Some Braves fans’ hatred for Sean Murphy is ridiculous

For whatever reason, some facets of Braves Country have completely ridiculous ideas of who Sean Murphy is supposed to be for this club.

Maybe it’s because William Contreras, a fan favorite, was included in the trade that brought Murphy to Atlanta. Perhaps it’s Murphy’s career-worst campaign from 2024 that has completely ruined Braves fans’ opinions of the All-Star.

But it’s ridiculous. In 2023, Murphy’s first season in Atlanta, the backstop earned All-Star honors behind an OPS+ that was 27% above league average, which is even more impressive for a catcher, all while playing elite defense behind the plate. His 4.0 bWAR ranked 5th on the Braves.

He followed it up with the worst season of his career. Murphy hit under the Mendoza Line and slugged less than .400 for the first time. But there were several factors that contributed to the campaign.

He began the season on the injured list with an oblique injury, which is an incredibly difficult injury to come back from, especially for a catcher. When he did eventually return, the Braves’ offense was floundering and Brian Snitker had no option but to play the hot hand at every position, which was Travis d’Arnaud. So, the combination of the oblique and irregular playing time, which is what Murphy needs to be at his best, resulted in a terrible season.

Most rational people figured he’d bounce back this season. However, another injury to start the year and Drake Baldwin’s emergence had a lot of fans ready to fire Murphy into the sun.

Fortunately, for us reasonable humans, Murphy has responded in kind. His OPS+ is 16% above league average for all positions, and his 1.7 bWAR is tied for 3rd on the Braves, behind Matt Olson and Ronald Acuna Jr. Still, some fans would have you believe he’s a terrible player.

Let me provide even more perspective. Among all catchers, he’s hit the 5th most home runs (11) and has accumulated the 11th most WAR (1.6) despite playing in the 29th most games (50). If he played in a bulk of the games, like some of the other backstops, he’d be among the top backstops in the game across all categories.

Among all players at his position, Sean Murphy’s wRC+ ranks 7th, his slugging percentage ranks 6th, his wOBA ranks 8th, and his ISO ranks 2nd. The Braves have a top 10 catcher in Sean Murphy, and even though Drake Baldwin might supplant him as the full time starter, it’s no knock on what Murphy has provided the Braves this year. Baldwin is just that special of a talent.