WEBVTT - Max Muncy (7-6-26) 

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<v Speaker 1>And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.

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<v Speaker 1>Ron Say was the last starting third baseman for the

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<v Speaker 1>National League back in nineteen seventy seven. That distinction now

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<v Speaker 1>goes to Max Muncie, who'll be starting for the National

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<v Speaker 1>League in Philadelphia next week. Max, congratulations on your third

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<v Speaker 1>All Star Game, but especially being named by the fans

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<v Speaker 1>to be the starter.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's a special one, you know, just getting the

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<v Speaker 2>recognition from from the fans out there, and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>obviously I can't thank the fans enough. You know, this

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<v Speaker 2>one really does mean the world to me. Just to

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<v Speaker 2>be able to celebrate it with my family and my kids,

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<v Speaker 2>who you know, they weren't there for my previous two,

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<v Speaker 2>and then just to be able to get back to

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<v Speaker 2>the form that you know, I felt like I should

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<v Speaker 2>be playing at all these years.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, this one's special.

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<v Speaker 1>It's got to be gratifying with all the work that

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<v Speaker 1>you put in during the offseason that the fans recognize

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<v Speaker 1>the production that it translated into.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, And you know it's just you know, you show

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<v Speaker 2>up every single day trying to help the team win.

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<v Speaker 2>You don't really care about yourself, but to get a

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<v Speaker 2>little recognition from the fans for them to say, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>you are playing really well.

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<v Speaker 3>It's just a really cool thing. It's a really cool moment,

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<v Speaker 3>and it definitely means a lot to me.

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<v Speaker 1>I know You've had a lot of pinch me moments

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<v Speaker 1>in your Dodger career, but is this one of them,

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<v Speaker 1>not just being named a starter, but at the position

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<v Speaker 1>that you'll be starting at third base?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, yeah, I think it definitely is.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, I don't know that I ever truly felt

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<v Speaker 2>that third base would become a spot that I could

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<v Speaker 2>be an All Star at. You know, you look around

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<v Speaker 2>the league and there's just there's a lot of really

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<v Speaker 2>good third basement out there, and you know, it's a

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<v Speaker 2>position that I really didn't know and I didn't know

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<v Speaker 2>how to play. But I showed up every single day,

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<v Speaker 2>try to put in the work, and you know, I

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<v Speaker 2>feel like I'm finally becoming the defensive player that I

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<v Speaker 2>always felt I could be. And it's been it's been

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of fun, and you know, just again to

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<v Speaker 2>get that recognition, it really really does mean a lot.

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<v Speaker 2>I can't put enough and too, you know, I can't

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<v Speaker 2>say enough about how much.

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<v Speaker 3>It means to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Max A lot of times when players invest a lot

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<v Speaker 1>on the defensive side, it takes away from offense. How

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<v Speaker 1>have you been able to balance both to become an

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<v Speaker 1>All Star?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, the biggest thing was learning in my routines, especially

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<v Speaker 2>on defense, just trying to get.

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<v Speaker 3>The knowledge know what I need to do.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, after years of putting in hours upon

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<v Speaker 2>hours every single day, I finally got to a point

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<v Speaker 2>where I felt like I found the right routine for me.

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<v Speaker 3>And then it's just honing that in on a daily basis.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, that's that's the routines that you're seeing

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<v Speaker 2>me out here doing every single day along with you know,

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<v Speaker 2>Freddie and Miggie and everyone has their own routine and

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<v Speaker 2>it just takes time to figure out exactly which one's

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<v Speaker 2>working for you.

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<v Speaker 3>And and it just took me years to figure that out.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of young players they say that to be

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<v Speaker 1>successful in the big leagues, you've got to find a routine.

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<v Speaker 3>At this stage of your career.

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<v Speaker 1>Is it interesting that you still have a routine and

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<v Speaker 1>you still have to maintain and you know, be religious

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<v Speaker 1>to it.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think you ever lose a routine, doesn't matter

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<v Speaker 2>what part of your career. And for me, it's not

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<v Speaker 2>It's not a shock at all, because, like I said,

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<v Speaker 2>I've just every single year, I feel like I'm continuing

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<v Speaker 2>to learn the position of third base. And you know,

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<v Speaker 2>maybe it'd be different if it was a position that

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<v Speaker 2>I'd played my entire life and I felt like I

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<v Speaker 2>knew it already. But I'm still learning it and even

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<v Speaker 2>now I'm still learning how to play it.

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<v Speaker 3>And uh, there's little.

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<v Speaker 2>Things I pick up on almost every single day about

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<v Speaker 2>how I feel like I can be playing it better

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<v Speaker 2>just from you know, watching my teammates, watching the other team,

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<v Speaker 2>watching games on TV, and you're kind of just studying baseball,

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<v Speaker 2>and you know, for me, I've always tried to study

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<v Speaker 2>what the best third baseman do and try to implement

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<v Speaker 2>implement that into my game and figure out how that

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<v Speaker 2>works for me.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there one guy that you kind of looked at,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe on video during the off season, where maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>took something from them.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, it's everybody. It's not just one guy, because

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<v Speaker 2>everyone has their own unique style. You know. You look

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<v Speaker 2>at you know, in Aeronauto where he's always fielding things

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<v Speaker 2>on the run and throwing on the run, versus a

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<v Speaker 2>Chapman always fielding things deep, and you know, everyone has

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<v Speaker 2>their own unique style and you have to figure out

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<v Speaker 2>which one's yours, and so for me, it was just

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<v Speaker 2>trying to take little elements from all of those guys

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<v Speaker 2>and figure out how it best works for me and

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<v Speaker 2>then find my own style with it.

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<v Speaker 1>Max Munsey is our guest. He's headed to his third

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<v Speaker 1>All Star Game, first time starting at their Bays, first

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<v Speaker 1>time starter for the Dodgers at the hot corner since

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen seventy seven, You've had experiences at the All Star Game.

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<v Speaker 1>What have been your past experiences and how much are

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<v Speaker 1>you looking forward to being in that clubhouse with those

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<v Speaker 1>guys again.

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<v Speaker 2>It's always it's always just an insane moment because you're

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<v Speaker 2>you're there with you know, the absolute best in the game,

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<v Speaker 2>and you know you're shown up into the clubhouse and

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<v Speaker 2>it's it is it's the All Star team. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>you're looking at just players from from every team across

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<v Speaker 2>the league, the best players, and it's it's kind of

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<v Speaker 2>a surreal moment to know that you're just you're there

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<v Speaker 2>with everyone else, and you know that's where the recognition

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<v Speaker 2>part comes in, and it's just really cool to have that.

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<v Speaker 1>Any temptation to enter the home run derby.

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<v Speaker 3>No, no, not for me. I haven't been asked.

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<v Speaker 2>But you know, for me, being healthy is the more

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<v Speaker 2>important part. And but you know that's been the biggest

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<v Speaker 2>key to my success this year, is just staying healthy

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<v Speaker 2>and I want to keep it that way. And part

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<v Speaker 2>of that is not doing anything stupid to risk that.

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<v Speaker 1>Speaking of home runs, when you first came to the Dodgers,

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<v Speaker 1>people try to put you in that bucket where you

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<v Speaker 1>were a three true outcome player. And now it seems

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<v Speaker 1>like everybody's starting to recognize how much work you've put

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<v Speaker 1>in to not just be a three true outcome player.

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<v Speaker 1>How proud are you that your game has evolved into

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<v Speaker 1>being the well rounded hitter that you've become.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean a lot.

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<v Speaker 2>I feel like anytime you're a guy that walks a lot,

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<v Speaker 2>you kind of get put into that category. And you know,

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<v Speaker 2>part of that is just a result of if you're

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<v Speaker 2>losing at bats because you're you're walking, but you're you're

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<v Speaker 2>getting on base, and that's the goal is to get

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<v Speaker 2>on base.

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<v Speaker 3>So for me, it's never something that bothered me.

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<v Speaker 2>But you know, you when you look at some guys,

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<v Speaker 2>they're getting five at bats a game, if your guy

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<v Speaker 2>that walks a bunch, you're only getting three bats or

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<v Speaker 2>maybe even two of bats, depending And so sometimes the

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<v Speaker 2>hits just don't come as much when you're when you're

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<v Speaker 2>constantly getting locks. But that's always something that I've been

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<v Speaker 2>proud of, is I'm on base for the guys behind

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<v Speaker 2>me to drive me in and ultimately that helps us

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<v Speaker 2>win the game. And that's the whole point of playing

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<v Speaker 2>as you're trying to win the game.

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<v Speaker 1>You told me a few years ago, you know, when

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<v Speaker 1>maxim and see is going well, when I'm taking my walks,

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<v Speaker 1>not necessarily the hits of the home runs. Is that

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<v Speaker 1>still true?

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<v Speaker 3>This year might be a little bit different.

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<v Speaker 2>I haven't been getting as many walks this year, but

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<v Speaker 2>you know, my my bath to ball success rate it's

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<v Speaker 2>been a little bit better. And you know, I've just

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<v Speaker 2>been you know, and I don't know if that has

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<v Speaker 2>something to do with the abs zone or not. It

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<v Speaker 2>seems like seems like teams have been attacking me a

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<v Speaker 2>lot more in zone this year compared to years past.

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<v Speaker 3>And you know, that could play in Twitter.

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<v Speaker 2>It could just be that's just how this year's gone,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, it is it is baseball there's no way

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<v Speaker 2>to predict what's gonna happen, and you know, but for me,

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<v Speaker 2>it's been giving me more opportunities to get hits and

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<v Speaker 2>that's what I've been trying to take advantage of.

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<v Speaker 1>Every year is unique. We all understand that you guys

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<v Speaker 1>have a large lead in the NL West as we

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<v Speaker 1>get closer to the All Star break. You've been part

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<v Speaker 1>of Dodger teams where you had big leads in the

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<v Speaker 1>second half of the season. What have you learned from

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<v Speaker 1>that and the experience of winning back to back championships

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<v Speaker 1>with this big of a lead, what do you guys

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<v Speaker 1>have to continue to do to not let down?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, I think this group is a little bit

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<v Speaker 2>different just the amount of experience we have, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>on the team, and in the past, we hadn't been

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<v Speaker 2>as bought into just taking it day by day as

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<v Speaker 2>we are now. And part of that is just understanding

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<v Speaker 2>what the end goal is for us. And the only

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<v Speaker 2>way you get there is you. You you show up

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<v Speaker 2>every day and you you do what you have to

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<v Speaker 2>do for that day. You can't worry about anything else

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<v Speaker 2>that's going on. You can't worry about tomorrow or next

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<v Speaker 2>week or the week after that you have you know,

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<v Speaker 2>tonight we have Kyle Freeland the Rockies. How are we

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<v Speaker 2>gonna win this game? And then when we show up tomorrow,

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<v Speaker 2>we'll worry about tomorrow's pitcher. And that's that's just how

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<v Speaker 2>we've been taking it every single day. And that's that's

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<v Speaker 2>really what's helped us win two.

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<v Speaker 3>World Series back to back.

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<v Speaker 2>Is you know, even in the postseason, it doesn't matter

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<v Speaker 2>if you won the night before, you got to show

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<v Speaker 2>up the next day and you play that game.

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<v Speaker 1>Will that be the challenge in the second half for

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<v Speaker 1>you guys to stay in the moment.

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<v Speaker 3>Uh?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean obviously that's that's kind of always the challenge.

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<v Speaker 2>But you know, I think for us, like I said,

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<v Speaker 2>having the experience that's been that's been helping us a bunch.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't have to worry about me, Muncie. I won't

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<v Speaker 1>let down in the second half either.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't think I was ever worried about you.

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<v Speaker 1>I know, thank you, thanks a lot for the time.

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<v Speaker 1>Great to see you be recognized for all the hard

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<v Speaker 1>work you've put in. You are one of the best

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<v Speaker 1>players in Major League Baseball and you're a three time

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<v Speaker 1>World Series champion, one of the most clutch hitters in

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<v Speaker 1>modern Dodger history. So congratulations, enjoy Philadelphia, and we'll see

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<v Speaker 1>you in the second half of the season.

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<v Speaker 3>Appreciate David. I'm definitely gonna enjoy it. I know my

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<v Speaker 3>kids are too,