Sunday, March 8, 2026

Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2026

Max Muncy is the longest-tenured member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2017, after the Oakland Athletics released him, he was contemplating a return to Baylor University when Farhan Zaidi, the Dodgers’ general manager, called and offered him a minor league deal.

Luckily, Muncy accepted it.

Without Muncy, the Dodgers might not have won a World Series yet. Muncy has three World Series rings.

He brings the fire to the Dodgers. He is a vocal leader.

In February, he signed his fourth contract extension with the Dodgers.

Could he get more money elsewhere?

Definitely. Muncy is the most underpaid Dodger superstar, but he is loyal to the Dodger organization for giving him a second chance to have a major league career. The money isn’t important to him. His loyalty to the Dodgers is unmatched, and he hopes to have the opportunity to retire a Dodger.

People focus on Miguel Rojas’ unexpected, thrilling, ninth-inning, tying home run of Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Rightly so. But without Muncy’s solo shot in the eighth, the Dodgers aren’t back-to-back World Championships.

Muncy almost never had major league glory.

When Muncy was a member of the Athletics, he had five home runs in 96 games over two seasons. He had a good eye for the strike zone. He could play all infield positions except shortstop. Without a decent batting average, Muncy didn’t fit into the Athletics’ plans.

During 2018 spring training, he opened the Dodgers’ eyes with his surprising power. If Justin Turner hadn’t broken his wrist, Muncy might have been buried in the Dodger minor league system. The Dodgers didn’t play well in early 2018, so they promoted Muncy to get more offensive power.

In 2018, Muncy had 35 home runs in 137 games. Nobody will soon forget when he hit the game-winning homer in the eighteenth inning of Game 3 of the 2018 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, the only game that the Dodgers won.

Muncy told Madison Bumgarner, as a member of the San Francisco Giants, “to get the f—ing ball out of the ocean,” after the star pitcher allowed a two-run homer to Muncy. This endeared him to Dodger fans forever.

In the 2020 postseason, Muncy had many important home runs, including a grand slam against the Atlanta Braves.

If he hadn’t dislocated his elbow on the last day of the 2021 season, the Dodgers might have been back-to-back World Champions then.

After the serious injury, Muncy wasn’t himself. Without complaining, he moved to third base when the Dodgers signed Freddie Freeman, but it was a difficult transition. He could have been a Gold Glove first baseman. After much hard work, Muncy is an above-average third baseman. His power returned in 2023 with 36 home runs.

Although he missed most of the 2024 regular season with a stubborn oblique injury, Muncy played a major role in that World Championship. He had the idea of the team being together as much as possible between the end of the regular season and the NLDS. In the two previous years, the Dodgers, with the best records, had exited the postseason in disappointing fashion.

In the 2024 NLCS against the New York Mets, Muncy reached base 12 consecutive times. He had a .333 batting average in the World Series.

In 2025, when Muncy played, the Dodgers won. When he didn’t, they struggled to score.

This spring, he has huge shoes to fill with Clayton Kershaw’s retirement. While Mookie Betts, Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani are leaders, they lead by example. Muncy is a vocal leader. If a teammate fouls up, Muncy will get in his face and tell him that he needs to do better.

Dodger fans are paying attention to Kyle Tucker. For sure, he is an important Dodger. But Muncy is the cog that makes the Dodgers go.