Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy has a long baseball journey that includes time as the manager for the Netherlands national team.
Most fans know about Murphy's time at Notre Dame or Arizona State. Some may even know about his beginnings as an assistant football coach. Perhaps for some fans, their introduction to Murphy was when he was the interim manager for the San Diego Padres.
However, before he took over as the head coach of the Fighting Irish, he was managing the Netherlands national team in 1987. He managed the team for the 1987 World Port Tournament and the 1987 European Baseball Championship.
At the World Port Tournament, his team finished third, but at the European Baseball Championship later that year, the Dutch beat Italy to qualify for the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Murphy did not manage the Netherlands national team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but returned for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Murphy's squad went 3-4 at the 2000 Summer Olympics, but managed to pull off a 4-2 win over Cuba.
Since then, Murphy has gone on to become a back-to-back National League Manager of the Year Award winner, but he has not forgotten his time managing the Netherlands National Team.
"I have a special affection for the Dutch and the guys from Curaçao,” he told The Athletic's Stephen J. Nesbitt. “They treated me fantastic.”
Murphy is likely going to be the first manager in history to three-peat as Manager of the Year. However, he has constantly emphasized that he is not in it for the personal glory. He cares about his players, and he cares about winning.
The recognition and hardware tend to follow success, and right now, for Murphy and the Brewers, success would be bringing a championship to Milwaukee.
