Milwaukee Brewers first year manager Pat Murphy has a fun and unique way of operating that tends to keep things light. Back when he was still Craig Counsell’s bench coach he first encountered Sal Frelick at their spring facility in Arizona. An initial joke and laugh between them ultimately led to Murphy using his connections to have Frelick learn infield from Dustin Pedroia.
Pat Murphy and Sal Frelick had a hilarious first encounter at the Milwaukee Brewers spring training facility.
In the spring of 2022 Pat Murphy approached Sal Frelick by saying, “Hey man, are you a free agent or did we draft you?” Frelick responded by saying he was drafted and then was asked where he was from and what position he played. As a Lexington Massachusetts native Frelick informed him his favorite player was Dustin Pedroia. Murphy shrugged his shoulders, walked away, and said, “That guy sucks.”
Dustin Pedroia was coached by Pat Murphy at Arizona State.
Although 2024 is Pat Murphys first stab at managing a baseball team over the course of an entire season, he does have previous head coaching experience in college. At Arizona State he coached Dustin Pedroia in which he went on to have an incredible 14 year career that included one MVP award, rookie of the year, four gold gloves, four All-Star appearances, one silver slugger, and two World Series championships.
Sal Frelick is ready to play second base or third base for the Milwaukee Brewers.
After Murphy obtained permission from Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, he had Pedroia and Frelick meet for training last November. The two worked on numerous aspects of being an infield defender and by the time they were finished Pedroia felt confident that playing infield was “in his bag” if the team needed him too. Frelick had a strong foundation to start with as he previously played infield in college.
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