Michael Smith

A personal story about Pat Murphy. In 2001, I showed up at Arizona State, wet behind the ears and definitely without a grasp of the true meaning of things. I would say most things. I forgive myself for being young, but how I wished wise words hit me the way they do now. On the first day, the day we were getting our lockers and settling in, Murph called a meeting. We gathered around and Murph said, “Building a team is like making my mother’s beef stew, and my mother’s beef stew is perfect.” Some of us kind of chuckled, and I am ashamed to say one of them was me. I thought it sounded silly - it did but a wiser, more mature player would be processing and wondering what he was about to say next. Murph then said, “It takes the right ingredients and the perfect amount of each to make my mother’s beef stew. If there are only carrots and onions…no good. If you don’t cook it low and slow the beef will be dry and you won’t get the silky fatty sauce that comes from rendering the fat. If you use anything but a yellow onion with celery and garlic, you won’t get the aromatics that hit you before the bite…” He went on and on about beef stew. I was wondering what this had to do with baseball. Then he said, “This is no different than building a baseball team. Sitting in this room are guys from all over. We have local guys, we have guys from Cali, Illinois, Utah, and even one from Texas. And we are all different here. Some of you are fiery and ready to fight at any moment. Some of you are calm and measured in your approach. It takes all kinds of people. The calm measured man will teach the fiery player how to hone in on his emotions and the fiery one will teach the calm measured man what it means to drop the analytics and go to war. We all blend together, and if we have the right ingredients sitting in this room, and if I can mix the ingredients together perfectly, we will be no different than my mother’s beef stew. Which is perfect.” I always remembered that meeting, mostly because Murph has a way of saying things in a way that sticks and never leaves you. Probably why he has had such an impact on so many. Murph is telling Bauers the truth. The game has changed dramatically with the massive injections of money at every level. Players are beginning to forget what competition and athletics are really about. It isn’t about getting that “bag.” Getting paid is amazing and can change a person’s life forever, maybe even generationally. But nothing can replace being a champion, nothing can replace true bonds and a brotherhood that lasts well past your playing days. No amount of money can do that. Texas football’s roster cost something like 45 million dollars and they have struggled this season. Do they have the right ingredients or just a roster that looks good on paper? We can’t be sure yet, maybe they will come together and do something special - the fact is, they will have to, because you don't get wins for just being talented. Regardless, it goes to show that while money can surely help a team or organization win, it can’t complete the job without the magic that is the right ingredients and a locker room playing for each other. And that is what Murph did and why the Brewers had one of the most dominant seasons in history.