Max Muncy Continues To Be Underrated

Los Angeles, California. The city of movie stars, names and big personalities. Oh yeah, and championships, with the two most recent going to the Dodgers. When you think about the Los Angeles Dodgers, the names that come to mind are Shohei, Tarik, Yoshinobu, and Mookie.

Not Max.

For one reason or another, Max Muncy has been an underappreciated player in this league for far too long. No, he’s not the typical profile to win an MVP; he doesn’t have the flair that matches the city, and maybe consistency just isn’t sexy.

But, remove Max Muncy from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and this season, along with their recent history, looks different.

Stats from prior to games on Sept. 20, 2026.

Muncy’s Importance in 2026

Although the Dodgers easily clinched another NL West title, I think it’s fair to say their season has not gone quite as planned. Crazy, right? When you have their amount of star power and top prospects, and you acquire Tarik Skubal at the deadline, anything less than the best record in baseball isn’t good enough.

Part of the reason why the Dodgers have not reached the extremely high expectations many placed on them is injuries. Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, Roki Sasaki, Andy Pages, Dalton Rushing, Edwin Díaz, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and others all missed significant time on the IL.

Combine that IL time with Kyle Tucker’s ho-hum season and Mookie Betts not being quite the player he once was at the plate, and you can see why the Dodgers don’t quite look like an unstoppable force.

With so many injuries and inconsistencies in the lineup, the Dodgers needed Max Muncy more than ever. Even at 36 years old, Muncy is having an amazing season. He is slashing .254/.351/.500 with 29 home runs and a 132 wRC+, second on the team only to Ohtani’s 142 wRC+. Muncy’s 4.3 fWAR is first amongst Dodgers position players. Yes, that includes Ohtani.

He’s currently on pace to either match or surpass his career high of 4.5 fWAR from the 2021 season when he hit 36 home runs. If he doesn’t quite get to 4.5, 4.4 would tie his second-best season, which came in 2019 in the juiced-ball era. Yeah, I’d say Muncy’s doing pretty well.

After being such a consistent and healthy player throughout the beginning part of his career, Muncy missed parts of the last two seasons due to injury. Returning from injury to play over 140 games, and at this high of a level, goes to show what type of talent he is.

On the current roster, Muncy is one of three players with more than 20 home runs. Keep in mind, Ohtani also has more than 20, but he is on the IL. Muncy’s 29 home runs place him in the top 20 in all of baseball. We still saw his power in his injury-riddled seasons in 2024 and 2025, but seeing it return to this level has been a massive boost for the Dodgers.

Kyle Tucker was seen as a middle-of-the-order bat who could push Muncy down a spot, but as it has turned out, Muncy is more important than ever. Sure, this team would still have topped 90 wins without Muncy, but the lineup would feel much different. The hole created at third base would be filled by Miguel Rojas or Enrique Hernández, which is far from ideal. The drop-off from Muncy to whoever the replacement was would have been massive.

As you look ahead to the postseason, there are still questions around the Dodgers’ lineup. Pages recently returned from the IL, and Ohtani will soon, giving the Dodgers a much-needed boost. Pages adds another righty bat into the lineup and allows Tommy Edman to move back to the infield. Ohtani fills DH, which is currently held down by rookie Josue De Paula.

Muncy adds another veteran back with postseason experience. A .817 OPS and 16 career postseason home runs give the Dodgers another threat once the weather cools and the games become more important.

Yes, Muncy has been crucial to the Dodgers’ success this season. But you could really say that about his entire career.

Muncy’s Consistent Excellence

Let’s start back at the beginning. Max Muncy started with the Oakland Athletics before being released in 2017 and signing a minor league contract with the Dodgers. He debuted in LA in 2018, immediately finding success, slashing .263/.391/.582 with 35 home runs. From an Oakland castoff to hitting 35 home runs a year later was impressive, but it was just the beginning.

Muncy followed in 2019, repeating his 35-home run season, a mark he has posted four times since joining the Dodgers. Power has been an important part of his game, and so has consistency. From 2018 through 2023, Muncy logged at least 135 games each year, excluding the COVID season.

Of those six seasons, three were at 130 wRC+ or better, and five were over 100. Really, the only subpar season of his career came in 2020, when he had a 98 wRC+ and 12 home runs in 58 games.

His 2024 and 2025 shortened seasons were still, statistically, some of the best of his career. If we look at it just from a wRC+ standpoint, his 133 wRC+ in 2024 and 137 in 2025 rank in the top four in his career, while 2026 (132 wRC+) lands in the same discussion.

By now, you know what you’re getting with Muncy. Consistent power and one of the best walk rates in the league. His batting average isn’t going to wow anyone, and neither is his defense, although both are adequate in this day and age.

Max Muncy is one of the best Dodgers of all time, and you might not even realize it. His 238 career home runs rank fifth in Dodger history. He ranks seventh in walks, roughly 100 behind Jackie Robinson. Only 14 Dodgers have driven in more runs, and by the time Muncy hangs up the cleats, he could be near the top 10.

Year in and year out, Muncy gives the Dodgers exactly what they expect of him. Early in his career, he provided versatility around the diamond. If the team needed a second baseman, he’d play there. When they needed a first baseman in 2021, Muncy was the answer. Now, he’s settled into third base.

Three All-Star appearances and three World Series rings. I’d argue that he deserves more recognition. Not too bad for a guy that they got for next to nothing.

Final Thoughts

I know that the Dodgers have the type of star power that drives jersey sales. Who wouldn’t want to wear an Ohtani jersey? He’s the best player to ever play the game.

However, I wish we would see more Muncy jerseys at Dodger Stadium. In some ways, this might be a “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” situation. Luckily, I think Muncy still has several more productive seasons left. He’s not showing signs of slowing down.

If you placed Max Muncy into a number of other cities, he would be their star. I guess it’s easy to get lost in Hollywood, which has over 2,800 of them.