Los Angeles Angels fans react to team signing former MVP runner-up Daniel Murphy to a minor-league contract: "He’s come to dominate the league again" 

Former National League Most Valuable Player runner-up Daniel Murphy continues to make his climb back toward playing his first MLB game in three seasons.

Murphy, who began the season with the minor league Long Island Ducks, has been signed to a minor-league contract by the Los Angeles Angels.

The 38-year-old Murphy, a three-time All-Star infielder who played for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies, retired from MLB following the 2020 season.

However, he admitted that he got bit by the baseball bug once again and signed up to play for the Ducks of the independent Atlantic League this spring.

Daniel Murphy played seven years for the Mets. He played for the Mets in 2008 and 2009, and then again from 2011-2015.

He gained a cult following among New Yorkers for his postseason offensive fireworks in the 2015 National League playoffs. In the NL Division Series, he hit .333 with three home runs and five RBIs. In the NL Championship Series, he torched the Chicago Cubs to the tune of a .529 average, four home runs and six RBIs. He was named the NLCS MVP.

His bat went cold in a World Series loss to the Kansas City Royals, as he hit just .150. However, he became a legend for helping propel the Mets to only their second World Series since 1986.

Many New Yorkers were heartbroken when he signed a free-agent contract with the Washington Nationals before the 2016 season.

While injuries allowed him only one season of more than 100 games played after 2017, Murphy retired as a .296 hitter. His final season of just 40 games in 2020 – when he hit .236 – was the only campaign in which he hit under .266 over a 12-year span.

Murphy was hitting .331 through 37 games with the Ducks. He will report to the Angels' Triple-A team in Salt Lake City this week.

Murphy was originally selected by the Mets in the 13th round of the 2006 MLB Draft.

Daniel Murphy was NL MVP runner-up in 2016

Daniel Murphy hit .347 with 104 RBI in 2016 with the Washington Nationals

Daniel Murphy was a clutch hitting machine for the majority of his career, but took it to a whole other level in 2016. In his first year since leaving the Mets, Murphy finished second in the NL MVP voting after hitting a career-best .347 with 104 RBIs with the Nationals. He led the NL with 47 doubles, a .595 slugging percentage and a .985 OPS.