As the Dodgers’ clubhouse was clearing out on Friday night, Max Muncy reflected on how this chapter of his life started.
How he was once a 27-year-old minor leaguer who made the most of unexpected playing time in spring training because of a norovirus outbreak in Dodgers camp in 2018. How he was called up to the major leagues that season only because of an injury to Logan Forsythe.
Back then, who would have guessed he’d still be here? Who would have guessed he’d go on to hit more home runs in a Dodgers uniform than Steve Garvey? Who would have guessed he’d be finishing a three-homer game with a walk-off blast as a 35 year old, as he did on Friday night in an 8-7 victory over the Texas Rangers?
“That’s not bad,” Muncy said, shaking his head. “Not bad.”
Perhaps because of how the Dodgers portion of his career started, Muncy has done everything possible to extend it, and that’s how he ended up with another story he can one day share with his future grandchildren.
The three-homer game was a testament to his patience, with Muncy saying he’s finally recovered from a dislocated elbow and torn ulnar collateral ligament he sustained in 2021 when a runner sprinted through his outstretched left arm at first base.
“Just with it being my back arm, I wasn’t able to do things that I wanted to do and that was one of the things that was tough for me, driving the ball to left field,” he said. “The last two years, I really feel like I’ve been able to do that a little bit. I’m always going to pull the ball, but when I can stay through the center of the field, that’s when I feel like everything’s working really well.”
The performance on Friday night was also the result of sacrifice – to be more precise, the sacrifice of one of his former dietary staples.
“Really cut back on the bread,” Muncy said. “That’s a hard thing in our family. We really love bread.”
By changing what he ate, Muncy was able to transform his body, and he reported to spring training at 207 pounds, which was 17 pounds lighter than he was the year before.
“Understanding where I’m at at this point in my career,” Muncy said. “I’ve always been a strong guy, but at this stage, I’m not really adding much strength in the offseason. It’s just really hard to do. So for me, it was kind of just a shift in the plan to go more towards mobility, more towards running, more towards any time of range stuff and less focus on strength.”
Major League Baseball’s Statcast system ranks his defensive range in the 88th percentile in the majors, up from the 10th percentile last year.
“Feel like I’m moving really well,” he said. “Feel like I’m getting good reads on the ball. Most importantly, I feel like my feet are moving on every groundball. That’s something that I’ve always struggled with in the past. I just get stuck a little bit and that puts me in bad positions on certain hops. But I feel like everything’s moving fluidly and just feel healthy. That’s kind of the most important thing right now.”
The increased mobility hasn’t cost Muncy his trademark power, as evidenced by his second homer on Friday, which was to the opposite field.
Muncy homered just once in the Dodgers’ previous 11 games, and manager Dave Roberts credited his breakout on his mindset.
“Doc, I’m really close,” Roberts recalled Muncy telling him.
“I think in years past, you would see a spike and some anxiousness bleed in,” Roberts said.
Known for his woe-is-me demeanor, Muncy has become unusually upbeat, telling Roberts that he thinks he could hit .300 this season. Muncy has never batted over .263.
“I guess that’s what three kids does to you,” Roberts said. “You start to turn optimistic.”
Roberts said he also thought the contract extension Muncy signed in the offseason gave him some peace. The deal runs through the 2028 season, after which Muncy thinks he probably will retire.
He will finish with at least three World Series championships, maybe more. And the 213 homers he’s hit with the Dodgers is one more than Garvey, which places him third in the franchise since its move to Los Angeles.
“It means a lot,” Muncy said. “Garvey is one of those guys that is just kind of a Dodger icon. The way he carried himself, the way he played the game, just a model of consistency. He really embodied what being a Dodger was.”
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