting just .150, and slugging the same. Playing against a righty-dominated rotation, which was called out as the Royals’ weakness, he surprisingly had only one hit against Volquez, and another two versus the stellar Kansas bullpen.

Learning from the previous series, the Royals arms pitched away from Murphy’s sweet spot, where he found the majority of his hits. Instead, by trending pitches inside, and even walking him 5 times, ensured no chance for his bat to wake up. This was especially true against Johnny Cueto, where 12/22 pitches were balls for 2 walks in Cueto’s stellar game 2. Unfortunately to the Mets’ frustration, Kansas knew the ability the MVP had, and refused to give him a chance to show his worth.

With a reduced number of two and four seams fastballs pitched, Murphy was forced to find success against the off-speed changeup. Historically an unproductive pitch for Murphy, Kansas exploited that history by throwing over 20% of pitches as changeups to him. Most of these pitches resulted in balls, but the second baseman managed to hit two of them for singles. In addition to the tapered offense, Murphy’s defense was questioned after two errors, a tie for most in the World Series.

Aside from the stats, we can all ask about the intangibles. Did the long post-sweep break affect him? Was it lack of playoff experience? Were the Royals simply on a mission to win? Of course we’ll never be able to answer, but the stats show that the Royals knew how to handle him.

Despite any struggles in the World Series, there is no doubt that Daniel Murphy is a big reason for the Mets’ postseason run. In the off-season, the Mets may be looking to replicate the Kansas model by playing the market and tightening up the infield defensive. For the long-time Met, we’ll have to see what free agency brings, but it’s certain he would be an asset to any team.

1. “Baseball Reference.” Baseball-Reference.com, Baseball Reference, n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2015

NOTE: All statistics accurate as of 11/08/15

By Zubin Forbes
AriBall.com

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