Max Muncy: Dodgers ‘Finally Ran Out Of Steam’

The Los Angeles Dodgers went into the 2026 season as a heavy World Series favorite thank to much of their core roster remaining intact and the additions of Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker in free agency.

Díaz and Tucker struggled throughout most of the year, but the Dodgers still finished with the second-best record in baseball. Just ahead of them was the Milwaukee Brewers, who led all teams with 103 wins. The Dodgers and Brewers met in a National League Championship Series rematch from last year, and the result again was one-sided.

Max Muncy’s reaction

After the Dodgers found themselves on the wrong end of an NLCS sweep, Muncy commended the team and surmised multiple long years stacked on top of each other eventually took its toll.

“It’s a special group. Special clubhouse. It’s kind of hard to put into words how much this hurts right now,” he said. “We all know what we did out there. We didn’t play well.

“For three years straight we left it all out there. The train finally ran out of steam, I guess. It just sucks.”

To Muncy’s point, the Dodgers have navigated long seasons since 2024 and it extends beyond just deep playoff runs. They opened the 2024 campaign in South Korea and started last year in Tokyo. The 2025 season of course then culminated with the Dodgers outlasting the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series.

That made Los Angeles part of MLB history as it marked the first time one season started and ended outside of the United States.

Muncy and the Dodgers faced questions about their age during the 2026 season and into the playoffs. Particularly as their offense went through dry spells and noticeably lacked power for prolonged stretches. Players largely brushed off the notion of fatigue and being an older roster, instead pointing to how valuable experience is.

Ultimately a well-disciplined and talented Brewers team proved to be too much for the Dodgers to overcome. Muncy was among those who struggled in the postseason, but his three home runs led the team and five overall hits were tied for fourth. That was despite being held out of the lineup multiple times because of an opposing starter being left-handed.