Nearly a decade after hearing Gary Cohen label Daniel Murphy a “net negative,” Joe Benigno was stunned to see them working together.
Murphy was added to the best booth in Major League Baseball as a part-time analyst for SNY earlier this year. Since joining SNY, the 2015 NLCS MVP has spent time in the studio and in the booth alongside play-by-play voice Gary Cohen, which Benigno wasn’t thrilled about.
Joe Benigno was very surprised to see Daniel Murphy working with Gary Cohen. pic.twitter.com/YxQwyCn04y
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 7, 2024
“That was kind of a historic run Murphy was on,” Benigno told co-host Jerry Recco while filling in for Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannoti on WFAN. “And then, of course, the Mets couldn’t wait to get rid of him because he was a net zero…’ net negative,’ my good buddy Gary Cohen made that statement.
“And then this ticked me off. Murphy was actually in the booth with them; I don’t know if you saw this. And here’s Gary, who basically, ‘Let’s push this guy out of town’ even though the guy is having this historic run with the team…and he’s in the booth with him, and they’re yukking it up! I gotta tell you that bothered me.”
During that historic playoff run, Cohen joined Benigno and his then WFAN co-host Evan Roberts. He said he had “no interest” in resigning Murphy, labeling him a “net negative.” Cohen’s assessment came after Game 4 of the NLDS. Murphy would go on to be named NLCS MVP before the Mets seemingly agreed with Cohen by letting him sign with the Washington Nationals. In Washington, Murphy established himself as one of the best hitters in the league for two seasons before injuries cut his career short.
Fast forward to 2024, Murphy is interested in trying his hand at broadcasting. What better place to do it than the best booth in baseball? According to Benigno, however, Murphy should have held a nine-year grudge and declined the opportunity to work with Cohen.
Maybe if Cohen called Murphy a “net negative” and he couldn’t find work after the Mets, but that’s not what happened. After leaving New York, Murphy became one of the best hitters in baseball, made two All-Star teams, earned $60 million, and proved Cohen to be very, very wrong. There’s no need to hold a grudge.
Surely, they addressed the “net negative” comment at some point in the last nine years. Cohen probably could have also addressed his harsh 2015 assessment by poking fun at himself during Murphy’s first day in the booth, but the term “net negative” isn’t worthy of a lifelong grudge.
[SNY]
