WASHINGTON — With his new employer, Daniel Murphy has gone yard far more often than when he played for the Mets.

Actually, it’s Murphy’s 2-year-old son Noah — remember the foolish controversy in 2014 when Murphy missed two games for Noah’s birth? — who has benefited the most from the Murphys’ relocation to Alexandria, Va.

“We have a yard, which is uniquely different,” the second baseman told The Post on Tuesday afternoon at Nationals Park. “New York brought its own cool qualities. We got to live in Manhattan for a number of years.

“The little man, I will say, is very excited to have a back yard right now. He’s ecstatic about that.”

Noah Murphy isn’t the only one ecstatic that his dad wound up leaving the Mets for their arch-rivals. As the Mets and Nationals have engaged in a high-octane duel for the National League East penthouse, Murphy has been arguably Washington’s most valuable player, bringing a .398/.439/.650 slash line into Wednesday’s action and making his three-year, $37.5 million contract look like a bargain.

He was leading all of Major League Baseball in hitting, and ranked in the top 10 in on-base percentage (4th), slugging percentage (6th) and hits (2nd).

In the process, the second baseman has both affirmed the worst fears of Mets fans and honored words that general manager Sandy Alderson voiced last fall: Murphy’s October 2015 surge, which included Most Valuable Player honors in the National League Championship Series, looks like no fluke. The 31-year-old’s transformation from interesting (but flawed) everyday player to exceptional hitter continues.

The Mets and their fans will get a first-hand glimpse next week when Murphy and the Nats come to Citi Field for the initial head-to-head matchup of the season — and Murphy’s first trip to Flushing as a visiting player.

“We’ve still got the Tigers in town,” said Murphy, part-stoic, part-contrarian per usual when asked about that series. “There’ll be plenty of time to reminisce on that once we get to New York.”

The one component of his Mets life on which Murphy would reminisce? His last Mets hitting coach, Kevin Long, whom he credits — along with Long’s assistant, Pat Roessler — for transforming his offensive game. From 2008 through 2014, he put up a .290/.333/.419 slash line in 3,081 plate appearances. Since the start of the 2015 campaign, including the Mets’ postseason run, he has tallied a .306/.349/.509 line in 734 plate appearances.

“I think that my approach is different,” Murphy said. “Early on in my career, making contact was a win. There are certain situations where that is a win, but in speaking with K-Long last year, and Pat Roessler, and also here with [Nationals hitting coach] Rick Schu and [assistant hitting coach] Jacque Jones, it’s kind of molded what it is I’m trying to do.

“A specific pitch, in a specific zone, I’m basically trying to hit it as hard as humanly possible, is kind of what I’m going for. So we were able to identify, one of the unique skills I had was, I didn’t swing and miss a lot. Which can also be a detriment if you don’t swing at good pitches. [I’m] really trying to hunt pitches that I can be dangerous on and hit them as hard as I can, is kind of the goal right now.”

Schu said: “I think now he’s really starting to pull the ball a little bit more, show more power. He’s been great.”

As MLB.com’s Mike Petriello detailed in a recent tweet, first under Long and now with Schu, Murphy crouches more and stands closer to home plate than he once did. The power and the pulling are the most obvious byproducts. Murphy’s pull percentage stood at 40.7 percent, the same as last year, as of Wednesday morning (thanks, FanGraphs). His previous career high had been 35.6 percent in 2009, his second season. Most dramatically, his groundball percentage has dropped all the way to 26.9 percent; his previous low was 40 percent in 2009. Murphy is lifting the ball far more often.

“Just trying to use my legs a little bit more,” Murphy said. “I know that was big with Kevin and again here with Rick. Any time I get in trouble, I get a little tall. Just not able to use all of my energy into the ball.”

As for moving closer to the plate, “I ran some numbers and I think I struggled most on the pitch away,” Murphy said. “And so we figured if we can make that pitch that’s right on the corner a little closer to me, I might have a little more success. Since that adjustment was made, I had a little bit more success.”

“That’s all part of his personality and the way he’s never satisfied with what he does,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said of Murphy. “Because he was a pretty good player before he made those adjustments, and a lot of guys wouldn’t have the gumption to make a change when they’re going so good.”

The Mets haven’t missed Murphy terribly because the man they acquired to replace him, Neil Walker, has produced sufficiently. And while Murphy might not want to look ahead to next week, he has very much kept tabs on his old club and his successor at the keystone.

“I know he’s got like nine homers, I think,” Murphy said, accurately, of Walker. “I check those guys out. I built a lot of good relationships in New York. Didn’t he foul a couple of pitches off his ankle so he didn’t play [Monday] night? Flo [Wilmer Flores] got the start.

“Looks like he’s playing really well. It’s not an easy adjustment to make to that market. Looks like he’s handled it great. It seems like him and K-Long and Pat have done great offensively, and sounds like he’s playing really good defense and [exhibiting] toughness, obviously. It seems like he’s made a very seamless transition there.”

Spoken by someone who knows of seamless transitions. He’ll try to make another one next week in New York.

“I don’t know what it’s going to look like,” Murphy said of his return to Citi Field, where he’s sure to receive a boisterous ovation from the crowd. “I’d like to finish up this homestand the right way. And then it’s an off day [Monday].

“I’m not sure what my wife and I are going to do yet. We may go up early if we can catch up with some of the guys. I know they’re coming back from the West Coast, so they may be smoked. [Tori Murphy] may be able to see some of the wives. She built relationships as well.

“We’re gonna open up the series there Tuesday. It should make for some fun baseball. There’s no doubt about that.”

The only way Murphy will be able to go yard next week, when his team will be at a Manhattan hotel, is by hitting one or more balls over the wall at Citi Field. Don’t bet against him doing just that.