'I believe in love and discipline': Pat Murphy looks to make his mark on the Brewers

Pat Murphy has been a fixture with the Milwaukee Brewers since Nov. 2, 2015, when was hired as bench coach.

But on Thursday morning, almost as soon as he began his opening remarks after being officially introduced as the 20th manager in franchise history, Murphy noted his connection to the Brewers and the city of Milwaukee actually goes back much further.

"I think back to the first time I was here was the fall of 1987," said Murphy, seated front and center in the packed media auditorium at American Family Field. New associate manager Rickie Weeks sat to Murphy's right, general manager Matt Arnold to his left and nearly his entire coaching staff populated the first couple rows, with many of the team's brass from the front office also in attendance.

At that time Murphy was an up-and-coming college coach, soon to start running the program at the University of Notre Dame, where one of his soon-to-be best players would end up being a scrappy infielder from Whitefish Bay named Craig Counsell.

"I had dinner with Sal Bando," he continued. "Milwaukee County Stadium. And there were also two potential recruits on the field that I was there to watch. I think the rest of you guys know the rest of that story. And then I was here 20 years later in 2007. Rick Majerus invited me to come back to a celebration for the Milwaukee Braves 1957 championship. And it came up again -- I just had a wonderful experience. I got to meet Bob Uecker that day, and he became such a huge part of my life.

"I went to the baseball game that day and I got to meet Rickie Weeks for the first time. Even before, I was lucky enough to sign Prince Fielder to come to school at ASU. I recruited Ryan Braun and JJ Hardy. I think there's just something about this city -- I seem to be connected to the Brewers and Milwaukee. So then, I started thinking, like, my kids look at what they call 'Waukee' as their home during the baseball season. They know nothing different.

"I'm really grateful and thankful."

Murphy, who turns 65 on Nov. 28, came across well in his first large-scale appearance as the new face of the organization.

Known for his fiery temper in his previous role as Counsell's right-hand man in the dugout, Murphy on Thursday was at ease in his give-and-take with the media.

Engaging. Funny. Home-spun. He came across as someone truly appreciative for and humbled by the opportunity afforded him after years spent trying to land a major-league managerial gig with other teams, only to repeatedly come up short.

Murphy did have one prior shot at managing, but it was a 96-game stint as interim skipper in 2015 for a not-so-good San Diego Padres team that actually included a current Brewer, right-hander Colin Rea. Murphy stepped in for the fired Bud Black.

He was asked what he learned from that experience.

"The bat boys are much better at the big-league level," he quipped. "It’s incredible how much better the big-league batboys are. It shocked me, you know what I mean? I learned a ton. I had never been in the big leagues. Seven o’clock in the morning, they tell me I’m going to be the manager. I thought we had a night game. At noon, I’m on the top step. My family doesn’t even know that I’m the manager of team.

"I’m on the top step looking around and the first ground-ball out is made and the guy comes back screaming at the coaches about the scouting report being wrong. It’s like, 'Wow.' Ninety days later, I’m like, 'Whew.'

"So, I learned a lot."

Arnold, in discussing the process that led to Murphy's hiring, listed three key factors: Continuity, culture and winning.

"We cast a pretty wide net and we spent a lot of time on this process," said Arnold, who declined later to get into more specifics. "And every single time we circled up and spent time talking about it, ultimately it came back to the answer being right here.

"As far as the continuity, the culture and winning, he has all those. That was our focus. It didn’t feel like that was a surprise for us. Knowing him and what he means to our for so many years, and our relationship, I felt like it was very seamless."

Here are some other highlights of what Murphy -- now donning uniform No. 21 -- had to say:

Just what does it mean to have a full-fledged managerial job in the majors?

"You’re asking about my feelings? I don’t know how I feel about that. It’s an honor. It really is an honor. I understand how coveted these jobs are. I’ve had my eyes wide open for the last eight years here. It’s a great challenge. Someone has challenged you, there’s a little bit inside you, there’s that little bit of fear that grows inside of you and all of a sudden you say, ‘Hey, let’s do it. Let’s do it.’ I’m grateful. I’m excited. But it’s time to behave. Let’s not worry about feelings. Let’s worry about behavior.”

Did you ever lose faith that you'd eventually get this opportunity?

“You realize how lucky you are to be part of something, and what we have growing here was unbelievable. I never thought it would be here. These things happen, and then all of a sudden I’m here, so take advantage of it. You can’t do the job you want to do if your mind’s on something like that. We’ve got a lot of guys here that can be managers and if you’re thinking about it, it’s going to keep you from doing your job, so I tried not to think about. I wanted to do that. I interviewed for some jobs somewhere, but it doesn’t happen, and you realize you really have got to be at the right place at the right time. I feel very fortunate and very grateful. I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about it.”

Why didn't you think it would be with the Brewers?

“I don’t know if you took math in school, you probably did – do the math. You’re thinking it’s probably not going to happen here. That was a math question. I ask all of you, please realize, I’ve got a 37-year relationship with Craig, and it takes on many different forms. It’s now going to take on a different form of competing against. It’s what it is.”

How have you changed over your eight years as bench coach?

“The game’s evolving. It behooves you to evolve with it. My eyes have been wide open. How have I changed as a person? You’re always trying to grow. As a coach, the same way, you’re open, trying to grow. It’s been a great eight years. Now the role changes a little bit. I’m excited about it.”

How much will the continuity with regard to you becoming manager and the coaching staff returning help?

“This is a huge thing that we preach with players, right? You preach that continuity. I think with all of us back together, we all know each other. We’re all pretty close. I feel like the players will feel that, that we’re on the same page and we’re willing to grow, we’re willing to change a bit. Some guys are changing roles and they’ll be asked to do different things. The presence of (Weeks), you guys feel it. You feel it today. It’s the same reason that I thought this would be the best choice, to have the guy standing right next to me who has, he emotes that type of presence and gets that type of respect. I think that’s a huge part of it. And these guys all respect him the same way. It’s awesome.”

How do you look back on your years as a college coach?

“I think that the years in college, like anybody, you use those experiences to help you grow. I cringe sometimes when I think of myself back then, but you gain the experience and the wisdom hopefully. Does it serve you? It does. It teaches and reminds you of what you might not want to do. I’m very grateful for those experiences. The last eight years really opened my eyes to the major-league game. I’m hoping to use a lot of that to help these guys because coaches open holes. They’re like offensive linemen. They open holes and hopefully the players run through them. I think that’s what will separate us. We’ll keep trying to do that as a group and good things will happen.”

What will a Pat Murphy Brewers team look like and play like?

"We're going to find out. You asking me to predict something? You've been around me a long time, what do you think?"

Will you call for some bunts?

"I bet I don't bunt one time this year. I don't think Rickie will bunt, either."

How do you view team culture, and how do you instill it?

"It's about the players. You don't necessarily win championships with resources; you win championships with people. We want to get the players to play at the high end of their value. That creates a culture of responsibility. That creates a culture of 'Hey, the expectation is to win'. That's what we've tried to do, and I think that's what we've had here, regardless of the roster turning over and regardless of moves or whatever. You create these standards in the guys' minds and that's what they go out there expecting to do and that's what we expect them to go out there and do. It's not just about resources. It's about the moves these guys make, how hard they work to uncover things that other people might night see. Then we get in there, open the hole and hopefully they run through it. It doesn't always work easily but that's what we want to happen."

You are both fiery yet funny. How would you describe Pat Murphy?

"I'm a big softy. I've been rated high as a funny man. Scout scale has me at 70 (on an 80 scale) and I think I've lived up to it. But let's be real. You're at this thing a long time. It's eight months together. Nobody's not trying. These guys want to make an impression. (The season) is so long that I think you have to keep it light and keep it simple, but when it comes time to compete and when it comes to time for discipline, I believe in love and discipline. In that order. Love. Discipline. Sometimes it gets close and not everybody understands it. I know my kids don't always understand it. But love and discipline is what this is about and with that, I think you can accomplish some things and it still can be fun."

You had a very real health scare in 2020 when you had a heart attack on the field. Did that change you?

"It didn’t really change anything. It’s a wake-up call for everybody, you drive to the [hospital] guys are asking me about next of kin and I’m more thinking about, like, 'This is the worst ambulance I’ve ever seen. The last ride is going to be in this thing?' Like, I was concerned. I go Uber Black, you know? I wasn’t thinking about the next stage. But then after a while you start thinking about it and you’re like, ‘Be thankful.’ I think those experiences – everybody knows, when you have something like that happen to you, it makes you more aware how precious this is and you start thinking about those two little guys (his sons). It’s like, ‘I ain’t going anywhere. It’s about them. That’s my priority in life and this other stuff is just baseball."

You go back a long way with Craig Counsell. Do you see your relationship changing with him now that you're on-field rivals?

"Realize that there's 37 years there. I recruited him in high school. He didn't like me during his college career -- I was pretty tough on him. Then towards the end, he started to realize. It's 37 years. You don't have that meaningful a relationship (and then it goes away). Now, it's taking on a new form. Does it change? Like every other relationship. It changed from when I was coaching him in college to being his bench coach. So, is it going to change? Sure."