No, Daniel Murphy Is Not on Steroids
The Mets postseason hero is hitting homers like Barry Bonds, but there’s no chance he’s juicing.
Daniel Murphy’s postseason performance is beyond explanation. Don’t even try.
The Mets second baseman is a 30-year-old contact hitter who’s averaged one home run every 54 at bats in his seven-year career. In the past two weeks he’s hit seven homers in 38 at-bats. Four of those were off of the elite, Cy Young caliber pitchers. The Johnny Galecki lookalike is playing Barry Bonds. Little surprise then that some fools, in an attempt to comprehend the incomprehensible, have accused Murphy of taking steroids.
Aaaaaaaaaand we just had our first caller to WFAN & @MikeFrancesaNY accusing Daniel Murphy of taking steroids. Gotta love sports talk radio.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) October 22, 2015
@MikeAndMike I question Daniel Murphy's authenticity he is a contact hitter who at 30 averages 9 homers a year…Steroids!!!
— John Petersen (@JohnJPetersen) October 22, 2015
Daniel Murphy is on steroids😠 he only hit 14 home runs during the regular season, no one like him goes on a homerun hitting spree like that
— Advik (@Advik__) October 22, 2015
Seriously someone make Daniel Murphy take a piss test the dude is on steroids
— Clint Andresen (@heyyoclint) October 22, 2015
How remarkably stupid. Anyone who thinks Murphy’s nine-game Babe Ruth impression can be attributed to steroids does not understand the drug or simple logic.
First of all, steroids are good at increasing upper body strength and speeding up recovery after workouts. That’s about it. They don’t help with hand-eye coordination or bat speed. They don’t help with recognizing a slider’s spin or timing a swing on a 98-MPH fastball. That’s not to say that steroids haven’t helped baseball players in the past, but they did so by turning them from Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk.
Take a look at Daniel Murphy. Physically, he’s as intimidating as a peanut vendor. The accusation that he’s on ‘roids just doesn’t pass the eye test.
It doesn’t pass the smell test either. Every player in the majors is tested at least twice a year for performance enhancing drugs. There are random tests on top of that. Why would a player not known as a power hitter put his career on the line by taking steroids? Particularly when he’ll be looking for a new contract at the end of the season? He wouldn’t.
And if steroids were responsible for Murphy’s surge wouldn’t signs of it have appeared in the regular season? He did hit a career high in home runs this year, but it was still only 14. That’s one more than his previous career high. And there’s a real explanation for that. The Mets hired a new hitting coach who’s known for helping lefties find their power stroke. Put simply, the chances that Murphy is on steroids or any other PED are the same as the chances he would hit seven homes runs this postseason.
The saddest thing about the fans who think Murphy’s on something is that they’re not enjoying his mind-boggling run. There are few things more fun in sports than an unlikely but unstoppable force. Few players have ever embodied those traits quite like Murphy has this October. Don’t miss out on it.
Photos by Elsa / Getty Images
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