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October 14 at 4:37 PM
canadian goose jacket LOS ANGELES It is one of the first things people notice about him, at least baseball people, from high school fields dotting Texas, to college parks from coast to coast, to all those no name minor league towns short on canada goose outlet in vancouver stoplights and hope, to right here, in the National League canada goose outlet online store review Championship Series, where he never thought he would be. canadian goose jacket
cheap Canada Goose “No matter what was happening with his career, you knew Max was going to always hit the baseball,” said Rob Stramp, who coached Muncy at Keller High outside of Dallas. “You don’t canada goose outlet online think speed when you look at it him, because he’s not a fast runner. But he has a whole lot of bat speed. He has a whole lot of speed in those hands.” cheap Canada Goose
canada goose uk shop The last time Stramp watched Muncy hit in person was in the spring of 2017, inside Keller’s batting cages, when Muncy was out of professional baseball and unsure if he’d ever get back in. The Oakland Athletics had just cut him. He was 26 and had just 96 major league appearances. He was a player without a position, a power hitter without enough pop, a marginal talent on the wrong side of baseball’s outer fringes with few, if any, options left. canada goose uk shop
Then he got a text message from Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Farhan Zaidi, who knew Muncy from his time in Oakland, offering him a job in the minor canada goose outlet germany leagues. Then he impressed throughout canada goose vest outlet the summer of 2017, with a new approach at the plate, with the aggressiveness of a player with nothing to lose, and was called up to the Dodgers this past April after injuries created a spot. Then he raked, and raked some more, finishing the regular season with 35 home runs, nestling himself into the middle of the Dodgers order and becoming the least likely contributor on a team that is three wins from a World Series return.
uk canada goose outlet Muncy crushed two home runs as the Dodgers discarded the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series. He is expected to get his first start of the NLCS on Monday, in Game 3 against the Milwaukee Brewers, with canada goose outlet online store the series tied 1 1. The first baseman’s quick hands fit right into the Dodgers’ power charged offense and are creating problems for opposing pitchers. They always have. uk canada goose outlet
Canada Goose Coats On Sale The only difference now is that canada goose outlet florida a lot more people can see canada goose outlet boston it. Canada Goose Coats On Sale
canada goose coats “I canada goose outlet black friday never would have thought I could be in this kind of position, you know, playing for a team like the Dodgers in the playoffs,” Muncy said before the NLCS. “I struggled in my canada goose outlet toronto time in Oakland. I wasn’t good enough to play for a team that was finishing 20 games out of first place the couple years I was there. And I get picked up by these guys, got a chance given to me.” canada goose coats
canada goose clearance sale The new kid in town hurt his foot playing football and was going to miss most of the baseball season. Stramp was bummed. Because the new kid could hit. canada goose clearance sale
Canada Goose sale But Muncy didn’t need to play in games for Stramp to notice his potential, the smooth path of his left handed swing, the strength and speed of his bat, the way he recognized pitches in a way canada goose outlet mall most teenagers can’t. He played first base, second base and catcher in his first three high school seasons. In the season opener his senior year, Keller faced Waxahachie High School and major league prospect canada goose outlet winnipeg address Colton Cain. Cain, a hard throwing lefty soon picked in canada goose outlet location the eighth round of the 2009 MLB draft, canada goose factory outlet attracted a crowd of scouts and bulldozed through the Keller lineup with his mid 90s fastball. canada goose kensington parka uk Yet Muncy could catch up to it. Muncy fouled off pitches, hit a few balls hard and, once Cain exited with a 1 0 lead, hit a two run home run to give Keller the win. Canada Goose sale
cheap canada goose uk “That’s when we knew Max was really different,” Stramp said. “Even if not everyone knew it yet, he could hit anyone.” cheap canada goose uk
Canada Goose Parka Muncy did not have the size or tools to attract major league teams. He was not yet 6 feet tall, his power numbers canada goose outlet belgium didn’t stand out, and he was not a natural fit at any one position. That led canada goose outlet store uk him to Baylor while players like Cain turned pro right out of high school and Coach Steve Smith soon found Muncy’s hands to be a defining characteristic. Canada Goose Parka
buy canada goose jacket cheap When Smith asked pro scouts where to play Muncy on defense, they told him to put Muncy “as far away from the ball as you can.” So Smith figured Muncy could really hit. It was in a game at UCLA, during Muncy’s junior year, that Smith watched Muncy’s compact swing shock an opposing pitcher. Before Muncy’s at bat, he told Smith he was going to wait for a change up because the pitcher had been throwing a lot of them. Once he did, the pitcher pumped in a fastball and Muncy, instead of taking it for a strike, chopped his bat into the zone and flicked the ball into left field for a single. buy canada goose jacket cheap
canada goose coats on sale Smith was in shock, too. canada goose coats on sale
canada goose black friday sale “I couldn’t really believe what I saw from the dugout,” Smith, now the pitching coach at Auburn, said last week. “He decided so late to swing, the ball was almost right over the plate, and he was still able to get his bat on it and drive it for a hit. He is still doing stuff like that now with canada goose outlet ontario the Dodgers.” canada goose black friday sale
But before he canada goose outlet mississauga could, before Zaidi texted him with a second chance, Muncy returned home to Texas to take a hard look at his career and swing. The same reasons that kept him under the radar in high school hurt him as a prospect. He didn’t have a set position and was canada goose outlet new york city not considered versatile on defense, either. He only showed power in short spurts, and the Athletics wanted more production out of his bat before they finally cut him loose.
So he worked in the Keller cages, timing his workouts around the varsity baseball team’s packed schedule, tweaking his swing while his father threw him batting practice. He lowered his canada goose outlet stance. He widened his canada goose outlet paypal feet. He shifted the position of his hands on the bat handle. And, most importantly, he started to unleash a more aggressive swing that could turn line drives into towering home runs.
canada goose clearance “It’s hard to change the way you have been doing something forever; it’s scary,” Smith said. “But it seems like Max had no other choice, and the God canada goose outlet price https://www.canadagooseisverige.com given gifts, the quick hands, knowing the strike zone, those never go away.” canada goose clearance
Canada Goose Online That all melted together once Muncy joined the Dodgers at the start of this season, when it seemed like a string of early season injuries could sap their offensive depth. Instead, Muncy finished canada goose outlet seattle with the team’s highest slugging percentage (.582) and on base plus slugging percentage (.973), and fit into the meat of a lineup that already included Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Matt Kemp and star shortstop Manny Machado after a mid July trade. He also collected team highs with 79 walks and those 35 home runs, often letting the bat roll off his hand and into the dirt, the most casual of canada goose outlet edmonton flips, before trotting around the bases. Canada Goose Online
Through all this, Muncy has constantly been asked how each accomplishment has felt. How it felt to produce at such a high level once he was called up. How it felt to compete official canada goose outlet in canada goose outlet toronto factory the Home Run Derby. How it felt to pace the Dodgers with his power, and help them into the playoffs, and hit his first postseason home run, and on and on.
canada goose uk outlet And soon, depending on how this week goes, depending in part on just how fast he can swing his bat, Muncy could have to explain how it feels to go from where he was, nearly out of baseball, to playing in the World Series canada goose uk outlet.
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