Daniel Murphy retires from MLB after 12 seasons

One of the free agents with potential value is now off the board, but not because a signing with a time. In a bit of a surprise move, first baseman Daniel Murphy has retired after 12 Major League seasons.

Although Daniel Murphy hit only .236 in 123 at-bats for the Colorado Rockies last season, Murphy hit .279 with 13 home runs and 78 RBI in 2019 and is only three years removed from his third All-Star appearance.  Murphy, very humbled by his time in the game, indicated that he is “blessed that it let me jump on the ride for a little bit…. It can teach you about so many things. All I can say is, thank you”.

Ironically, after showing power potential in Washington with over 40 doubles and 20 home runs in each of 2016 and 2017 and MVP of the NLCS, Daniel Murphy failed to produce in hitter-friendly Colorado Rockies.  He was somewhat a disappointment considering the Rockies signed him to a $24 million deal. Murphy played 172 games with the Rockies with a modest 16 home runs and 94 RBI. The Colorado Rockies declined the $6 million option on Daniel Murphy for the 2021 season, but even so, he indicated he felt he would retire at the end of last season.  Interestingly enough, Murphy talked about how the nerves felt from his first Major League game, never really went away. The nervousness, however, came from his intense desire to perform well.  Perhaps that is what made Murphy the accomplished professional that he was.

Daniel Murphy hasn’t indicated what he plans to do next in retirement, whether getting into coaching, announcing or some other venue. Whatever it is that Murphy decides to tackle next will get the same professionalism and dedication as his baseball career. Daniel Murphy retires with 1572 hits, 371 doubles, 138 home runs, 735 RBI and a .296 batting average.