Pioneer Press Baseball Player of the Year: Mundelein’s Brendan Murphy – Chicago Tribune
In the season’s biggest moments, Mundelein turned to its best player.
Junior pitcher Brendan Murphy led the Mustangs (31-10) to the Class 4A state championship game with a 13-strikeout performance against Warren to win a sectional title, then tossed a complete game as Mundelein rallied past St. Charles North in the state semifinals for its first berth in the title game.
The Arizona State recruit led Mundelein with a 10-2 record and 110 strikeouts in 70 innings, as the Mustangs claimed the second-place trophy. He was also the team’s best hitter.
Pioneer Press contributor Jon J. Kerr caught up with Murphy to discuss the season and life off the field.
Q: In early April, you lost back-to-back games to Libertyville. The team started the season 8-6. What changed?
A: Coach (Todd) Parola came up to me at a practice and said he wanted to see more fire from me, to play with more attitude and competitive spirit. He said no one cares that I’m going to Arizona State, that I have to be better. Soon after that, I pitched a complete game and we beat Stevenson. That was a turning point of our season. We got it rolling from there.
Q: What were your emotions when you took the mound for the state semifinals at Silver Cross Field in Joliet?
A: I tried not to look at the crowd and be overwhelmed. It was loud, and it rattled me a bit. It took me a while to get settled into the game. I wasn’t effective the first three or four innings. There was a lot of talking going on around the stadium with the St. Charles North student section. They were doing all this ‘overrated’ stuff, and it got me fired up. I turned my game up. It was a good experience to play in that crowd and atmosphere.
Q: You got two hits as the designated hitter in the title game. What did you take away from being part of a state runner-up team?
A: In seventh grade, one of our feeder coaches told us we were the golden team. He said we had the best opportunity to do something special. We have this thing called the Mustang Way where it’s about putting in the most effort in a short period of time. We did that this year. To see the fans and alumni support us, we want to go back.
Q: What are your favorite social media accounts?
A: I’m not that into social media. I’m rarely on Facebook. My friends and I do Snapchat a lot (@brendo3justin44). I just posted a picture on Instagram (@brendomurphy3) of me and my grandpa on a baseball field. On Twitter (@brendomurphy3), I’ll retweet things that are baseball-related. I don’t post a lot. My friends call me Brendo so I use that on my accounts.
Q: What do you like to do outside of baseball?
A: I like to go fishing. I’ll go to a pond by the Mundelein Little League fields or a pond in the neighborhood where my friend Will Michalski lives. I’ve caught bass there. My friend Jeff Morton has a pond in his backyard with bluegill.
Editor’s note: Social media has connected baseball and softball players, fans, coaches and scouts at all levels like never before. This year’s Pioneer Press All-Area teams are a celebration of that connectedness with Twitter handles, hashtags and paragraphs that are 140 characters or fewer.
Jon J. Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @prepspioneer
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