'They should have scheduled a C-section!' NFL great Boomer Esiason blasts Mets player for missing two games for the birth of his first child

Daniel Murphy took the first two games off to be with his wife while she gave birth to their first child

Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, now a talk radio host, said Murphy should have told his wife to have a C-section before opening day



WFAN Co-host Craig Carton told the infielder to get his 'ass back... and play baseball'

Afternoon host Mike Francesa called paternity leave a 'scam' and bragged about working only hours after his wife gave birth



New York sports talk radio is blasting the New York Mets' Daniel Murphy for missing the first two games of the season while on paternity leave.



WFAN morning host Boomer Esiason said Murphy should have forced his wife to have a C-section before the season to help him avoid missing games after the second baseman missed the first two games to be with his wife for the birth of their first child together.



The team has not publicly griped about Murphy missing time, but Esiason's co-host Craig Carton insisted the infielder ‘get [his] ass back... [to] play baseball,' and afternoon host Mike Francesa called paternity leave a ‘scam’ and a ‘gimmick.’

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The happy couple: Daniel and Victoria Murphy pictured last year during her pregnancy

Dynamic duo: WFAN morning radio hosts Boomer Esiason (left) and Craig Carton (right) ripped the second baseman for taking two games off to tend to his new family

Murphy is allowed one to three days off, according to a provision in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement between owners and the player’s union – much less than the two weeks guaranteed by the federal government.

Esiason, himself a former NFL quarterback, argued Murphy should have told his wife to ‘have a C-section before the season starts’ because he needs ‘to be at Opening Day.’

Carton agreed with the former Jets signal caller, saying ‘assuming the birth went well, the wife is fine, the baby is fine, 24 hours and then you get your ass back to your team and you play baseball.’

'That’s my take on it,' Carton continued. 'here’s nothing you can do anyway, you’re not breastfeeding the kid.'

Esiasion summed up his ranting by saying '[men] don’t have the plumbing to take care of what needs to be taken care of.'



Anger over the 29-year-old’s time away carried over to the afternoon.

‘One day I understand. And in the old days they didn’t do that. But one day, go see the baby be born and come back,’ said Francesa.

‘You’re a Major League Baseball player. You can hire a nurse to take care of the baby if your wife needs help,’ he continued.





Family man: Murphy's decision to put family ahead of baseball apparently doesn't sit well with sports talk radio hosts at the station that dropped team after more than 20 seasons



On holiday: The Murphy's visiting London last year during the baseball offseason

The hosts were careful to clarify they were speaking only of situations where there were no medical complications, but the point was already made.



Calls from listeners trying to cool the fire inside the host’s belly only further fanned the flames.

‘For a baseball player. You take a day, all right. Back in the lineup the next day! What are you doing?’ He fumed.

‘I had three kids... I was at the birth and was back to work the next day. I didn’t see any reason not to be working,' said Francesa.

'I’d rather go out and get a couple of hits if I was a player. That’s the best thing I can do. Go play. Go make some money - you just had a kid.'

Francesa boasted that one of his three children was born at 9am and he was behind the mic that afternoon.

He called the idea of fathers not being at work a ‘scam’ and a ‘gimmick’ when informed his own radio station allows fathers 10 days out of the office to tend to the mother of their children after a birth.

‘That's ridiculous, what the heck do you need 10 days for? What are you supposed to be doing, vacationing?’ The talking head griped.

Outraged: Francesa called paternity leave a 'scam' and a 'gimmick'

Team executives disagreed.

‘The paternity-leave policy was introduced not just for the players’ benefit, but recognition by clubs in contemporary times that this is an appropriate time for parents to be together,’ Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told the New York Daily News.

‘I’ve got absolutely no problem whatsoever with Murph being away… I’m happy he was able to be with his wife.’

Manager Terry Collins told the New York Post 'for years and years guys have gone – especially the birth of their first child.'



Daniel and Victoria Murphy, married since 2012, welcomed baby Noah into their lives March 31.



The five year veteran was in Florida for the birth while his team opened the season in New York against the Washington Nationals.



The venom carried far outside WFAN’s traditional New York audience since both talk shows are syndicated on national television.

‘The FAN’ also notably began a 10 year agreement this season to air radio play-by-play of New York Yankees games after carrying the Mets since 1987.