Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy won the 2024 NL Manager of the Year Award in his first season as the team’s skipper. After Craig Counsell, the winningest manager in franchise history, departed for the same position with the Chicago Cubs, not many fans and analysts gave Milwaukee much of a shot of being competitive in 2024.
However, under Murphy’s guidance, the young Brewers won 93 games and won their second consecutive NL Central Division crown. While they were eliminated far too early from the Playoffs, it is hard to deny that it was a special year in Milwaukee.
On Saturday night, Murphy accepted his award at the 100th annual New York Baseball Writers Dinner. During his speech, he made a hilarious joke about one of the Brewers’ most feared rival players, but one whom Murphy respects immensely.
Milwaukee Brewers Manager Pat Murphy Jokes that He Hopes Freddie Freeman Goes to Play in Japan
After opening his speech with a wonderful statement about Bob Uecker, the beloved Brewers radio voice who recently passed away, Murphy went on to talk about how special the 2024 season was for him.
After naming Brewers stars like Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio who helped make it special, he said that one player he thinks a lot about in regards to how amazing the year was is Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman.
“What a privilege it is to be a Major League manager.”
Pat Murphy accepts the 2024 NL Manager of the Year Award! pic.twitter.com/t8uqsbv7xT
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 26, 2025
“I think of Freddie Freeman. A guy who has been very mean to the Brewers. He’s crushed us. He’s sent us home as a Brave. Sent us home as a Dodger. I hope he goes to Japan or something,” Murphy joked.
He then got serious and commended the Dodgers star for overcoming so much to help his team win the World Series.
Last summer, it was revealed the Freeman’s son, Max, was diagnosed with a neurological disorder known as Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder that attacks the body’s immune system.
In addition to having to overcome his own injuries, Freeman had to take some time away from the team to be with his little boy while he was in the hospital.
As Freeman and his family were working through this difficult time, Murphy and the Brewers sent a video message to him, telling their fierce rival that they were thinking of him, praying for his son, and that they wished him the best.
When he returned to the Dodgers, Freeman made sure to publicly thank Murphy and the Brewers for their kindness.
“A lot of us are fathers and it just spoke to us,” Murphy said at the time when he learned about Freeman’s gratefulness. “You know, we all respect Freddie. As terrible as he’s treated the Brewers over the years, we just respect how he plays the game and we felt it was appropriate to reach out to him in this tough time.”
Murph is truly one of a kind.
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