Nats: Remembering Daniel Murphy for his first year, not his last

Daniel Murphy has announced his retirement and Nationals fans should remember him for how he started, not how he left.

A hot hitting postseason of 2015, during which Daniel Murphy carried the New York Mets to the World Series, earned the second baseman a 3 YR/$37.5M deal with the Washington Nationals the following year.

Murphy paid dividends immediately. During his first year with the team all Murphy did was hit. He hit for power, he hit for average, he hit with runners on base, he hit with the bases empty. Daniel Murphy hit.

He set career highs in home runs, runs batted in, batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, and doubles, leading the league in the latter three categories. For his troubles Murphy earned a trip to the All-Star Game, a Silver Slugger Award, and finished second in the National League Most Valuable Player vote.

Murphy was the driving force behind the Nationals team who won 95 games and the NL East. In the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Murphy hit .438, and led the team in hits and RBIs. Yes, the season ended in disappointment for the Nationals, as they lost to the Dodgers, though statistically speaking the season was a huge success for Murphy.

As Daniel Murphy announces his retirement for the game he played for twelve seasons, Nationals fans should recall his 2016 season before anything else.

Even though there was a first round exit from the playoffs, the way Murphy burst onto the scene in DC made fans feel like the World Series was in grasp, regardless of whether they’d won a postseason series to that point or not.

Coming off a second straight All-Star appearance, and second straight crushing defeat in the NLDS, Murphy entered the final year of his contract looking to lead the Nationals deeper in the playoffs.

However, offseason micro-fracture surgery on his right knee limited Murphy. Not in his abilities, but in his time spent on the field. As the Nationals struggled to get going, Murphy struggled to get and then stay on the field. His bum knee hampered the drive in his stroke, and while he continued to hit, he no longer hit for power.

Murphy hit .300, though was only able to get on the field for 56 games with the Nationals. Not knowing whether to buy or sell at the deadline, the Nationals did neither. Falling further out of the playoff race and wanting to get something for Murphy, the Nats shipped him to the Chicago Cubs for minor league infielder, Andruw Monasterio.

As we tip our cap to a great ballplayer and wish him well in his future endeavors; we as Nationals fans need to remember the smooth stroking, left-handed gap hitter from his first year, and not the powerless player on a bad knee, who was sent packing in his walk year.