As the Mets celebrated their playoff clincher two weeks ago, Daniel Murphy sought out David Wright, his longtime teammate, and wrapped him in a bearhug. He sprayed Champagne and high-fived fans in the stands. He grabbed his 1-year-old son, Noah, and lifted him high in the air.
Murphy looked as if he wanted to savor the moment more than any other player on the team with the possible exception of Wright, the Mets’ captain and senior member of the club. Like Wright, Murphy is a lifelong Met, and like Wright, he has lived through a lot of losing seasons, six straight in all.