First off, I don’t really watch much Dodger baseball. Mostly because I live on the East Coast and obviously they play in LA which is 3 hrs behind. However, whenever I can’t sleep or just wanna watch some baseball, I turn on MLB Network and always see the Dodgers play someone. Right now they’re playing the Rockies in the Battle for the NL West. The one person who always stands out to me is Max Muncy. This dude straight up rakes and I am gonna show him the love he deserves.
Minors
In the beginning of the season, when the Dodgers offense was slumping and they didn’t have the players they do now, Max Muncy was the only standout player. He was a threat at the plate for seemingly every at-bat. A little bit of a biography for you all. He was drafted by the Oakland A’s in the 5th round of the 2012 draft out of Baylor University. His career stats in the minors are as follows:
- .276 BA
- .382 OBP %
- .438 SLG %
- .821 OPS
- 62 HRS
- 295 RBI
- 568 Games
- 544 Hits
Majors
That’s actually quite a career in the Minors. I’m no mathematician but that’s almost 1 hit per game in the minors. Pretty damn impressive. Flash forward to his first two seasons in the MLB with Oakland:
- .195 BA
- .288 OBP
- .325 SLG
- .613 OPS
- 42 H
- 96 Games
- 17 RBI
- 5 HRS
- 29 BB
Those are not so great numbers through his first two seasons. So, what changed exactly? Well, he stuck it out through all the struggles. That shows me one thing, this dude has some kind of mental strength. Two, he wasn’t getting a whole lot of time with the A’s. You can see in two seasons, he played a total of 96 games. It’s hard to get into a groove when you’re playing less than half a season. Third, once he got traded to LA, he started to work with Shawn Wooden on his approach at home plate, and his mental game. Once he got to the big leagues and started to get playing time for the struggling Dodger offense, he really showed what he could do. This season his stat line is:
- .255 BA
- .388 OBP
- .577 SLG
- .965 OPS
- 93 H
- 125 Games
- 68 RBI
- 33 HR
- 76 BB
Max in LA
Oh, not to mention he was the fastest player to reach 20 HRS ever in Dodgers history. This guy shows everyone time and time again with his clutch hitting, big power ability at the dish, and his mental approach that he is a star in the making. He isn’t flashy, at all, but he is consistent. Yes, I get it, he’s not batting over .300 like Yelich, Betts, Martinez, Trout, or Altuve. But if you’re going to sit there and tell me he didn’t inject life into the LA Dodgers, you are an idiot.
I was glad that this guy could show out at the Derby in DC for all to see. He put on a laser show and showed all of the baseball world what he could do. He is going to be an integral part in the Dodgers playoff push, and maybe their playoff run. Even with Machado, Turner, Kemp, Puig, all those guys, he just shows that he can be a big name in baseball for some time. So, watch out for big man Max Muncy in the future. If the MLB gave out Unsung Hero Awards like my high school team did, he would get it. Get yours Max Muncy, you’ve earned it.
