Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy doesn't want to find a new home. That might be why he sacrificed a little salary when he signed his new two-year, $24 million contract last fall.
The deal was below market value for a two-time All-Star who has launched 35 home runs in four of his last five seasons.
However, there is a catch to Muncy staying in L.A. for the rest of his career: he has to play the field.
“I’ve been very open about how I want to stay here for the rest of my career and let’s be real – there’s not really a DH spot anymore (with Shohei Ohtani signed for 10 years). So if I want to play here, I need to make sure I’m in the field, and the best way to do that is just put myself in a good spot.”
Muncy played all over the infield until two years ago, when he became the team's everyday third baseman. The role wasn't kind to him last season.
Muncy was one of baseball's worst defenders at the position with 16 errors — second among all third basemen behind Boston’s Rafael Devers. His .944 fielding percentage was the lowest among players who played at least 45 games at third base last season.
“I just look at why (the metrics were unkind). For me, there’s a lot of balls where I put myself in a bad position. … I know that’s not the defender that I am. It was just kind of a snowball effect from the beginning last year. (You) make a couple bad plays, and that kind of sticks with you and then it gets in your head that, when the ball gets hit, actually you’re expecting something bad to happen, when in reality I was the one creating the bad things that were going on.
“So you just try to clear that and you move on and you show up the next day ready to go. That’s what I’m doing right now.”
Muncy is looking to turn it around this season and not let one bad play snowball into two or more.
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