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 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

1. Duke Snider – 389
2. Gil Hodges – 361
3. Eric Karros – 270
4. Roy Campanella – 242
5. Ron Cey – 228
6. 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.