As the Los Angeles Dodgers gear up to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, third baseman Max Muncy weighed in on his chance to do something historic.
The veteran Dodger Muncy now has 19 postseason home runs in his career, one shy of hitting the 20 homer mark.
That milestone has been reached by only six players in baseball history, and he’d be joining some elite company, something he spoke on Sunday when asked about it by Dodgers Nation’s Noel Sanchez.
How many MLB players have hit 20 or more home runs in the playoffs?
If Muncy hits another homer this series, he joins a list with some big names:
- Manny Ramirez
- Jose Altuve
- Kyle Schwarber
- George Springer
- Bernie Williams
- Derek Jeter
Considering Jeter is already in the Hall of Fame, Altuve is considered a likley inductee and Ramirez is only absent due to his PED allegations, that’s a solid list to be on.
Muncy said as much when asked about potentially joining that group.
“I consider those guys the absolute best in the history of baseball so to be in the same conversation, it’s really really cool,” he told Noel.
Muncy made clear, though, that his focus remains on the team and their shared goal of winning a third straight title.
‘How many rings can we get’
Muncy explained that if he does hit that 20th home run, he doesn’t want it to come as a meaningless solo shot when the Dodgers are on the wrong end of a blowout.
“It’d be really cool,” he said. “Hopefully, if I do that, it’s a home run that’s allowing us to win the game. My personal stats have never been important to me when it comes to that. It’s always been about how many rings can we get, how many wins can we stack.”
Is Max Muncy the only Dodger near 20 postseason home runs?
Interestingly, that’s a small chance that Muncy could get beat by another Dodger in the race to 20 postseason homers.
Utility player Kiké Hernández is sitting at 17 postseason homers, as he went deep for a two-run shot against the Atlanta Braves.
If you’re doing the math, that means that before the NLDS against the Braves, both Muncy and Hernández were sitting at 16 postseason homers, as Muncy blasted three in that series.
It’s unlikely, but if Hernández can hit three homers before Muncy hits another, he, and not Muncy, will be the seventh player in that group.
Hernández, a known performer in October, said something similar to Muncy when asked about his success in the playoffs.
“It’s something I take a lot of pride in, but don’t really think about it too much,” he said.
Do you think Muncy, Hernández or both can reach 20 playoff homers this series?
