TORONTO -- Right-handers R.A. Dickey and Chris Young will start Game 4 of the ALCS Tuesday for the Blue Jays and Royals, respectively. They have something else in common: they're both former Mets. In fact, the two were teammates in New York from 2011-12. They were also teammates with the 2004-05 Rangers.
"Chris is a pretty right guy," Dickey said Monday. "We had some great conversations when we were together in New York. I enjoyed being around him ... It's fun to be around guys like that who are well-read and who you can have deeper conversations with. But I'm not sure who's more well-read."
Dickey and Young are similar but different. They're similar in that they are extremely unique pitchers, yet their styles are different. Dickey, obviously, is a knuckleball pitcher. It doesn't get more unique than that. Young is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-10, and he succeeds by pitching up in the zone with a mid-80s fastball to generate weak pops.
The two men also overcame injury troubles earlier in their careers -- "His perseverance is remarkable," said Young of Dickey -- to find success in their mid-30s. Neither is their team's star pitcher, but Dickey and Young are in the postseason rotation and are being trusted in a huge game.
During their time in New York, Dickey and Young were also teammates of Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy. Murphy is having a huge postseason, hitting .357 with five home runs in seven games, including one in each of his last four games. He has helped the Mets get to within two wins of the World Series and both Dickey and Young couldn't be any more thrilled.
"I'm so happy for him. He's a tremendous guy. Tremendous person, first and foremost," said Young on Monday.
"Oh, man, I've always been a big fan of Danny Murphy," added Dickey. "He can hit, end of story. He wakes up talking about hitting. He is a student of the game. He's a student of his swing. He knows mechanically exactly where he needs to be to be consistent. He is just a very good baseball player."
Murphy is the second-longest tenured Mets player behind David Wright, and like Young and Dickey, he's experienced just about everything there is to experience during his time in New York. Success, failure, position changes, disappointment and becoming a cult hero like he has this postseason.
Murphy has been a good player for a long time for the Mets, but it wasn't until this postseason that he really jumped into the national spotlight. His former teammates are not surprised though, and no one is happier for him than them.
"I think one of the most underrated players in the game," said Young, "and to watch him have the success he's having is just -- I'm so excited for him. It couldn't happen to a better guy."
