Mariners’ trust ‘means the world’ to catcher Tom Murphy

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Tom Murphy has a new idea for a workout — yoga with heavy metal music blasting in the background.

“It could work,” he said one day early in spring training.

After taking command of the sound system in the Mariners expansive weight room in Arizona for his lifting day, the loud guitar riffs and banging drums can be heard everywhere in the complex. While teammates pushed hard on their headphones to hear their nonmetal music, Murphy was playing air guitar and drums in between sets of lifts, nodding his head and attacking his workout.

A day later, as soothing instrumental music with nature sounds fills the weight room, Murphy was in the downward dog position in the front row of the twice-a-week yoga session that he never misses. Flexibility is important when you lift with the intensity that Murphy does on other days.

But …

“It would be much better with metal playing in the background,” he said.

The first player to the complex most mornings, usually no later than 5:15 a.m. and just ahead of fellow catcher Cal Raleigh, Murphy has displayed a kid’s enthusiasm about wanting to get to the ballpark as soon as possible.

Of course with the length of catcher’s day, he also needs to be there early so he can get through the stretching, lifting, cage work and other details of his personal preparation routine that run secondary to the requirements of the pitchers and the team.

But after missing most of last season due to shoulder surgery, the long work-filled days don’t feel like such a drag. In fact, his level of energy that he brings to each moment of the day has earned him the label of “happiest guy in camp.”

He’s finally healthy. He’s still with the organization that gave him his first real chance at the big leagues. And he’s surrounded by teammates, many of whom have grown into something more than just friends, and share his work ethic and desire for team success.

“Extremely happy,” Murphy said. “You don’t know whether or not you’re going to be brought back in that situation. You see it all the time with teams, players get injured and they’re gone. For this organization to be able to trust in the fact that I can be healthy and be ready to go this year, it means the world to me. And I’m going take advantage of every part of it.”

Perhaps Murphy should’ve understood his place in the organization when the Mariners asked him to drive up from his home in upstate New York and meet the team in Toronto for the American League Wild Card series — the organization’s first postseason games since 2001.

After suffering a dislocated left shoulder on a play at the plate on May 6 and multiple unsuccessful attempts to rehab it back to full strength, Murphy underwent season-ending surgery in late June. He had played in just 14 games.

But the Mariners felt that Murphy had played a larger role beyond the 2022 season which was beneficial to the accomplishment. He deserved to be there.

“Murph has been a big part of this,” manager Scott Servais said. “As we went through the rebuild and kind of the shift in culture, Murph’s always been a believer in what we do and how we do it. For him not to be a part of it, throughout the majority of the season last year, it’s hard. It’s hard to sit on the sidelines.”

Murphy loved being a part of it with his teammates, experiencing the intensity and the emotion. But it also felt a little hollow. He wasn’t playing, and he ached for the feeling of playing in a postseason game. It inspired him during offseason workouts.

“I want to be a part of it this healthy,” he said. “Coming into this season, that’s 100% of my motivation to be there at the end and healthy.”

Asked about Murphy, Servais poked a little fun at the veteran catcher, who is pound-for-pound one of the strongest players in the organization, if not the strongest.

“The first thing you notice about Murph is that he’s ordered smaller T-shirts,” Servais said with a chuckle. “I think he did nothing but bicep curls somewhere in a barn. He’s in great shape and he looks great.”

Servais can’t help but notice Murphy’s enthusiasm.

“Just from his demeanor, he is happy to be out playing again,” he said. “Credit to him for working as hard as he has to get back into good shape. We all know he brings a presence to our clubhouse.”

The Mariners believe in Murphy’s ability, value his leadership and recognize that he was a perfect partner for Cal Raleigh in their catching tandem.

“I love our catching setup,” Servais said. “I think the two guys complement each other very well not just on the field, but in the clubhouse. Their personalities a little bit different. They’ve got some experience now, they know our pitchers very well and they work well together.”

Obviously, Raleigh is the primary catcher and will see more playing time. But Murphy has proved to be a quality hitter against left-handed pitching and a catcher whom the pitching staff trusts in terms of preparation, game-calling and commitment to success.

“I don’t think it’s a ‘I want to play 140 games, screw you, if I don’t,’” Servais said. “It’s what’s best for the team. In today’s game, a starting catcher is going to start maybe 100-110 games if you are lucky with the schedule and the travel. And I’m not going to run Cal into the ground.”

Murphy offered a glimpse of what he can be for the Mariners in Friday’s Cactus League victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hitless in his first three games played — a total of eight at-bats — he hustled out a pair of infield singles, later scoring runs on each of them. In his third at-bat, he lifted a towering fly ball to left field that landed on the berm for a solo homer.

“It’s nice to go out there and feel like you accomplished something again after a year without baseball,” he said.

While most players struggle to get back into game rhythm during spring, Murphy’s last game was in May. The Mariners are trying to play him a lot early in camp while keeping him healthy.

“Even if I was still playing, it would feel difficult,” he joked. “Baseball is always a game that I have to keep up with my work on and try my hardest every single day because it doesn’t come as natural for me as some others might experience. It definitely feels weird, but it’s getting closer and closer.”

It’s another reason to get happy.

After missing all of the shortened 2020 season with an injury and the frustration of last season, Murphy has gained a perspective about finite aspect of a baseball career.

“With age, you kind of realize that you probably don’t have that many baseball days left,” he said. “I’m just trying to enjoy the hell out of it for sure.”