DENVER – The Colorado Rockies finally have the catching duo they had hoped for coming into the 2017 season. Tommy Murphy, who saw some time at the MLB level toward the end of 2016, is back after an extended stay on the disabled list following a broken bone in his arm, suffered at spring training.
Murphy made a name for himself with his big power bat, as well he should have, but the strides he has made behind the plate should not go unnoticed. His teammates, the pitchers he has worked with for years, and his manager took the time to talk on the day of his return about the kind of confidence this young catcher can bring.
“Tom worked awful hard on some things that we felt he needed to make some adjustments on,” says Bud Black. “Set up target, footwork, balance, he and Redmond talked more specifically about it. He worked as intense of an everyday program as I have ever seen. I’m very proud of Murph. Good stuff.”
“It’s great to have him back,” Kyle Freeland told BSN Denver. “I know for a while there he was really itching to get back at it. Having him behind the dish — catching me back in Triple-A and the past two spring trainings — is great. We’ve got a connection back there. He’s got a connection with all of our pitchers where he understands how each one of us pitches and how to work with us.”
The pitcher in the current MLB clubhouse (though on the DL at the moment) who Murphy has the most experience catching is Jon Gray who we caught up with between rehab starts. “When you have him back there, you always feel like he’s got an answer for everything right then and there. He gives a certain character back there.”
Murphy famously caught Gray’s 16-strikeout game against the San Diego Padres near the end of last season. “We were locked in,” Gray said of the effort. “He saw what was working with me early and he knew exactly what to go to. That night, we stole a lot of early strikes with the curveball so he knew what was working.”
Freeland adds that it helps that they have all grown together and seen each other make progress for a long time. “It’s a mix of getting each other better as we’re getting ourselves better coming up through the minor leagues to here in the big leagues and having success with that.”
And Murphy’s development is still going strong, even through the injury. BSN Denver asked Murphy about keeping up his routine while he was out. “Yeah,” he responded. “Because it was my right hand, so I was able to do all my receiving drills and footwork and all that stuff. I spent a lot of time in front of a screen too. Studying some of the better catchers in the game and learning the nuances of what they do. That’s gonna help me in the long run. I’ve been watching [Rockies] games as much as I could. Just to make sure I’m still on the same page with the pitchers. That’s always a process, though, and an always changing one.”
It was clear that Murphy was ecstatic to return. Even though it didn’t need to be given voice, it was by both player and manager.
“I talked to Murph earlier,” Black said during the pre-game scrum. “I brought him into my office. He’s ready, he’s excited. It’s been a long process. A little bit longer than we anticipated. That was a unique break from what I was told medically. He feels good physically and mentally about coming back and joining the group and I know that he’s gonna make some contributions. For sure.”
“It’s definitely more exciting,” Murphy says about joining a first-place team. “It’s almost like an opening day. I want to do anything I can do to help win the division.” Eyes on the prize.
As far as the prodigious offense, his longtime battery-mates are excited for that as well.
“The power is ridiculous,” says Gray. “That’s the thing I remember about that big game last year, he hit two home runs in that game, one oppo and one down the tunnel. It’ll be good to see him in the lineup again.”
“Oh yeah,” added Freeland. “Last year when I got to Triple-A I saw him struggling, but right after he got off the DL he went on a tear and he just didn’t stop. It was incredible. Every time he stepped in the box he was getting a knock or a home run or something. Him in the box is a scary thing.”
He inspires fear from the batter’s box and confidence from behind the plate. The Colorado Rockies have added a very real weapon to an already dangerous arsenal of ballplayers that can hurt you in a multitude of ways.
