The many faces of Tom Murphy: How the M's catcher makes memories for Seattle
SEATTLE — When Mariners fans think of Tom Murphy, they may think about his incredible work ethic and knack for hitting home runs.
But undoubtedly, they'll think about his faces, too.
Murph, as he's called, is a natural leader at catcher, and make no mistake, there's a method behind those outstanding faces and wide-open eyes.
"All of them kind of have a personal background all inside stuff with the team, so it's a lot of fun for those guys and that's what I do it for," Murphy told KOMO News recently. "This game is so serious and so hard and really taxing, so it's good to have a little fun with it every once in a while."
Murphy assures me this is a conscious decision, a face made with the sole intent of having fun and lightening the mood with a close-knit team.
His manager loves it.
"Murph is one of the guys that does keep it loose within the confines of his personality," Scott Servais said. "He's a very intense guy, but I think that's what makes it funny."
But there's a face of Murphy's that most Mariners fans haven't seen. But one I got to know in 2009.
Back then, Murphy was a rising star in the high school ranks playing for Paul V. Moore High School in Central Square, New York.
Living on the north shore of Oneida Lake, a rural area in central New York, Murphy had to work hard to be noticed — a work ethic that stays with him today.
He was noticed by more than scouts with Cleveland and other teams.
A local news station caught wind of his talents, too... where I just so happened to be on my first sports reporting job and made Tom my "Action News Athlete" for the best high school athlete of the week.
We both looked a bit different in those days.
It's unbelievable, to think about where I was then, to now, so much growth has happened along the way," Murphy said. "I have so many people to thank. At no point then did I ever think I was going to be here. It's one of those things where it never feels totally comfortable to me because of where I come from because it's such a small town, remote, rural. Then to just come out here and play in front of 45,000 people every single night is truly, truly a dream come true, and at no point did I believe it was going to happen at that point in my life.
A full circle moment for Murphy and I when we met again at T-Mobile Park and reminisced about those days — where I boldly proclaimed he'd make it to the big leagues one day.
That wasn't exactly going out on a limb.
Because Murphy manifested his big-league career into existence. He made this happen. All a part of a plan a lifetime in the making.
"It has been a lifelong career path for me, really to come here and be the catcher," he said. "It's something I've literally done my whole life."
He did that, a dream so few ever get to achieve.
Because, quite frankly, so few have the talent, personality, work ethic and character of Tom Murphy.