The start of the 2025 season could not have gone much worse for Max Muncy after seven productive years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
From the Opening Series in Tokyo to April 29, Muncy hit just .180/.295/.236 with no home runs, five runs scored and four RBI. Of the 168 qualified hitters in MLB this season, Muncy ranked 151st heading into the final day of April.
On top of that, his defense has been an issue as well. He ranks in the third percentile of defenders in MLB with a -4 outs above average, posting a success rate that’s 6% below his estimated success rate with four errors after making just six all of 2024.
“Not easy. Not easy on me, not easy on my family,” Muncy said. “Playing in L.A., it’s not easy, but it’s a privilege. It’s a privilege to play under this pressure. It’s something I’ve always thrived upon, but it doesn’t mean that it’s easy.
“For me and my family, it’s been a rough month.”
But the most surprising part of Muncy’s struggles has been the lack of power. Even in his toughest stretches throughout his career, Muncy has been able to slug an occasional home run.
Finally on the last day of April, Muncy hit his first home run of the season. It ended a stretch of 151 plate appearances without a home run, the longest of his career and nearly double his previous long of 80 plate appearances.
After the home run, there was not just a bit of relief on Muncy, but his teammates in the dugout may have been even more happy for him.
“It was huge for me,” Muncy said. “Almost a little emotional. This clubhouse is very tight, it’s very close. Everyone cares about each other in here and we all just want to win.
“For us to win, everyone needs to be clicking. It’s something this whole clubhouse buys into. Just to get that kind of greeting, it felt amazing.”
Although the results haven’t been there for Muncy all season, he did feel like he was trending in the right direction. In the earliest parts of the 2025 campaign, he wasn’t talking walks and the quality of his plate appearances were poor.
But in the last two weeks, Muncy began taking better at-bats and working walks. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also saw improvements with his plate appearances, but they were still puzzled by some of the lack of results.
Max Muncy working through swing
Muncy has managed to make hard contact with some regularity but in a lot of cases, he was flat out missing pitches that he would often connect with.
“Yeah, it’s been that way for about a week or two,” Muncy said. “Like I said, I’ve felt really comfortable in the box. There’s still just one or two things that are a little bit off.
“Today was a lot closer. Obviously the ball went forward today, so that’s a good thing. Like I said, the at-bat quality has been good. It’s just getting the ball moving forward.”
Now, Muncy can move passed the mental hurdle of not having a home run, and hopefully it can help get him back on track to produce at the level he’s capable of.
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