Max Muncy was one of the worst defenders in the majors at the third base position last season. His 16 errors were second among all third basemen and his .944 fielding percentage was the lowest among players who played at least 45 games at third base.
He decided to start over with his training over the winter and worked more on improving his flexibility and less on strength training.
He told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register that he's moving well so far and he's staying down on balls hit to him which is a good sign. At times last season, Muncy's knees bothered him to the point that they prevented him from getting low to the ground to make plays.
“It was just making sure my feet move a little bit more, and getting the knees healthy,” he said. “Last year, I had a little trouble with just not staying down on the ball. I was coming up out of my fielding stance and everything. And when you’re doing that, it’s hard to read the hops and I kept putting myself in bad positions last year with bad hops.
“The old saying is, ‘There’s never a bad hop. You create a bad hop.’ That’s not necessarily always true. But I felt like that happened to me a lot last year, where I was just putting myself in a bad position. So the focus was just making sure that my feet stay moving. Just allowing myself to read the ball and make moves on it.”
Manager Dave Roberts is happy with how Muncy's spring has started and sees the growth in his confidence defensively.
“I think that last year, starting off slow, I think kind of messed with him a little bit and he became more tentative,” Roberts said. “Right now, physically he looks great and even mentally he’s just got a lot of confidence defensively. Defense is like hitting. You get in slumps as well defensively.
“I think the offseason, just sort of getting away from the hot box of performing … to kind of get a little reset and obviously he’s moving really well. I think that coming in with clarity was a big part of that, too.”
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