WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Ex-Met Daniel Murphy is a hitting guru. He also knows power. After all, he did hit home runs in six straight postseason games in 2015, an MLB record.
Considering all that, this is what the Nationals second baseman told The Post on Friday at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches about Mets minor leaguer Tim Tebow after working out with Tebow this offseason in Jacksonville.
“The power is real,’’ Murphy said. “It’s real. I’ve seen it.
“What I’m excited about is that Tim just needs at-bats, he needs plate appearances because what he has physically he just doesn’t have that library of experience to pull from right now. Each at-bat, each week, each month he’s able to play and go back and pull from the library: ‘OK, I remember in this situation …’ That is what he needs, experience.’’
Murphy dug deeper.
“Every time you see a big league hitter step out and try to work through an at-bat,’’ Murphy said, “we are always pulling from these experiences that we’ve had all around us. Tim just needs that experience, so I’m excited to see what he can do with 500-600 at-bats.’’
There’s more. There is Tebow’s will.
“He’s always going to compete, and now that I’ve spent some time with him I can see that,’’ Murphy said. “He’s going to play 140 games and the willingness to engage the fire and compete on a daily basis is a big deal in our profession.’’
You need talent to hit, but you also need strength of spirit.
“Tim is awesome,’’ said Murphy, who hit .347 last season, his first year with the Nats. “Because there is nothing that he thinks he can’t do basically. To come into contact with a person like that, it’s really quite inspiring dealing with him. He doesn’t think there is anything that can’t be accomplished.
“There were a handful of times where I was like ‘Tim, I’m not sure if this is gonna …’ and he was like, ‘No, I can do this.’ It was pretty wild to work with him.’’
Tebow inspired Murphy during their workouts. That’s what Tim Tebow does. That’s what he did as a quarterback at Florida, where he won a two national titles and a Heisman trophy.
That was football. This is baseball. Jokes will be made about Tebow’s dream, but Murphy is convinced Tebow will make it interesting.
Tebow, 29, can be such an inspiring person and that is one reason the Mets have no problems with him being around their younger players when he comes to minor league camp.
Manager Terry Collins said that last month. He wants Tebow to be around his major league players on occasion, too, just so they can see how he goes about his business. That’s why he will play in a game at Tradition Field.
Sure, he will sell tickets.
“The man is a legend in Florida,’’ Collins said. “And he is so stinkin’ positive. There is no downside to having him around the team.’’
There was no downside to Murphy and his brother, Jonathan, a former pro player and now a coach, spending time in Jacksonville working with Tebow.
“It was fun,’’ Murphy said.
In the Arizona Fall League, Tebow got Murphy’s number from his manager, Tom Goodwin, who is the Mets first base coach. Tebow called and the hitting party started.
Tebow will arrive in Port St. Lucie a week from Sunday and will have his Mets press conference the next morning.
Showtime.
Murphy said he also was impressed with how “well Tim takes care of himself,’’ he said.
“Physically that should help him with the baseball grind,” he said. “I’ve seen him eat, I went over to his house. It’s chicken, avocados, the Bulletproof coffee, which I am doing now. And he’s strict about it.
“He stopped by our house after Thanksgiving and there were deviled eggs out and he said, ‘If I were to eat something, it would be that, but I’m not going to do that.’ ”
It’s going to take discipline, will and talent for Tebow to progress in baseball. Daniel Murphy knows Tebow the long shot will give it his best shot.
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