SCOTTSADALE, Ariz. — Catcher Tom Murphy is ripped like a boxer and carries himself like a U.S. Marine. So it’s unlikely he will take batting practice in the buff to loosen up his teammates, something a Colorado Rockies coach once did.
But Murphy will do just about anything else he can think of to help the Rockies.
“Tom’s eager to learn and eager to get to know this pitching staff,” catchers coach Mike Redmond said Monday. “But that takes time, and this spring is a great opportunity for him to make a big impact on this ballclub. He’s got the toughness and the skill set. We think he’s ready to take that next step.”
Just don’t expect Murphy, 25, to strut into an indoor batting cage wearing nothing but his shoes, socks and batting gloves to stop a losing streak. That was a stunt Redmond pulled off as a catcher for the Marlins in May 2003. The Marlins promptly stopped a losing streak and won six games in a row.
With their uniforms on, Redmond and Murphy are built from the same cloth. They are hard-nosed competitors with a love for the nitty-gritty of catching. Redmond’s job is to continue molding Murphy, the prospect, into an impact big-league player. But make no mistake: Murphy believes he belongs.
“I’ve learned that I can play at this level, and should play at this level,” he said. “That type of confidence coming in here will make for a better spring training and a better (regular) season.”
According to new Rockies manager Bud Black, Murphy and Tony Wolters, 24, will start the season with “shared duties” behind the plate.
“With where they’re at in their careers, it’s not realistic to think that either one of those guys is a 130-game catcher, even though I’m sure if you ask both of them, it’s ‘Yes, that’s what I want to do,’ ” Black said. “And I don’t want to take anything away from Dustin (Garneau) or any of these other fellows. But overall, we’re happy with the talent level of either of these two guys.”
Murphy played in only 32 big-league games the past two seasons, so he still needs to prove himself. He has shown power, hitting .266 with eight home runs, 22 RBIs and a .949 OPS over 79 at-bats. But he also has struck out in 33 percent of his at-bats, and that won’t cut it.
Murphy’s goal behind the plate is to catch “cleaner” games and develop a fluid working relationship with the Rockies’ pitchers. Right-hander Jon Gray saw significant improvement in Murphy from September 2015 to last September, when Murphy received a second call-up.
“What I’ve seen is that Tom is very mature for his age,” Gray said. “He always has a plan and he always goes into a game knowing what to do.”
Black is encouraged by what he has seen from Murphy in the first week of spring training.
“Tom’s made a of strides the last couple of years, defensively,” Black said. ‘He’s going to work really hard this camp on the real technical aspects of receiving, blocking and throwing. … He’s improving to the point where I think he will feel comfortable handling the pitching staff from the defensive side.”
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