Max Muncy Faces Max Muncy: Dodgers Star Reacts to Playing Against His Namesake in Sacramento
Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers stood at third base Monday night while the Sutter Health Park public address announcer introduced Max Muncy of the Athletics stepping to the plate.
Two Max Muncys. Same position. Same at-bat.
The Dodgers slugger, now 35 years old and in his eighth season with Los Angeles, admitted afterward that the whole thing was a little uncomfortable. He told beat reporter Bill Plunkett that it felt strange standing at his position and hearing his own name announced for a different player.
“It’s a strange feeling standing at third base and they’re announcing that you’re hitting and it’s not you,” Muncy said. “Thankfully, it’s just a couple games, because I don’t know if I would ever get used to it.”
The Muncy coincidence is not new. Baseball fans have been aware of the second Max Muncy since he debuted for the Athletics last season. What made Monday special was that these two men shared a field for the first time, in the same lineup slot, at the same position. Both hit seventh. Both play third base. Both singled in their first at-bats in the second inning. And in one very cinematic moment, Athletics Muncy hit a grounder that took a nasty deflection off the bag before Dodgers Muncy could handle it, giving Athletics Muncy a hit.
Even weirder, the two Muncys have more in common than a name. Both were drafted by the Athletics organization. Both were born on August 25. This is either an incredible coincidence or a baseball simulation glitch, depending on how much you want to overthink it.
Dodgers Muncy eventually got the last word. He tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the fourth with a 400-foot home run to right, his 17th of the season. It was the first home run ever surrendered by Athletics starter Gage Jump. Los Angeles won 9-4.
For the veteran Muncy, the win was more important than the novelty. The Dodgers have been dealing with injuries all summer and any comfortable victory is a good one. He also passed his younger doppelganger in the box score, which if we are being honest is what any professional would want out of a matchup like this.
The Athletics Muncy is only 24 years old. He has been a solid contributor in his second year in the big leagues and profiles as a long-term piece for a franchise that badly needs young infielders it can build around. The comparison is not going away any time soon. Both share the same organization’s draft history. Both have a similar swing. And now both have a shared box score line that will live in baseball trivia forever.
You can already imagine the marketing possibilities. Bobbleheads. Jersey swaps. A future Athletics-Dodgers series where the two Muncys hit back-to-back in a home run derby exhibition. Baseball is at its best when it does not take itself too seriously.
Los Angeles’ Muncy took the professional route. He answered the question, cracked a smile, and went about his business. He is not going to spend the summer thinking about it. But he did admit that if this was a nightly occurrence, he would lose his mind. Fair enough.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
