The Legend of Three Dingers (and One Very Sad Baseball)
DISCLAIMER: It was a late Friday night in Indiana (1 AM-ish), and when Edwin Diaz came in with a 7-4 lead, I almost went to bed, but something told me to stay up. I’m glad I did. Here’s the tale… Ladies and gentlemen, gather ‘round — because on Friday night at the Ravine, Max…
DISCLAIMER: It was a late Friday night in Indiana (1 AM-ish), and when Edwin Diaz came in with a 7-4 lead, I almost went to bed, but something told me to stay up. I’m glad I did. Here’s the tale…
Ladies and gentlemen, gather ‘round — because on Friday night at the Ravine, Max Muncy did not simply have a baseball game… he hosted a fireworks show with a side of chaos and a sprinkle of “are you kidding me”?
On a perfectly normal Friday night at Dodger Stadium, Muncy woke up and chose absolute violence… against baseballs.
- First at-bat? Boom. Ball leaves the premises like it forgot to pay rent.
- Second at-bat? Boom again. Opposite field this time, just to show off like a guy flipping pancakes one-handed.
- Third act? Oh, just a walk-off homer in the ninth inning, because subtlety is for other people.
Final score: Dodgers 8, Rangers 7, and several baseballs are currently filing missing persons reports.
Climbing the Dodger Mountain
Muncy is now basically playing home run Frogger, hopping past legends like Steve Garvey on the all-time list.
He’s sitting at 213 homers, which puts him:
- Ahead of Garvey (sorry, Steve — still handsome though)
- Chasing names like Ron Cey and Eric Karros
- Still looking up at the Dodgers’ Mount Rushmore guys like Duke Snider and Gil Hodges
At this rate, Muncy might need a ladder… or a jetpack.
Historic? Yeah, Just Casually
According to the stat wizards (who absolutely love nights like this), Max Muncy:
- Became only the second Dodger ever to hit 3 homers, including a walk-off, joining Don Demeter from 1959
- Pulled off a stat line so ridiculous it reads like a video game cheat code:
- 3 HR
- 4 hits
- 5+ runs
- Walk-off
Somewhere, a spreadsheet burst into flames trying to process it.
Muncy’s Reaction (Spoiler: Very Chill)
While the rest of us are screaming into nachos, Muncy basically shrugged and said:
“Yeah, hitting one homer is cool. Three? Also cool.”
I say, “Sir… you just turned a baseball game into a Marvel movie.”‘
Final Thought
Max Muncy isn’t just climbing the Dodgers home run list…
He’s kicking the door open, grabbing a bat, and rearranging the furniture.
And if he gets hot for 10 days? Opposing pitchers might want to consider a nice, relaxing vacation in the Caribbean.
Dodgers’ All-Time Home Run Leaders
- Duke Snider – 389
- Gil Hodges – 361
- Eric Karros – 270
- Roy Campanella – 242
- Ron Cey – 228
- Max Muncy – 213
Max will likely play another year after this, barring injury. I can see him possibly sitting at #3 when he retires as a Dodger Legend! If you disagree and don’t like that, get it out of the ocean!
Is Edwin Diaz Ok?
I went back yesterday after the Friday night game and looked at Edwin Diaz’s pitches, and his fastball velocity was noticeably down. It averaged a tick below 95 MPH and never hit 97. According to Baseball Savant, Diaz’s fastball velocity is here:
2021 – 98.8 MPH
2022 – 99.1 MPH
2023 – Injured
2024 – 97.5 MPH
2025 – 97.2 MPH
2026 – 95.8 MPH
… and his average Friday night was below 95 MPH. I detect a trend. Those are just the facts. I do not want to jinx him and speculate, but I hope that Tanner Scott is healthy and that Evan Phillips is progressing nicely. To me, this does not look good. His arm (elbow) is coming unraveled!
Down on the Farm
OKC – The Comets pulled to .500 (7-7) by beating Round Rock 10-9. Ward and Gauthier each had 3 hits (Ward hit his 3rd HR) while Fitzgerald and Suwinski each had 2 hits. River Ryan allowed 4 hits in 3 IP and 2 runs while striking out 4 and walking 1. He looks like a guy recovering (nicely) from surgery.
Tulsa – Tulsa moved to 6-2 with a 5-3 win over Springfield. DePaula had a double, and Hope hit a 3-run HR. Wyatt Crowell went 5 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out 7.
Great Lakes – The Loons move to 6-2 as well with a 9-4 win over the Whitecaps. Wagner (watch this guy) had 3 hits, including his 3rd HR, and Davalan had 2. Root was not impressive, but Figueredo was.
Ontario – The Tower buzzers also won 2-0, moving their record to 5-3. Easton Shelton was 2-3 with an HR and drove in both runs. It was a good day as the Dodgers won at every level.
London Bound and Other Stuff
My wife enjoyed London so much, when she and her daughter and granddaughters were there last week, that she booked a family vacation there from July 27 to August 3… for 11 of us. Yikes! When I asked what it cost, she said, “You don’t want to know.” Life is never dull with my wife… She now has “The Bar on Baldwin” – that’s the street, and Lola’s Table is set to open in June. Just when you think you might have a quiet life – BANG!
I am entering the home stretch on my book. The editing should be done by the end of July, and then there will be some revisions. So, it will be published sometime after that. I’ll keep you posted. Friday, we applied for the ISBN number, and my author name is the same as my real name: Mark Stephen Timmons. This is all new territory for me. Also, since I don’t have enough to do, US Water Systems is opening a new company focused on cartridge filters and housings, all of which are currently made in China or Mexico. The biggest player, Pentek, does about $300 Million. We now have 100% American-made products, and by eliminating two-step distribution, we can go direct to dealers at the same price as foreign-made products. All I want is a 20% share of their market! Stay tuned.
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Discussion (101)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Hershiser basically said the same thing. Suggesting Sasaki throw his splitter at the left handed batter so it would end up on the right side. The interesting about Sasaki is the in Japan he had a WHIP of 0.89 over 4 seasons. So why does he have so much trouble throwing strikes now? Is it because the ball is less tacky? Is it the size? The Dodgers last year spent a significant amof time getting his mechanics straightened out which also increased his velocity. Yet it looks like he’s still somewhat off.
Hey, it’s not all bad. You can get a free jumbo jack today.
Snell threw 15 pitches to live hitters yesterday. One of those hitters was Edman. Fact: when Edman and Kike are ready, two of these three guys will either be in the minors or gone. Kim, Freeland, and Espinal.
I’m going to say despite the last two starts not being as hoped I do think Sasaki has looked better than spring training. I also think he’s shown more compete than this time last year when it looked like he was going to cry on the mound. I was all for sending him to the minors. Snell, Ryan, and Stone are all waiting in the wings. I wanted Ryan to open the year in the rotation. It’s apparent the Dodgers are going to give Sasaki every chance to improve while being at the big league level until they feel the other three are ready or Sasaki has a complete disaster
I don’t live in LA. I think I get a free Jumbo Jack if a D-Back hits a homer.
I think Sasaki’s biggest problem is his fastball. It’s getting hit hard (37.% hard hit rate) despite his plus velocity and he’s lost confidence in putting it in the zone. Consequently he nibbles with it, which isn’t good for someone who doesn’t have good command to begin with.
Yes but you have to buy a $4 large drink which is obviously not worth it.
I wish Kike could be designated a coach and the just activate him in September like they used to do with Manny Mota. Kenley Jansen’s stats compare very favorably to Lee Smith’s. I don’t think Lee Smith had any business in the Hall of Fame but he is so I’m not sure how they keep Kenley out then.
I agree. I want him to throw it more but he struggles with command.
Roki is the anti-Orel
That trend started with Jim Gilliam. He was actually a coach and was activated in both 65-66.
Lots of movement in the majors today. Reds traded Encarnacion-Strand to Orioles for cash. Mauricio sent to minors by the Mets and Tommy Pham selected. O’s placed Mountcastle on the 60-day IL and recalled Weston. Cleveland designated Colby Allard for assignment. Cardinals DFAd Jared Schuster. Orioles recalled Dean Kremer. Astros placed Pena and Imai on the IL. White Sox traded infielder Lenyn Sosa to the Blue Jays for minor leaguer Jordan Rich and a player to be named later or cash. Braves DFAd Luke Williams. Reds optioned Noelvi Marte.
I was born in 68 so I only got to see Gilliam as a coach.
10:10 PM ET Mets (7-9) Dodgers (11-4) SP David Peterson L 0-2 6.14 ERA SP Justin Wrobleski L 1-0 4.00 ERA Confirmed Lineup DH S. Ohtani L RF Kyle Tucker L C Will Smith R LF T. Hernandez R 1B F. Freeman L CF Andy Pages R 3B Max Muncy L 2B S. Espinal R SS Miguel Rojas R 59° Wind 11 mph Out
Casparius placed on 15-day-IL with a sore shoulder. Hurt recalled from AAA.
Hmm
Sore era!
That’s a bad injury
I have bruised my ego…
Who had Wrobo having the first pitching gem of the season?!!!! (7+innings with 0 runs) Who knew that throwing strikes would lead to such success? Tucker is getting paid a lot of money for a #7 hitter.
Should we let the Mets know that he’s our #.7 starter?
WroboGod
Two walks though
This is why I don’t like trading prospects.
? Do you prefer trading established stars?