By this point, every Dodger fan knows the story of Max Muncy, how he had lost the love of the game and considered never playing again.
Now, Muncy has a nine-year career with the Dodgers, which includes three All-Star appearances and three World Series rings. And most recently, the most home runs at Dodgers Stadium. All while reaching that 10-years of service time threshold.
“It’s special. It’s a rare accomplishment in baseball,” Muncy said of the feat that fewer than 10% of all MLB players reach. “It’s something that I’m extremely proud of. There’s not many things that I take personal pride in when it comes to, you know, personal accomplishments. For me, it’s always about winning rings and doing things as a team.
“But this is one of the few that I’m really, really proud of, and I’ll definitely cherish.”
Joaquin Ruiz of the L.A. Times highlights how Muncy also is fifth in Dodgers franchise history in homers and first in postseason home runs.
Ruiz talked to reliever Brock Stewart, who also was on that Triple-A team with Muncy in 2017.
“He’s always been a good teammate [and] always been a good human,” Stewart said. “I don’t know if he always believed in himself, and I can relate to that, because I didn’t believe in myself all the time … But to see him and how he persevered through that feeling [or] that self-doubt and became what he is now [is] super special.
“And, man, to know that he’s now the Dodger [Stadium] all-time home run leader? Whatever it is … after being an older guy in triple A with me and then getting called up … special.”
But for all his personal accolades, those three rings are what he cherishes most.
“There’s not much when it comes to me, personally, that I care about,” Muncy said. “But three rings is definitely what I [cherish] most.”
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Mirjam Swanson, also of the L.A. Times, posits that both Tarik Skubal and the Dodgers need to step it up for each other before the postseason.
The Dodgers have lost all three games since acquiring the two-time Cy Young winner. In Skubal’s 17 innings with the Dodgers, Skubal has allowed 15 hits and seven runs. In return, the Dodgers have given Skubal the Cy Young treatment – not many runs in support…which they have done repeatedly for both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw, to name a few. (No, Yamamoto has not won a Cy Young but he has consistently been the best pitcher on this squad.)
“Wants to win; prepared; great competitor,” Roberts said. “We certainly haven’t seen his best yet, but man, it feels good every time he’s out there. It really does.
“I just still don’t think we’ve seen his best, which is a good thing for us.”
The Dodgers and Skubal have about six weeks to get things together before the playoffs begin and the baseball world can honestly complain about the powerhouse Dodgers who are buying and trading for only the best to the detriment of the rest of the baseball world.