Mike Murray is a Giants catching prospect currently with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. He signed a contract with the San Francisco Giants in 2010, and has gone on to hit .385/.422/.548 in two professional seasons with the AZL Giants and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. You can find him on Twitter @MJMurray15, and he writes a blog -- BigLeagueThoughts.com....Mike was kind enough to answer a few questions:
A couple major-leaguers, Dave Bush and Mike MacDougal, have come out of Wake Forest University, as well as guys like Matt Antonelli and Allan Dykstra. Have you had any kind of contact with these guys?
I have had the chance to meet Dave Bush at an alumni event and haven't had the chance to meet Mike MacDougal. Allan Dykstra was a teammate of mine for two seasons at Wake. My sophomore year I hit right behind Allan in the lineup and we would do a lot of talking about adjustments that needed to be made to hit in the middle of the order. Looking off-speed in fastball counts and understanding when guys would try to pitch backwards or come in. He helped me a lot acclimating to ACC pitching. I am happy that he is putting together a great year in the Eastern League for the Mets, and hopefully will see him in the big leagues soon. Antonelli signed the year before I got to Wake, but I had a chance to be around him a bit when he would return to Wake. He is a tireless worker and unbelievable athlete, I would expect good things from him with the Nationals.
I hate to ask this, but I’m curious to hear your take. As a catcher in the Giants’ organization, what were your thoughts on the Buster Posey collision?
I don't know if its fair to get into the intent of Scott Cousins or what could have or should have happened differently on the play, but it was just a devastating unfortunate play. I got to play against Buster a good bit while he was at Florida State, and he is as good a guy as player. The only thing that I saw that hasn't already been exhausted in commentary was what happened after Buster knew that the ball had skipped past his glove and he didn't have possession. In that situation as soon as the catcher receives the ball he is able to be aggressive in going after the runner. The natural reaction when you don't have the ball is to relax a bit and I thought once Buster realized he didn't have the ball that that may have happened and made him a bit more vulnerable.
What are your thoughts on the Giants’ first-round pick, Joe Panik? Seems like he was eager to sign quickly and start playing right away.
Joe has impressed all of us in the first half of the season. It's rare that a short season team gets a first rounder for opening night and we have certainly enjoyed the benefits of having him here. I think one of the tougher things in sports is having plenty of expectations coming in and living up to them when everyone expects you to. Joe has done that and more. He goes about his business professionally, works hard, and is reliable every night he plays. We talk a good bit throughout the game on pitch patterns and what pitchers are trying to do with us. I also won't complain about having more guys from the Northeast around.
Are you focused on anything currently, in terms of what you want to improve?
As most people who follow the Giants minor league system know, the organization has plenty of young, talented catchers. I have been doing a lot of early work at first base and trying to become a bit more versatile defensively. My goal for the end of the season and off-season will be to build upon that and be more versatile and athletic defensively coming into next spring training. Whatever I can do to make it easier on myself getting at bats through the system is what I will be working toward.
What’s the hardest part about catching? Calling a game, holding baserunners, or just the wear and tear it takes on a body?
The hardest part of catching in the minor leagues is managing the pitching staffs. With guys fluctuating from club to club throughout the organization, you may have guys out on the mound you haven't seen before and you have to learn on the fly what they like to throw, how their off-speed pitches move, when they are comfortable throwing certain pitches, and do this all very quickly. As grueling as catching bullpens can be, it is vital to get to know the guys on your staff and have a good plan with each guy when they get onto the mound. I also think calling the game can get a bit tricky, especially in the low minor leagues. There are certain situations where development can trump the right pitch call. There may be a hitter you can get out by just flipping in slider after slider, but there may be a pitcher that needs to work on fastball command to advance. There is definitely a balance there.
Who has been the greatest influence on your playing career?
My dad has been the biggest influence on my career. My dad played minor league ball with the White Sox organization in the mid-80's and taught me how to play based on challenges he faced in professional baseball. He taught me how to hit left-handed from the time I started swinging a bat to give me an advantage on right-handed sliders. He taught me to catch when I started playing little league because he played OF,IF, and C in college and was converted to a catcher in pro ball and found himself at a disadvantage because of the experience of guys who had been catching their whole lives. I have also benefitted greatly from some really great coaches in HS, college, and in summer ball.
Toughest pitcher you’ve ever faced?
I think I would have to say Deck McGuire. Deck was a 1st rounder last spring and I would expect he'll be making some noise in the big leagues before long. The challenge in hitting Deck was that he never gave in on any pitch. His fastball was around 92 and he has a plus change up and good slider. He would use all of those pitches in any count and never seemed to miss above the knees. I had some good, long at bats against him and never felt super comfortable in the box against him.
On a similar note – and this is probably a harder question to answer – who do you think is the best pitcher you’ve ever caught, in terms of raw talent?
I caught Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello in AAU ball when we were in high school in New Jersey. He was the most advanced and talented high school pitcher I've seen. I had an opportunity to catch White Sox pitcher Chris Sale in the Cape Cod league All-Star game in 2009, and his stuff was as good as I have caught. He was 95 from a tough left-handed arm slot and two plus off-speed pitches. Throw Wheeler and Hembree in from Spring Training and those would be the guys I think I have caught with the best stuff.
Favorite player growing up?
I grew up a Yankees fan, and I have always had a loyalty to the guys from the core Yankees dynasty of the late 90's-early 2000's. Jeter, Rivera, Martinez, O'Neill, Brosius, Posada. I had the opportunity last summer to catch a first pitch from Scott Brosius, which was a pretty cool experience. Aside from the core Yankees, I always loved the way Jim Edmonds played.
You had a blog up at BigLeagueThoughts.com, but haven’t updated it recently. Any plans to start it up again?
I really enjoyed doing stuff on the blog as Spring Training approached, but just got a bit difficult to keep up during the long Spring Training days and having to get myself down to the Starbucks in Scottsdale to get consistent internet to put them up. I didn't want to keep it up sporadically, so I decided to take a break and hope to get it back up and going at some point. I keep a notebook of experiences and stories from the season, and I will eventually be able to get them up and share them.
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Thanks again to Mike, and good luck to him on the rest of the season!
