Dodgers’ Max Muncy looking to correct a ‘misunderstanding’ in his swing

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ARLINGTON, Texas — For at least one swing on Sunday, Max Muncy found what he was looking for. The Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman kept his hips back on a sinker from Texas Rangers reliever Hoby Miller and connected, lashing a 106.7 mph fly ball as deep as Globe Life Field could hold it. In a season that has lacked thump from one of the Dodgers’ premium thumpers, it was an encouraging sign.

Then center fielder Dustin Harris ran nearly full speed and tracked the ball down on the warning track. Muncy raised his arms in equal parts confusion and disgust as he rounded first base. It’s been that kind of start. Only 10 players in the majors entered Monday with more plate appearances without a home run than Muncy’s 79.

At his best, Muncy is emblematic of the Dodgers’ offensive mantra. He commands the strike zone and runs up pitch counts. When the mistake comes, he punishes it. Once on the outskirts of the sport, he rode that power-and-patience skill set to the top 10 of the franchise’s top-10 all-time home run list (he’s ninth with 190).

Now, he’s scuffling. The Dodgers’ offense has underperformed, ranking outside the top 10 in baseball in runs scored and wRC+. There’s probably a correlation there.

Muncy hasn’t drawn walks at his normal rate. He hasn’t hit for much power (.265 slugging percentage). The underlying data mostly just frustrated him further over the season’s first couple of weeks; his bat speed has remained consistent, as has his bat path. He simply couldn’t get the swings off he’s liked, and could not pick up the baseball out of the pitcher’s hand as well as he normally would.

“My swing speed was the same,” Muncy, 34, said this weekend in Arlington. “My launch-to-contact speed was the exact same as it’s been since I first got here. But I was late on everything and missing everything.”

He theorized that this disconnect started with his offseason plan, as he attempted to hammer home a mental cue. One of baseball’s best home run hitters would try to hit the ball on the ground and hit low line drives in an effort to remain on top of the baseball.

It’s been a constant talking point, even last year when Muncy put together an .852 OPS that was his highest since he garnered MVP votes in 2021. That best version of himself, Muncy said, was a more well-rounded hitter.

Normally, that would be a good idea, hitting coach Aaron Bates said. Muncy’s swing naturally generates loft. His normal bat path means he meets the ball around 10 inches out in front of home plate, which naturally will generate a lot of pulled fly balls and power. So, trying to stay on top of the ball is a means of avoiding becoming too pull-happy.

“Max has natural loft in his swing,” Bates said. “A lot of lefties do. So I think he doesn’t need to artificially try to elevate the baseball. For him, trying to think more line drive is just going to keep him above the ball longer.”

Instead, it’s caused Muncy to develop bad habits. He’d lurch his shoulders forward, restricting his hips from properly rotating and generating power. His contact point has moved ever so slightly closer to the pitcher; instead of that being sharply hit pulled fly balls, it’s been weak contact or no contact at all. By not giving himself enough time, he stopped seeing the ball as well. His 24.3 percent chase rate would be the highest of his career.

“That was causing me to be just not on time with any single pitch that was thrown,” Muncy said.

A lot more of his swings looked like this one, against the Nationals.

“It was kind of just a misunderstanding of how my body works in terms of my swing,” Muncy said.

The Dodgers have worked with Muncy on recalibrating. So much of his swing is centered around his ability to stay strong on his back hip and leg; that’s where he generates force and balance.

“I just think sometimes Max gets in a position where he can’t hold his back side, gets a little too quick, the swing gets long,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Muncy changed up his mental cues. He tried to think of a lofted fly ball to center field, just like the one he hit in the ninth inning on Sunday against Milner. He started making harder contact. His back side remained strong.

“When I hold my back side I can do whatever I want with the bat, with my leg kick,” Muncy said. “I can go no leg kick, I can toe tap. I can drop my hands through my waist. I can have them way above my head. It doesn’t matter. If I’m holding my back side I can do whatever I want to do. When I’m going bad, I’m not holding my back side at all. That’s always been the biggest key for me and that’s also my biggest strength. When I am holding my back side, I’m really, really good. It’s just not easy to do.”

His swing is still not right. But it’s trending in the right direction. Two of his four hardest-hit balls this season came over the weekend against the Rangers. He’s walked six times in his past 30 plate appearances. The at-bats look more like Muncy, even if the results haven’t come for either the player or the Dodgers’ offense. Since the team’s 8-0 start, the Dodgers have put up a below-average wRC+ (94) and a .681 OPS, averaging 3.6 runs over the 15 games.

The Dodgers have survived it to this point.

“Just went the wrong way,” Muncy said. “That’s just baseball. That’s just life. Sometimes you try to do something and it completely backfires on you. That’s sort of what happened.”

(Photo of Max Muncy: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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