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Washington Nationals Who Made The 2016 Naughty Or Nice List?

By Ricky Keeler

Apr 22, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker (12) stands in the dugout during the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 22, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker (12) stands in the dugout during the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals
May 9, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy (20) reacts after hitting a two run homer against the Detroit Tigers during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Daniel Murphy

As I mentioned earlier, Murphy reportedly reached a three year deal with the Washington Nationals last Christmas Eve, but the deal ended up being finalized after the holiday season. Murphy was viewed as a plan B after Brandon Phillips wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause to come to Washington D.C.

While Murphy wasn’t atop the Washington Nationals wish list, but he still found a way to make the fans and the organization extremely happy. During the regular season, Murphy had a slash line of .347/.390/.595 with 25 home runs and 104 RBI’s (both career-high’s).

Murphy ended up losing the batting title to Rockies second baseman D.J. LeMahieu because he missed some of the month of September due to a buttocks injury. He ended up finishing second in the MVP vote to Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, but he did win the National League Most Outstanding Player Award by the players.

At times last season, Murphy had to carry the Nats offense, which no one ever expected. Once the playoffs started, he showed no rust after missing time because of the injury. He went 7-for-16 in the playoffs (all seven hits were singles) and drove in six runs, including three in a Game 2 win at home.

Murphy’s expectations will be high in 2017 as one of the center pieces of this Washington Nationals offense. It is safe to say going into next season that he is on the nice list because of all the contributions he gave to the Nats this past season. Without him, who knows where this team would be right now.

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