The hilarious tales of 'Murph'

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy's Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MILWAUKEE -- Everybody has a Pat Murphy story. Canvas the clubhouse for the best of them, and you’ll hear about a 70-grade sense of humor -- a figure produced from the mind of Murphy himself, using baseball’s 20-80 scouting scale. You’ll hear how Murphy, after finally getting a chance to be a full-time manager in the Major Leagues at age 65, made a young Brewers team believe in itself to the tune of 93 regular-season victories and another division crown, making him one of three finalists for the NL Manager of the Year Award to be doled out Tuesday night.

And, you’ll hear about jacket snacks.

“I call them Murph’s pouch pancakes,” said Brewers All-Star Christian Yelich. “He’s been doing that for years.”

It’s just what it sounds like. In Spring Training, Yelich and second baseman Brice Turang had to laugh when Murphy strolled up in the middle of a workout and, mid-sentence, pulled a pancake out of the pouch of his hoodie. Another time, it was a waffle.

Newcomer Joey Ortiz once saw Murphy produce an egg roll.

“He pulled it right out of the pocket of his jacket,” Ortiz said.

Yelich -- one of the players who helped convince the Brewers last fall that Murphy, after serving as the team's bench coach from 2016-23, was the right man for Milwaukee’s managerial opening -- called it one of the many quirks of the man everyone calls “Murph.”

“If he ever offers you food,” Yelich said, “you say no.”

‘The video guy’
First-round Draft picks are regularly invited to Major League Spring Training, which is how Sal Frelick came to be taking batting practice at American Family Fields of Phoenix in 2022. One of the first staffers he met introduced himself as “the video guy.” He asked where Frelick was from and who was his favorite player. The answer was easy. Frelick is a scrappy ballplayer from Boston who grew up idolizing Dustin Pedroia.

Frelick couldn’t believe “the video guy’s” response.

“He started bashing him,” Frelick said. “He’s like, ‘That guy stinks! He’s trash!’ So I went over to the other players and said, ‘What’s this video guy’s deal?’”

Of course, the video guy was Murphy, and he was ready for Frelick’s answer. Pedroia played for Murphy at Arizona State before he was drafted by the Red Sox and became a star.

Murphy kept the gag going until the Brewers played their first Cactus League game. You can imagine Frelick’s surprise when he saw “the video guy” head out to home plate to exchange lineup cards.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I’m such an idiot,’” Frelick said. “When Murph does that stuff, he does it with such conviction. Even now, half the stuff he says, I don’t know if it’s a joke or it’s true.”

Nicknames
Everybody has a nickname in Murphland, from “Slim” for Turang to “Jack Jack” for Jackson Chourio. It got to the point where longtime senior director of media relations Mike Vassallo put a “Murph Nickname Glossary” in the daily press notes to help out confused sportswriters and broadcasters who happened upon Murphy’s media sessions.

Some make a lot of sense. “Pee Wee” for Rhys Hoskins, “Rock” for Bryan Hudson and “Tito” for Ortiz after the Brooklyn Dodgers shortstop, the film actor and the mixed martial artist, respectively. Some are trickier. Reliever Jared Koenig said he has no idea why he’s called “Drumstick.” Garrett Mitchell is “Bruce.” Trevor Megill is listed, officially and confoundingly, as “Clifford (previously Lance).”

Right-hander Colin Rea can claim precedence over all of them.

Currently a free agent after pitching the past two seasons with the Brewers, Rea played for Murphy in 2011 with the Eugene Emeralds, which was then the Class A Short-Season affiliate of the Padres. A pitching coach who spoke English as a second language had a habit of repeatedly referring to Rea by his full name, and with his accent, it rolled off the tongue sounding like, “Code Red.”

So it was that a tall Iowan with brown hair became known as “Code Red.” Rea forgot about it until he was reunited with Murphy in Milwaukee at the end of 2021. Now, that’s what everybody calls him.

‘He’ll say it all out loud’
On July 5, Mitchell was fresh off the injured list with a million things on his mind. He reached on a two-out error in the sixth inning, and with Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow on the mound, Hoskins at the plate and the Brewers leading by a run, it was an ideal spot for the speedy Mitchell to steal.

“I remember that it was somebody I would have a chance to run on,” said Hoskins. “I definitely remember thinking, ‘Go!’”

But Mitchell stayed put as Hoskins looked at two straight pitches. So, Murphy eschewed the signs for a more direct approach. He yelled out to Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, “Hey, Freddie! Will you tell Mitchell to run?”

It was the latest example of saying the quiet part out loud.

“He’ll say it all out loud,” Hoskins said. “I think that’s what people appreciate about him. There’s a level of honesty and transparency at all times, whether you like it or want it, or not. It’s a testament to the guys on this team being open to learn, right? There’s always value on any margin we can use to get better here.”

Said veteran lefty Wade Miley: “He’s not trying to embarrass you or hurt your feelings. It’s a teaching moment, and because you’re a young prospect and nobody else has the guts to do it, he’s going to do it. I respect the heck out of that. He’s got to be one of the more open information-givers you’ve ever had, right? I noticed that and as a player, I like that. It probably drives the front office crazy.”

• Murphy's relentless attitude infectious for the self-coined 'Average Joe's'

‘Get ready to pinch-run’
Brewers GM Matt Arnold’s favorite Murph moment involves Aaron Ashby, who was a rookie in 2021. On days the left-hander wasn’t pitching, Murphy made a habit of approaching Ashby early in games and telling him to get ready to pinch-run. Ashby dutifully obliged, eager to help the ballclub in any way possible.

“He was never going to run,” Arnold said, laughing. “But he would go up there in the second and third inning and get in full uni with cleats and be ready to pinch-run.”

“Murph is very good at making it seem like he’s serious,” Ashby said. “So the first couple of times, I was hook, line and sinker. Then I remember one time in San Francisco, I ran back down from the clubhouse with my cleats on and everyone was laughing at me.”

The best part of the story is that Ashby did eventually get a chance to run. It was Sept. 5, 2021, when the Brewers were trying to chip away at a Cardinals lead as Avisaíl García prepared to bat. Murphy told Ashby to be ready, and this time he was serious.

García walked and Ashby pinch-ran. He even made it into scoring position when Lorenzo Cain followed with another walk to load the bases.

“I remember being so nervous, like, my lead felt ginormous. I felt like I was 30 feet off the bag,” Ashby said. “But I look at pictures of it and the bag was right there.”

He laughs. Ashby loves playing for Murphy.

“You come in here every day and you know that nobody wants to win more than him,” Ashby said. “That’s a really cool feeling.”

Competitive juices
“I’ll show you how competitive Murph is,” said Brewers owner Mark Attanasio as a preface to his own story.

It was during the final weekend of the regular season when Attanasio happened by the manager’s office. Naturally, Murphy had baseball on the television, in this case a Yankees-Pirates game. When the Yankees took the lead, Murphy started banging on his desk.

“I’m like, ‘So what? Why do you care? You want the Pirates to win?’” Attanasio asked.

Murphy shook his head no. He just wanted to finish with a better regular-season record than the mighty Yanks.

“Talk about being competitive,” Attanasio said. “You walk around our clubhouse, and you can’t look in any direction where it doesn’t say, ‘Win tonight.’ I think he’s brought that demeanor and edge to the team.”

“He has such an awesome perspective on what we have here and what we’re trying to do,” Arnold said. “I think he’s done a wonderful job. He’s thoughtful and conscientious about what the players need. He knows when to push them and he knows when to give them a hug.”

On Tuesday night, the Brewers hope Murphy is honored for what he did. The BBWAA Manager of the Year Awards date back to 1983, and no Brewers skipper has ever won.