But somehow, this happened. Somehow, he has done this. And he has no better explanation for it than anyone else on this planet.
Over and over Wednesday night, America’s most inquisitive media minds asked him to lay it out for us. Over and over, Murphy had the same answer: “I can’t explain it.”
“I’m excited to be able to do something to help us win ballgames,” he said, after accepting his NLCS MVP trophy. “But I can’t explain it.”
There is an explanation, though. Murphy’s hitting coaches, Kevin Long and Pat Roessler, pointed out to him earlier this year how much different his numbers look when he pulls the ball compared to when he just tries to put the ball in play. Then they began working on a way for him to drive the ball to right more regularly than he had for most of his career. Well, voila. You might say it has worked.
“Look at his OPS when he pulls the ball (1.005 this year), and it’s way better than when he hits the ball the other way (.587),” Roessler said. “His miss rate is only like eight percent. I mean, his miss rate is ridiculously low. So if you’re going to swing, you might as well swing for damage, because you can always put the ball in play and flip one to left field.
“Beyond that, he’s got this mentality: Just win the next pitch, win the next pitch, win the next pitch. And he has taken that to a new level.”