Jared Cohen
On day two of the MLB Draft, not one but two Hamilton Huskies were drafted pretty early in the day in the third and fourth rounds. Right-handed pitcher Patrick Murphy 83rd overall by the Toronto Blue Jays and first baseman Cody Bellinger was selected 124th overall to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
For Murphy it was shocking because he was selected much earlier than expected.
“It’s crazy, I was definitely shocked,” said Murphy. “From what I had been hearing I was projected to the sixth to tenth round so I planned to just be sitting around. Then I got a call a few picks before that the Blue Jays were going to select me. It took a while to sink in, I was shocked and speechless when it happened. It was an awesome feeling.”
The Blue Jays and also the Philadelphia Phillies were two teams Murphy knew were interested in him.
“After I had the surgery last year, I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Murphy explained. “But those two teams stayed on me the entire time and they have been out there tracking my progress all year long. Then it ended ip being the Blue Jays.”
The surgery Murphy speaks of is the famous Tommy John Surgery. At the end of his junior season his tore his UCL ligament in his elbow and ended up being forced to miss his entire senior season after having the surgery on July of 2012. On draft day he says he is about at 70% to 75% and is just month or so away from cleared to play. Seeing the teams stick with him and then having Toronto draft him earlier than expected despite the surgery, gives Murphy that much more confidence for when he returns to the field.
“It’s really a boost of confidence because it shows others believe in me other than myself and my family members,” Murphy mentioned.
For Murphy’s teammate and close friend Cody Bellinger, the good news came very soon after as the Los Angeles Dodgers selected him in the fourth round. The Dodgers were one of the teams that were most interested in him and were at a lot of his games this year.
“It’s obviously a dream come true that I have been working for my whole life,” said Bellinger. “To be drafted by a franchise like the Los Angeles Dodgers is pretty incredible and the fact that they are so close to home for my family, they can come and see me whenever they want.”
Cody is the son of former major leaguer Clay Bellinger who played a long major and minor league career including four season’s with the New York Yankees. Three of those happened to be World Series teams. It has been a dream of Cody’s since watching his father when he was growing up to make it to that level and now the news Friday brings him that much closer.
“This is just the first step in becoming a major leaguer and all I know is I need to work now even harder to make it into the major leagues,” Bellinger stated. “I know my family will be by my side and I will have that support. It should be a fun ride.”
Cody and his father were also a part of the Chandler little league team that went to the Little League World Series in Williamsport back in 2007. Now Cody begins his quest to a World Series like his dad.
Bellinger has been compared to James Loney, Adam LaRoche and J.T. Snow with his style of play at first. All of which good with the glove which is already his strong suit.
“Most definitely my defense right now,” Bellinger explained. “Right now I think I am above average and I believe one day could become a gold glover. Hopefully when I put on some good weight in the next year my offense will come into play as a bigger factor.”
They are now the fourth and fifth Hamilton Huskies to be drafter over the last couple of seasons. Murphy could be joining Mitch Nay and Jorge Flores in Blue Jays organization while Bellinger joins Malcolm Holland with LA. As mentioned, Murphy and Bellinger are close friends and after they were selected, decided to spend the day with each other as well.
“Me and Murph are best friends and actually called each other after we both got drafted and were so happy for each other. We were almost as happy for the other as we were for ourselves.”
“I have been playing with Cody since little league,” said Murphy. “We have put in so much work and it is just amazing.”
