Max Muncy is back. After a down season where he struggled for much of the year, the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger has returned to his status among MLB’s elite hitters.
Near the end of the 2021 season, Muncy tore the UCL in his left elbow, which required him to miss the postseason, and upon returning last year, it took him a while to get his feel back for hitting. He started to show some life during the second half of the season, but it was still a work in progress.
Now in 2023, Muncy is tearing the cover off the ball once again, and so far he is producing at a clip better than his career year in 2018.
The 32-year-old attributes his rebound to getting his mind right, rather than focusing on everything he was doing when up to bat, via SportsNet LA:
“Just clearing my head. We’ve talked about it before, that was the main reason going back to step-back, was me being able to clear my head in the box and allow my swing and path – which I worked really hard on this offseason – to be able to do what it needs to do. It’s hard to do that when you’re thinking about a bunch of stuff in the box, always tying yourself up and becoming tight.”
The Dodgers will need Muncy to continue performing at a high level this season with multiple players in the lineup struggling to produce, along with injuries to a few of their starting position players. The Dodgers are 6-2 in games where Muncy hits a home run.
Muncy reclaimed the MLB lead on Sunday with 11 home runs this season, breaking a tie with New York Mets’ Pete Alonso. Muncy has already had three multi-homer games this season, two coming against the San Francisco Giants and one against the Chicago Cubs.
Max Muncy made history at Oracle Park
When the Dodgers were in San Francisco to face their longtime rivals, Muncy became the first player in MLB history to have at least four home runs and 11 RBI in a three-game series despite not starting in one of the matchups.
Even with all his success at Oracle Park, Muncy admitted he does not enjoy playing at the stadium due to the cold and rainy weather.
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