Father's Day leaves Cedar Rapids Kernels catcher A.J. Murray full of emotion

CEDAR RAPIDS — Dad will be on his mind. It's impossible for it to be any other way.

On this day, especially.

A.J. Murray will think about the times playing catch. There was him and older brother, Michael. Sister, Brittany, would join in, too.

And dad.

Michael Murray Sr. is the reason A.J. loves the great game of baseball. A minor leaguer in the Minnesota Twins farm system, a catcher for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, he'll be playing a game Sunday at Quad Cities.

The ballpark is the most appropriate place for him to be on Father's Day, really. He knows his dad will be watching from heaven, making sure he runs out that groundball to shortstop or blocks that ball in the dirt.

'It's difficult to say how I'll feel,' he said the other day. 'It's definitely going to be a tough day. But it's also a day where funny stories will come out, pictures. You learn a lot more about the person he was by the stories. I feel like I'm still getting to know my father without him even being here, which is fun. You hear some crazy stories, you hear some fun stories ... I remember him every day, I think about him all the time. Not much ever changes that way.'

Michael Murray Sr. died suddenly of a heart attack on Dec. 18, 2013. He was just 51 years old, had survived an earlier battle with cancer.

A.J. was going to pick up his father from a Christmas party that night, home on holiday break from Georgia Tech.

'We got a call probably around 9 or 10 o'clock that he had been taken to the hospital,' Murray said. 'I'm happy I was home, because I got to see him for about a week before he died.'

Michael Murray Sr. played college baseball, spent 1984 in the Chicago White Sox organization. He became a sports reporter for the Elizabeth Daily Journal and Newark Star-Ledger in New Jersey following his playing days.

'I grew up in a van, a textile van, folding newspapers up in plastic,' A.J. said.

He and his brother, who is five years older, grew up playing little league for their father. He taught them the game, how to become a catcher because he thought it was important for them to learn the position.

Michael Murray Jr. played two years as a catcher in the San Francisco Giants organization and tutors young players back home in New Jersey. Brittany Murray was a catcher at the University of Maryland.

'Dad was everything. He was our backbone, coached us from about 8 years old on,' A.J. said. 'He taught us how to play the game the right way. Play it hard every day. Everything we learned about the game was from him. He worked hard to give us every opportunity to progress our careers. There's not much more I can say.

'He loved watching us play, truly had a passion for the game. Having him around to see how he coached the game was just more drive. He pushed us to get better every day. There was really no excuse for us not to work hard because he pushed us so hard.'

Murray didn't play well his junior season at Georgia Tech, still shattered by his father's death. They had a ritual that was broken: A.J. would text his father after each game and they'd talk about what happened.

His brother took over that role eventually.

'Never crossed my mind to quit,' A.J. said. 'It was more like 'How am I going to separate baseball from my personal life now?' They were always so intertwined. They still are. But instead of looking at the negative parts, I look more at the positive.'

Murray played well enough last spring as a senior for the Twins to draft him in the 14th round. He hit .264 in 51 games in Rookie ball and leads the Kernels in home runs and RBIs this season.

He'll play Tuesday night in the Midwest League All-Star Game at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Another thing for dad to be proud of.

'A.J. is a grinder. He battles, he competes,' Kernels Manager Jake Mauer said. 'He gets into trouble when he gets pull happy, pulls off pitches, but he's a guy who puts together a pretty good at-bat, with runners in scoring position, especially. It's nice that he can go behind the plate and handle this pitching staff pretty good. He calls a good game, does a lot of the things that don't necessarily show up (in the boxscore). His physical tools, his catching is getting better. He's throwing better ... His receiving and blocking have got to get cleaned up, but I think that'll come with experience.'

'I caught a lot in high school, but high-school baseball and professional baseball, even college baseball, are completely different games,' said Murray, primarily a first baseman and outfielder at Tech. 'Every day, I learn something new. Whether it's something to do mechanically with catching, or the mental side of the game, preparing approaches, reading hitters, making sure our pitchers are calm and at ease. Every day is a new challenge, but I think I'm growing each day. It's a lot catching day in and day out, but it's a position of pride back there. Besides pitching, I think it's the most fun you can have on a baseball field. You've got to be in it every pitch.'

It's a long, long way from Cedar Rapids to the major leagues. Murray has a lot more bus rides to take before that can happen.

But he's determined to get there some day. For dad, as much as anything.

'Making it to the big leagues would be amazing, especially in that regard,' he said. 'But I think he would more concerned with the way I would make it to the big leagues. Going in every day and preparing myself mentally. Really just playing this game hard. You know, whether this is my last game today, or if I play 20 years in the big leagues, as long as I play the game the right way, that's all he'd really care about.'

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