Editorials

Dodgers: Max Muncy Got Paid, But It’s Business As Usual

You would think that getting a $26 million raise would change a person’s lifestyle. But that hasn’t changed anything about who Max Muncy is. The Dodgers’ infielder has come a long way in his career, and the contract Los Angeles gave him this offseason will show that. 

It wasn’t that long ago that Muncy was considering giving up on baseball. He spent time with the Oakland A’s big-league team in 2015 and 2016, but never really got a shot. The Dodgers took a low-risk chance on Muncy and signed him to a minor league deal in 2017. It was there where his swing truly started to develop, and he started to crush minor league pitching. 

Muncy received a non-roster invite to the Dodgers’ camp the following year, and made the most of it. That performance eventually led to being called up the big league team in April 2018, and Muncy never looked back. He clobbered 35 homeruns and slashed .263/..391/.582 and shocked the baseball world in the process. Not bad for a guy that was making the Major League minimum.

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2019 was more of the same for Max Muncy. He hit 35 more homeruns for the Dodgers and put up similar enough numbers in the process. That ultimately led to Los Angeles giving him a nice extension rather than going to arbitration. For Muncy though, the money doesn’t change anything. 

I don’t live an extravagant lifestyle. I have a nice car, but I didn’t go out and buy a Ferrari or anything like that. The only thing it does is guarantee my family to be set up for the future.

Muncy has essentially locked up his spot on the roster for the next three years, but you wouldn’t know it based on his outlook.

You don’t ever want to take anything for granted, I don’t like to get complacent. If you get too comfortable knowing you supposedly have a spot on the team, you don’t really get hungry for better things. Part of that has to do with where I came from, some of the things I’ve gone through.

A hungry Max Muncy is a scary Max Muncy, and Manager Dave Roberts recognizes that about him. 

He’s still got that chip on his shoulder, he always will. I think Max will never forget being at home watching baseball [in April 2017]. That feeling never leaves you.

Whatever the case may be for Muncy’s hunger to succeed, Dodgers fans are more than happy to have him locked in for the next couple of years. 

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One Comment

  1. Well deserved for such a humble player. Need more guys like him. Got an opportunity and ran with it..”Go get it out of the ocean’– classic!!!!

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