Max Muncy, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ third baseman, has made a big statement this season.
After struggling with a .191 batting average through his first 40 games, the once-slumping veteran has bounced back in a big way, hitting .302 with a 1.026 OPS over his last 20 games.
Now that Muncy has got his groove back, his wife Kellie recalls how crazy their journey has been, looking back at her husband’s early career struggles with the Oakland Athletics and when the Dodgers first signed the infielder in 2018.
Kellie Muncy Reflects on the Struggles of Her Husband’s Max Muncy’s Early Career
On an appearance on the “Talk Dodgers To Me” podcast, Kellie revealed how she got up, left everything at work, and went to San Diego, where her husband hit his first home run in a Dodgers uniform.
“I flew immediately to San Diego, was there for that first home run,” Kellie said. “It’s just really hard to put in words, to be honest. Just where he was, and you know, the ups and downs of Oakland and then getting released and then kind of waiting around and like few teams reaching out.”
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After his time in Oakland, things got tough for Max, and he has openly admitted he even thought about retiring. In an exclusive interview with Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation, Muncy shared that he was close to walking away from baseball before ever putting on a Dodgers uniform.
Muncy made his MLB debut with the Oakland Athletics in 2015. After two seasons and a .195 batting average over 96 games, the third baseman seriously considered leaving professional baseball for good.
“After Oakland, I was pretty dead-set on retiring, actually,” Max said. “I had an offer to go play in the [KBO League], and I didn’t really want to take it; I was pretty dead-set on retiring.”
Fortunately for Dodgers supporters, Muncy’s tale did not stop there.
The third baseman played for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City for the entire 2017 season. Still, he continued on his path, finally receiving a call-up in April 2018. In his first year with the Dodgers, Muncy immediately cemented himself with the fanbase, hitting 35 home runs, 98 RBIs, and a .263 batting average, still the highest of his career.
Now with two All-Star selections, three National League pennants, and two World Series titles, Muncy’s reputation has been immortalized with Dodgers fans as he looks to help his team return to World Series glory.