Daniel Murphy on Improved Batting Average: 'Jesus Is Good'
While Daniel Murphy is being lauded as "Mr. October" for his impressive seven home runs this month, the second baseman is making sure that God gets all the glory for putting his New York Mets in a position to win their first World Series in close to 30 years.
Murphy, 30, has been vocal about how his faith has influenced his career. He even gave credit to Jesus Christ after his Mets swept the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in October.
"Well, that was the Holy Spirit, that was Jesus," Murphy said in a postgame interview after finishing the game with a home run and 2 RBIs. "That was the only thing that kept me calm."
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For the 2014 season, Murphy batted .289, but this postseason the Christian second baseman is hitting .421 with 7 home runs and 11 RBIs. When asked about the secret to elevating his game, he admitted he was not entirely sure of anything other than a higher power.
"I don't know. Sometimes the blessings come, Jesus is good …" Murphy said while celebrating his team's victory over the Dodgers.
The Christian athlete previously shared his testimony with CBN, recalling how God has blessed he and his family through the years.
"I think that we wouldn't be here without what the Lord has done for me in my life and the situation He's put me in with my family through high school, college and with this organization. He's put me, fortunately, on this stage with the greatest athletes and I think that reason is to try to be a light."
However, it wasn't until being drafted to the Mets in his junior year at Jacksonville State University that Murphy realized he had to be responsible for making his faith a priority in life.
"That was really the first time I had ever been on my own, so it was [a] very eye opening experience that now I could do what I want. I could have a choice whether or not I would be in chapel on Sundays because nobody sees," Murphy told CBN. "I had a choice whether or not I would get along with the Lord because nobody sees."
Throughout his MLB career, Murphy has held fast to his faith, but admits that he does have moments when he handles the highs and lows of winning and losing in the wrong way.
"I think that it's such a pressure to win from the fans and sometimes I can say that I don't always approach failure the way I should. I don't always take it the way I should. I get very frustrated," he admitted to CBN. "Sometimes I get frustrated with myself and do things I shouldn't do. I think that impulsively I get caught up in the moment so much."
These days, Murphy said he works on absorbing the moment and letting things go without verbally lashing out. Whatever happens, the second baseman is realizing that he will only find peace in the Lord.
"There's this peace that you get and it's something you can't describe unless you have it. When you don't have it, you go out there your entire life searching for something to fill it," he told CBN. "When you find the Lord, it's just the peace that you have and the relationship that you have. Human beings search for it all the time and you don't really find it until you find the Lord!"
