LOS ANGELES – Max Muncy isn’t the Dodgers player many would guess as the franchise’s all-time home run leader, but it all adds up.
As the team’s longest-tenured player, Muncy starred for the Dodgers during a period of prosperity (with more postseason runs than ever) that rivals or surpasses any in club history. On Saturday, in Game 2 of the World Series, he delivered his 15th career postseason homer, extending the Dodgers’ all-time lead.
“It’s very difficult for me to be at the top of anything in this organization,” Muncy said Sunday before a practice at Dodger Stadium. “It’s a really historically important franchise, a lot of great players – Hall of Famers – have come out of this organization. Just to be in that category means a lot.”
Muncy, who has played for the Dodgers since 2018, only claimed first place with a homer during the NLCS, putting him ahead of Justin Turner and Corey Seager. Muncy has played 74 postseason games for the Dodgers.
By comparison, Duke Snider, who is fourth on the Dodgers all-time list with 11 home runs, played only 36 postseason games (all in the World Series).
In a lineup with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, it might be easy to overlook Muncy, but it’s not recommended.
“Everyone is focusing on the top of the lineup,” Muncy said. “But that’s where we’ve been able to win so many games because it’s not always necessarily the top that does the damage for us. It’s just the depth that we have in the lineup.”
“That’s something I’ve always been proud to be a part of. Doc [Roberts] can place me wherever he wants. I’m not a guy with an ego, and where he feels like it will best help the lineup, he puts me in and I’m proud of that.
Bo Bichette, who returned to the Blue Jays lineup for Game 1 of the World Series after missing seven weeks with a left knee sprain, will start at second base again on Monday, according to manager John Schneider. Bichette was benched for Game 2.
#Underrated #Max #Muncy #tops #Dodgers #alltime #postseason #homer #list