There is a story about Daniel Murphy from when he was in college. I have no idea if it’s true or not, but here goes:
Daniel’s coach asked each of the freshman to introduce themselves on the first day of practice, with name and position. Daniel said, “Daniel Murphy. I hit third.” Or something like that.
One thing that can not be debated, though, is that Daniel Murphy is a professional hitter. Look at the following table of most hits in a major league season since 2006:
| 1 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’05 | 2013 | 188 |
| 2 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’05 | 2016 | 184 |
| 3 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’05 | 2014 | 172 |
| 4 | Jason Kipnis | Covington ’06-7 | 2015 | 171 |
| 5 | Jason Kipnis | Covington ’06-7 | 2016 | 168 |
| 6 | Dan Murphy | Luray ’05 | 2012 | 166 |
| 7 | Jason Kipnis | Covington ’06-7 | 2013 | 160 |
| 8 | Jason Kipnis | Covington ’06-7 | 2012 | 152 |
| 9 | Jon Jay | Staunton ’04 | 2013 | 151 |
| 10 | Yonder Alonso | Luray ’06 | 2012 | 150 |
Murphy holds the top 3 spots, plus #6. Impressive.
Brett Gardner Sighting: The most hits in one season for Brett was in 2015, when he had 148. He falls just off the end of this top ten.
Jason Kipnis holds four spots, too, and Jon Jay and Yonder Alonso each have one.
