Saturday night at Dodger Stadium turned into a nightmare for the Yankees, but a dream night for Max Muncy. In a jaw-dropping 21-run outburst, the Dodgers put on a show, and right in the heart of it was their third baseman, who didn’t just deliver big, he made history. Muncy crushed not one, but two home runs, reaching a major milestone with the 200th blast of his career. For a player who started the season struggling to find his rhythm, this was a full-circle moment, and no one felt the pride more deeply than his wife, Kellie Muncy.
It was a night ruled by hitters, and the Dodgers turned Dodger Stadium into a launchpad, blasting five home runs, including two from their veteran third baseman, Muncy. His first long ball came in the second inning to chase Yankees starter Will Warren; that 400-foot blast went straight into the stands. And the second was a 410-foot shot off reliever Mark Leiter Jr. in the fifth. The 200th and 201st home runs in a single night, along with 7 RBIs, Muncy was clearly in top form. After the game, his wife, Kellie, took to Instagram to share the joy and pride of the moment.
“PROUD and beyond grateful,” Kellie wrote, sharing Muncy’s photo with the baseball in her Instagram story. She didn’t forget to thank the fans, too: “Ps to the fan who ended up changing their mind, and not keeping the ball, we appreciate it more than you know. This ball means so much to the players and how hard they have to work to achieve these milestones,” she added. Yes, there’s never a guarantee that the ball will make its way back once it soars into the stands. But for Muncy, it did—and he got to keep it as a symbol of his hard work and achievement.
As a person who has been there with him through thick and thin, Kellie knows better than anyone how hard every player works to achieve a milestone like this. Especially for someone like Muncy, who got off to a slow start this season. But Saturday night proved to be a game-changer for many reasons. Not only did Muncy smash his 200th career home run, but he also recorded his 16th career multi-homer game—the first of this season. Climbing to eighth place on the Dodgers’ all-time home run list, he also matched his single-game career high with seven RBIs, just as he did in 2023. These numbers, and that memorable ball, hold a significance that goes far beyond the stat sheet.
“It’s a number that I’m definitely proud of. Hopefully, I still got a lot more in me,” Muncy said after the game to MLB.com’s Sonja Chen. These achievements are surely a sign of the remarkable growth that lies ahead, especially after such a trying season for him. It wasn’t that long ago that fans criticized him for his poor performance, and that three-error night against the Mets remains a dark moment in his career. Guess what? His eight errors are tied for the second most among Major League third basemen. His comeback is undoubtedly the result of relentless hard work and resilience—and maybe, just maybe, a little help from a pair of glasses.
Max Muncy’s bat heats up behind clearer eyes
The last month has been exceptional for Muncy, marking a clear shift in momentum. And now, he has turned his season around, delivering his best stretch of performance since 2021. By the end of April, he was hitting just .194 with a .610 OPS; nobody would have expected things to get better for him. Along with all the hard work, it might also have something to do with him wearing glasses to correct his astigmatism.
He started wearing prescribed glasses for right-eye astigmatism just last month, and there’s definitely a connection to his improved performance, even Muncy himself admits it. “It’s not necessarily something that I need,” Muncy said to MLB.com’s Sonja Chen after the game. “But just any chance at all it evens out both eyes for me, I’ve been taking it. And the results have been there since I’ve been wearing them. So it’s hard to argue against it. You don’t necessarily believe in coincidence when it comes to baseball.” Coincidence or not, the month of May gave him excellent results.
In May, he hit .250 with an impressive .851 OPS over 25 games, and he also launched his first home run of the season early in the month. Since then, he has hit six homers, including the first multi-homer game on Saturday night. This clearly shows a player who has rediscovered his spark. The two wins, including Saturday’s dominant 18-2 victory in the World Series rematch, have definitely given the Dodgers the upper hand over the Yankees. As they eye a sweep on Sunday, Muncy is coming in fueled by confidence and a fiery bat. The big question now is: can he repeat his power surge?
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