The art of hitting by Daniel Murphy

Second baseman Daniel Murphy has been able to improve his batting average and power numbers each season since signing a free agent deal with the Nationals in January 2016.

The escalating hitting numbers are very impressive.

His slugging percentage with the Nationals was .595 in 2016 and is .549 in 115 games this season. His best slugging percentage as a regular starter for the Mets was .449 in 2015.

His batting average with the Nats was .347 in 2016 and is currently .320 in 2017. Murphy has hit .335 with the Nats after posting .288 with the Mets in his seven seasons there.

His oWAR numbers with the Nats, the number of offensive wins above replacement which excludes fielding, is 5.7 last season and 3.3 this season.

Murphy has been able to improve his numbers with the Nats each season as he gains experience and improves his approach.

And how about his approach? It is one of the top reasons he excels at hitting.

The 32-year-old does not change his approach based on game situation. He hits well with runners in scoring position. He delivers a two-out double when no one else can solve a pitcher. Murphy is the one that hits that homer to get it all started for the Nats offense.

How does he maintain that same measured approach each and every at-bat regardless of in-game drama?

He said he was able to devise his style at the plate as a Mets teammate of seven-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner third baseman David Wright from 2008-2015. Wright taught Murphy the value of each moment he comes up to hit in a game.

"I came up watching one of the best in David Wright," said the 6-foot-1, 221 lbs., lefty-hitting Murphy. "He showed me what it looks like to be a pro. At-bats are tough to come by. They aren't just passing them out. Try to take each seriously. Also, with the understanding that I throw my fair share of at-bats in the trash. Just kind of the way I approach it.

"(I was) looking at David and the way he went about his business when I was coming up as a young player in the big leagues. He is a great person to watch and learn from."

Watch how methodical Murphy is in the box. He swings the bat back and forth in a methodical pace as he stares out and studies the pitcher. He slows down the tempo of the at-bat, steps out of the box and appears to be calming down all the motion before he sees a pitch he likes.

"Every at-bat to him is extremely valuable," says third base coach Bobby Henley of Murphy's work. "He's up there to try to do something to help the ballclub. He wants to drive runs in, that's the big thing. He wants to do whatever he can to drive a run in, understanding what the pitcher is trying to do to him and staying with his plan. I think he has shown over last year and the course of this year that he's pretty good when he stays with his plan. It's been fun to watch, I know that.

"I think that comes with at-bats over the course of years. He's a veteran ballplayer, veteran hitter. I think from years of hitting and years of understanding what it takes for him to be successful, he's kind of found that and he's staying with that."

Nationals hitting coach Rick Schu has coached up Murphy for close to two full seasons now and understands what Murphy is looking to accomplish with each plate appearance. Watch as Murphy talks with the home plate umpire and sometimes even the opposing club's catcher during the at-bat.

Murphy sets up and will sometimes take a pitch or two and then check with the umpire politely, gauging his strike zone and how open or closed he intends it to be for that game.

"He doesn't give any at-bats away," Schu said. "It's always a grind. For him, it's like a chess match. How is he trying to get me out? The conversation with the umpire is more or less what he has covered on the plate because he is all about plate discipline.

"He knows if he has to go four inches off the plate to cover a pitch by talking with the umpire, that's why he does have those conversations. That's where it's going to be at. He's got a real good idea what he's trying to do every time he comes up."

Henley witnesses these same conversations in game between Murphy and the umpire. Henley says Murphy is careful, inquisitive but also tactful in those talks with the umpire.

"If there's a pitch that he didn't feel might have been a strike, there's a way he goes about having a discussion during the at-bat with the umpire that doesn't offend the umpire but also his way of expressing: 'Is that as far away you will go? Is that the bottom of the zone, is that the top of zone?' " Henley said.

"That's his way of saying, 'I didn't feel it was a strike, but I wanted to check with you. Is that as far as you are going to go?' And the umpire will say, 'Yes, that's as far as the zone will go' or 'I'll give it another look.'

"As a catcher, you are used to those conversations. Being a former catcher (35 games with the Expos in 1998, 498 games in the minors), you want to try to get as much of the strike zone as you possibly can and as a hitter, of course, you want to try to shrink that strike zone to make it as small as you possibly can. I think he's as good as anyone about having discussions with umpires about the strike zone."

Schu said Murphy prepares each pregame with him about what they will look to accomplish against a certain pitcher and what that pitcher will attempt to do to try to get him out. Sometimes that plan can go out the window if the pitcher goes with an unexpected pitch.

"He's got a plan every time up," Schu said. "He kind of regroups. His plan might change during that at-bat if he wasn't expecting cutters in or two-seamers away. He'll step out of the box and regroup. But every time he steps into the box, he has a plan for that pitch and what he is trying to do.

"He's very professional about what he does. He's looking at video the night before of who he's facing. We always have conversations. I talk with each guy. I like to talk to him just to figure what his plan is against certain guys just cause he's faced them a lot. That kind of helps me talk to the young guys. He's a wealth of knowledge for me and he's great to have on our team and for me to be able to coach him."

Murphy discussed his focus as he approaches the batter's box for each at-bat.

"I try to see what the pitcher is featuring and where he's going to look to try to get me out and then leverage that with where I'd like to get a pitch to hit and formulate a game plan," Murphy said.

But how does he come to each at-bat with the same mentality? Is it difficult not to press when your club needs runs and there are two men on base in front of you and your team is down 3-0?

"I think we're always trying to be keenly aware and guard against giving at-bats away," Murphy said. "It's just human nature to try to press when you don't have any or to check out when you got a couple hits. Just try to take each at-bat, attainable goals, get your good swing off."

Even though Murphy has nearly 1,300 hits in his career, he reasons that hits are extremely difficult to attain. His mind set is to go in and put together what he affectionately likes to call his "A-swing." You will hear him say that after games if he was able to "barrel up the ball" and bring his "A-swing."

"Hitting to me is trying to set attainable goals," Murphy said. "What's an attainable goal? A base hit is not an attainable goal. It's outside of your control. But being prepared, being ready to hit, and getting a good pitch in your zone and getting your A-swing off, that's attainable. So hopefully, I try to do that 550 to 600 times a year."

Schu said Murphy continues to improve because that is where his hunger lies. Each at-bat provides the opportunity to get better. Murphy never sits back and relaxes because he had a big hit earlier in a game or earlier in a series.

But Schu also said even with all that preparation by Murphy, sometimes he may not realize that he doesn't have to change his strategy if he goes a few at-bats without a hit.

"He's always trying to get better," Schu said. "Sometimes he makes adjustments when he doesn't need to make adjustments. I think as you get older you start to understand your swing and have success at this level. It comes a little bit easier."

So Murphy doesn't think a base hit is an "attainable goal?" Philosophically, that is the way Murphy approaches the at-bat in textbooks or pregame clubhouse.

But Schu says his second baseman has the ability to not only hit, but hit for power. And he said Murphy is not afraid to let him in on his hitting plan. Schu said Murphy is not only confident he will make good contact, but depending on the scenario, crush the baseball.

"(S)ometimes he'll go up and I'll say, 'What's your plan?' and he'll go, 'I'm going to try to hit the ball out of the park,' " Schu said. "So it depends on the day. Sometimes I'll say, 'What's your plan?' and he will say, 'I'm going to sit on the curveball.' And I'll say, 'Well, that makes sense because his sinker and curveball are pretty dirty, curveball -- they'll leave in the zone.'

"It's a daily chess match. So it's fun to watch."