San Diego Padres announcer Mark Grant took a shot at Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star third baseman Max Muncy, who progressed to Phase 2 of All-Star voting with Padres third baseman Manny Machado.
"Let's call it the way it is," Grant said while imploring viewers to vote during the Padres' loss on Sunday. "Manny Machado is a better third baseman than Max Muncy, alright"
Machado ended Phase 1 of All-Star voting with 2,495,554 votes, leading NL third baseman. Muncy finished second with 1,665,829. No other third baseman in the National League had more than one million votes.
Phase 2 of MLB All-Star voting involves selecting the starter from the pool of finalists.
After a slow start to the season, Muncy has turned up the heat since the start of June, and has raised his OPS from .610 to .845. Muncy currently has a higher WAR (2.9) than Machado (2.5), as well as more RBIs, a higher on-base percentage, OPS and OPS+.
They have the same amount of home runs despite Muncy having just one to his name through April. Machado has previously been named to six All-Star Games compared to Muncy's two.
Mud: "Let's call it the way it is. Manny Machado is a better third baseman than Max Muncy alright" pic.twitter.com/S8SfCrg7sl
— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) June 29, 2025
While Machado may have a more impressive career than Muncy so far, Muncy's numbers this season stacking up against Machado's are better — especially considering he had struggled up until two months ago.
Regardless of whether or not he is selected as the starter, Muncy has shut down any and all trade rumors which floated around him at the beginning of the season, and appears to be on his way to Atlanta for his third career All-Star selection.
The Dodgers will hope for Muncy to stay hot heading into the break, as they currently hold the best record in MLB and lead the NL West. They lead the second-place San Diego Padres by seven games in the division, and are looking to be the first team to successfully defend their World Series title since the Yankees in 2000.
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