Max Muncy

Maxwell Steven Muncy (born August 25, 1990) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Baylor Bears. He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the fifth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He played in MLB for the Athletics in 2015 and 2016, and later joined the Dodgers in 2018.

Max Muncy
Muncy with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018
Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 13
Infielder
Born: (1990-08-25) August 25, 1990
Midland, Texas
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 25, 2015, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.236
Home runs87
Runs batted in221
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Career

Amateur career

Muncy attended Keller High School in Keller, Texas.[1] The Cleveland Indians selected him in the 41st round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.

He did not sign with Cleveland and attended Baylor University. He played college baseball for the Baylor Bears from 2010 to 2012, and also played collegiate summer baseball for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2010 and 2011.[2] In his three years at Baylor, Muncy had a .311 batting average with 27 home runs. He was twice chosen to the All-Big 12 Conference team.[3]

Oakland Athletics
Muncy with the Oakland Athletics in 2015

The Oakland Athletics selected Muncy in the fifth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.[4] He made his professional debut with the Burlington Bees of the Class A Midwest League, hitting .275/.383/.432 with four home runs in 64 games. He started the 2013 season with the Stockton Ports of the Class A-Advanced California League before being promoted to the Midland RockHounds of the Class AA Texas League.[5] At the time of his promotion he was leading the California League with 21 home runs and 76 runs batted in (RBIs). In total, Muncy hit .273/.381/.476 with 25 home runs and 100 RBIs. After the season, he played for the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League.[6][7] He returned to Midland in 2014.

Muncy began the 2015 season with the Nashville Sounds of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL), but was promoted to the major leagues on April 25 after second baseman Ben Zobrist was placed on the 15-day disabled list.[8] On May 17, 2015, Muncy hit his first major league home run off of Chicago White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija.[9] He batted .206 in 45 games for Oakland in 2015. He split the 2016 season between Nashville and Oakland, batting .186 in 51 major league games in 2016.[10] The Athletics released Muncy towards the end of spring training in 2017.[1][11]

Los Angeles Dodgers

Muncy signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 27, 2017, and the organization assigned him to the Oklahoma City Dodgers of the PCL.[12] In 109 games, he hit .309 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs.[13]

Muncy was called up to the Dodgers on April 17, 2018.[14] He hit his 20th home run for the Dodgers in his 183rd at bat, setting a franchise record.[15] Muncy was chosen as a candidate for the All-Star Final Vote for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game,[16] but he finished in third place in the voting.[17] He also accepted an offer to participate in the Home Run Derby during the All-Star break.[18] After beating Javier Báez in the first round of the Derby, he lost to eventual champion Bryce Harper in the semi-finals.[19]

Muncy batted .263 and led the Dodgers in home runs and was fifth in the National League with 35. He was second in runs batted in for the Dodgers with 79, despite only playing in 137 games. Muncy also exhibited his versatility as he started games at first base (58), third base (30) and second base (13) and also played six games in the outfield.[20] In the playoffs, he hit only .182 in both the Division Series and the National League Championship Series, though he did hit two home runs in the Division Series against the Atlanta Braves.[20]

In the third game of 2018 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, Muncy scored the tying run in the 13th inning and then hit a walk-off home run in the 18th, ending the longest game in World Series history after seven hours and 20 minutes.[21] In the five games of the series, he hit .235 (four hits in 17 at-bats) with the one home run.[20]

In 2019, Muncy was selected to the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star Game as an injury replacement, his first all-star appearance, replacing Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon.[22] On August 30, 2019, Muncy was placed on injured list with a wrist fracture.[23] He finished the 2019 regular season, playing in 142 games, hitting .251/.374/.515 with 35 home runs (for the second season in a row) and a career-high 98 RBIs. Muncy also received two MVP votes.[20]

On February 6, 2020, the Dodgers and Muncy agreed to a three-year, $26 million contract extension with a $13 million option for a fourth year.[24] The 2020 season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America. Muncy played in 58 of the Dodgers' 60 games and hit .192/.331/.389 with 12 homers and 27 RBIs.[20] In the 2020 World Series, he batted .318 with one home run and six RBIs and helped the Dodgers win the championship.[20]

Personal life

Muncy and his wife, Kellie, married in November 2018.[25]

References
  1. "Olney: Max Muncy's journey from out of MLB to out of this world - Buster Olney Blog". ESPN. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  2. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. Clair, Michael (July 5, 2018). "Max Muncy facts and history". MLB.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  4. "Baseball Trio Selected in MLB Draft". BaylorBears.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  5. "TEXAS LEAGUE BASEBALL: Muncy makes a return to Midland with RockHounds". Odessa American. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  6. HARRELL MILLER. "Max Muncy looking to find stroke in Arizona Fall League". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  7. Melotte, Nick (October 5, 2013). "2013 Arizona Fall League Preview: Mesa Solar Sox". Minor League Ball. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  8. Koo, Jeremy F. (April 25, 2015). "Oakland A's place Ben Zobrist on disabled list, activate Max Muncy". Athletics Nation. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  9. "Jeff Samardzija pitches White Sox to 1st series sweep in Oakland in 18 years". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  10. "Dodgers slugger Max Muncy's resurgence". Sports.yahoo.com. October 18, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  11. "Oakland A's release Max Muncy and Josh Rodriguez". Oakland Clubhouse. Scout.com. April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  12. Stephen, Eric (April 28, 2017). "Dodgers sign Max Muncy to minor league deal". SB Nation. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  13. "2017 Oklahoma City Dodgers Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  14. Stephen, Eric (April 17, 2018). "Max Muncy called up by Dodgers, Breyvic Valera optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City". SB Nation. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  15. Davison, Drew (July 4, 2018). "MLB: Max Muncy becoming home run machine for Dodgers | Fort Worth Star-Telegram". Star-telegram.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  16. Gurnick, Ken (May 24, 2018). "Max Muncy on All-Star Final Vote ballot". MLB.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  17. Walton, Ryan (July 11, 2018). "Ross Stripling makes the NL All-Star team, Max Muncy finishes third in Final Vote". SB Nation. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  18. Gardner, Steve (July 9, 2018). "Dodgers' Max Muncy to participate in All-Star Home Run Derby". USA Today. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  19. Walton, Ryan (July 16, 2018). "Home Run Derby 2018: Max Muncy makes second round, loses to Bryce Harper". SB Nation. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  20. "Max Muncy Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  21. Boswell, Thomas (October 27, 2018). "Go crazy, Dodgers fans! Max Muncy might have just swung this World Series". Washington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  22. Islas, Elisabeth (July 5, 2019). "Max Muncy named to National League All-Star team". SB Nation. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  23. "Dodgers place Muncy on IL with wrist fracture". MLB.com. August 30, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  24. Castillo, Jorge (February 6, 2020). "Max Muncy and Dodgers agree to three-year contract extension". LA Times. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  25. https://www.dodgersnation.com/two-dodgers-players-married-over-the-weekend-ag1214/2018/11/19/
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