MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy was sitting at his kitchen table Wednesday morning when his cell phone rang.
It was from unknown caller.
And this person was trying to FaceTime him.
Murphy looked closer at his phone. It was from a 732 area code.
Wait, the call was coming in from Freehold, New Jersey.
“The first thing I think of," Murphy tells USA TODAY Sports in his office, “You got to be (expletive) me!"
Murphy hurriedly swiped open the phone, and there he was, sitting in a chair by himself.
The Boss himself.
Bruce Springsteen.
Not only is he Murphy’s favorite singer in the world, but an iconic figure in his life.
“He was just sitting in a chair myself, he asks how I was doing," Murphy said. "We just sat there for 10 minutes having an easy talk. I was blown away, but it was just what I expected. It was as real as you can get, like we knew each other."
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Springsteen's office called the Brewers last week to get Murphy’s number. He had watched the teeam's pennant-clinching game over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and heard Murphy addressing his team in the clubhouse shouting, “We have to be the last man standing."
Murphy was quoting the refrain from Springsteen’s “Last Man Standing" song on his 2020 studio album, “Letter to You."
“We’re on the plane riding back from LA," Murphy said, “and Ben [Wilkes, Brewers’ clubhouse manager] comes up to me and said, 'You’re not going to believe this, but Springsteen's office called and said he wants to call you.’ I thought it was going to be on Monday, and it never came. Sure, enough, then he calls at 8 in the morning with my kids still asleep. I’m just by myself.
“Wow!"
So, just how was it talking to The Boss, fulfilling his dream?
“It couldn’t have been more serene and peaceful, just like you’d expect," Murphy said. “It was authentic. It was peaceful. Everything was perfect.
“I just told him a couple stories about the way he impacted my life, and continues to impact my life. I told him a big night out for me is to turn on “YouTube,’ and put on his Broadway show, and sit there and listen to it, and have a good meal."
Was Murphy nervous or even star-struck?
“Not really,’’ he said. “I felt pretty normal. It's like you knew him your whole life. I feel like I do know him because I know so much about him. It was just as real as always, just like you'd want it.
“I wish I could do it again 10 times,’’ Murphy says. “It was just awesome.’’
Murphy, 67, sits back in his chair and shakes his head. He looks down at his tattooed left forearm where he has “No retreat, no surrender,’’ from Springsteen’s hit.
Murphy fell in love with Springsteen when he was in college, and drove a purple mail jeep to the Hollywood Sportatorium in Florida in pouring rain.
“He played for 5 ½ hours," Murphy said. “I was just amazed. It wasn't even how good the music was, or bad. It was The River Tour, and it was incredible. So, it sparked my interest."
The rest is history, and now Murphy can recite every song, every verse, every word.
“The message just resonated," Murphy said last week. “He grew up a Catholic kid in New Jersey. I was a Catholic kid from upstate New York. There's just so much that resonates with me how he speaks about things. I don’t know what it is. His language, his way of relating to people, it’s just incredible. …
“I'm not a connoisseur of music, necessarily, or know anything about it. I can't carry a tune or play an instrument. But this guy just speaks to me, man.’’
Murphy has had numerous chances in the past to meet Springsteen backstage, but he always wanted that first meeting to be personal. Just the two of them. A one-on-one conversation.
And now, it’s finally happened.
So, is Springsteen now rooting for the Brewers to win the World Series?
“Well," Murphy said, laughing, “he didn’t go that far.’’
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brewers manager with Springsteen tattoo got call from The Boss before World Series