{"id":385060,"date":"2026-07-03T15:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T15:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/385060\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T15:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T15:30:14","slug":"how-max-muncy-vying-for-third-all-star-selection-continues-to-evolve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/385060\/","title":{"rendered":"How Max Muncy, vying for third All-Star selection, continues to evolve"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Dodgers<\/a> third baseman Max Muncy<\/a> moved fluidly through a chopper at the edge of Camelback Ranch\u2019s infield grass and made a running throw to first, his offseason work started to snap into place.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t thinking about the angle he took to the ball, or how to get into the right position to throw \u2014 or anything, really. He was just moving instinctively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how I like to field it in my work, is not necessarily traditionally,\u201d Muncy told The Times on Thursday. \u201cI like to field it one-handed, sometimes off the wrong foot, sometimes off balance, and that\u2019s what works for me really, really well. I just couldn\u2019t get that into the game. And finally getting those first couple of balls [this spring] to go that way just made everything click in my head and gave me the freedom to know that I can do it when it matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muncy has put together an impressive all-around first half. His .871 OPS through Thursday leads NL third basemen. He\u2019s on pace for his highest slugging percentage (.513) in five years. But he\u2019s most proud of the work he\u2019s put in on the defensive side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I would show flashes of this, but never the consistency,\u201d Muncy said. \u201cAnd so to be able to just do it on the consistent daily basis that I\u2019ve been doing this year, that\u2019s easily what I\u2019m most proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, with that well-rounded body of work, he\u2019s in position to claim the third All-Star selection of his career and first since 2021.<\/p>\n

Muncy entered Stage 2 of All-Star fan voting this week as the favorite to claim the starting nod at third base, up against fellow finalist Alec Bohm. But voting totals reset, adding some unpredictability to the process. The All-Star starters are set to be revealed Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on Fox.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn total, the player, the defense, the hitting, the slugging, I think this is the best version of Max,\u201d manager Dave Roberts<\/a> said. \u201cI\u2019m so happy that he\u2019s leading the All-Star voting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only is this shaping up to be Muncy\u2019s best offensive season since 2021, it\u2019s the best defensive season of his career, regardless of position.<\/p>\n

Entering this weekend\u2019s series against the Padres, he had a fielding run value of plus-five runs, tied with the Giants\u2019 Matt Chapman for the highest mark among third basemen, according to Statcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s always been a hitter,\u201d first-base\/infield coach Chris Woodward<\/a> told The Times. \u201cAnd I think he took it upon himself to say, \u2018I\u2019m going to prove to everybody that I\u2019m a really good defensive player,\u2019 which he has been in his time here, but he\u2019s just never had the opportunity to play one position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Muncy is in his 11th major-league season, and has played all around the infield for most of it, 2022 marked his first season making the majority of his appearances at third base. And 2023 was his first season moving there full time.<\/p>\n

He was also limited by injuries in that span. For years, he still felt the effects of the elbow injury he suffered<\/a> toward the end of 2021. And he strained his right oblique in each of the last two seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThird base was just a new position for me, and it just took time to learn it,\u201d Muncy said. \u201cAnd so just trying to get my work to translate into the game is a tough thing to do, and that\u2019s kind of the secret to every aspect of baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each infield position is unique, with its own quirks in footwork, angles and timing. Each has plays \u2014 like a slow-roller up the third baseline that requires a quick throw across the diamond \u2014 that no other position will encounter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a righty gets around the ball, it comes off the bat a lot different than when a lefty gets around the ball,\u201d Muncy said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s weird how that works, and it\u2019s hard to explain, but that\u2019s just the way it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

For much of Muncy\u2019s baseball life he played on the right side of the infield, fielding pull-side contact from left-handed hitters and opposite-field contact from right-handed hitters. That was second nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to completely flip that,\u201d Muncy said of playing third base, \u201cand understand which way it\u2019s going to bounce, how it\u2019s going to bounce, how it\u2019s going to get to you. It just took years of experience to finally get to that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dodgers <\/p>\n

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, left, and third baseman Max Muncy congratulate each other coming off the field after a defensive play against the Baltimore Orioles on June 19.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Woodward has always been impressed by Muncy\u2019s agility, surprised when the Dodgers first promoted him in 2018 (as he returned to the big-leagues for the first time since being released by the A\u2019s the previous spring) and by how he moved at second base, despite an atypical build for a middle infielder.<\/p>\n

Now, after an offseason with a new diet and training program, he may have leveled up that part of his game \u2014 even at 35 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past it was a good first step, and he couldn\u2019t sustain his speed,\u201d Woodward said. \u201cAnd this year I think he can sustain the speed through the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Muncy: \u201cI\u2019m still beating the age curve for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woodward also noted how good Muncy is at staying on top of the mental side of the game, knowing how specific pitches to different types of hitters should change his positioning. That, along with regular communication, are some of the details that make the Dodgers infield look like it\u2019s moving as a unit \u2014 or, as Woodward put it, an \u201cNFL defense\u201d because of the way they swarm to the ball.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers\u2019 infield defense as a whole has improved even from last season (No. 6 in fielding run value) to sit in the No. 3 spot in the majors (plus-17 runs) a little past the halfway point of the season.<\/p>\n

Muncy unlocking even more potential in the hot corner is a big part of the Dodgers raising their defensive ceiling. That\u2019s helped the Dodgers, who own the best record in the majors, create separation in the standings. But it\u2019ll be even more vital in the postseason, when the margin for error is at its thinnest.<\/p>\n

In All-Star voting, defense won\u2019t be the determining factor. Muncy\u2019s increased power at the plate is the far flashier aspect of his case to start the Midsummer Classic. But a well-rounded resume doesn\u2019t hurt.<\/p>\n

Muncy can picture it: his three children \u2014 Sophie Kate, who turns 5 this month, Wyatt James, 3, and Macie Grace, who was born in January \u2014 taking in All-Star weekend in Philadelphia, watching their dad represent the National League.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to have my kids experience the whole ordeal with me would mean everything to me,\u201d Muncy said. \u201cMy oldest is kind of old enough now to remember these types of things, and so I think it\u2019d be really special to just share that moment with them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy moved fluidly through a chopper at the edge of Camelback Ranch\u2019s infield…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[155409,4472,11155,155410,426,423,10198,48,52,51,47,50,49,155408,16975,20463,8843,2695,140416,1968,72],"class_list":["post-385060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-all-star-fan-voting","tag-ball","tag-defense","tag-defensive-season","tag-dodgers","tag-game","tag-hitter","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-muncy","tag-position","tag-third-base","tag-way","tag-weekend","tag-woodward","tag-work","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}