Max Muncy Calls Out Former Dodgers Teammates’ Selfishness
Over the last decade, the Dodgers have been known as one of the model organizations in baseball. They draft and develop players as well as anyone, make intelligent trades, and sign premier free agents to team-friendly contracts — much to the chagrin of those outside Los Angeles.
Underneath all that, and still important, is the clubhouse culture the players and staff have cultivated. Led by manager Dave Roberts, many players praise the winning mentality and focus present each day, and the selflessness that comes with it. It has been years since reports about clubhouse drama or disputes between teammates have surfaced around the Dodgers.
Sometimes, teams have to make the difficult decision to part with talented players who do not mesh with the clubhouse culture. That’s no secret among fans, although it usually is left unspoken by players. The public was treated to a rare exception during an appearance by Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy on the Foul Territory podcast.
While he praised the clubhouse and its culture, Muncy noted that chemistry came at the expense of some former teammates:
People aren’t focused on their numbers … we’ve had some guys that kind of cared about themselves a little bit and they’ve been shipped out.
Max Muncy on Foul Territory
As expected, social media speculation ran wild about who Muncy was referring to in this quote. It certainly does make for some lively water cooler conversation.
However, this quote says volumes about how much the Dodgers’ ownership group, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, Roberts and the rest of the staff values and emphasizes culture.
Winning is everything to the Dodgers. During his introductory press conference, Shohei Ohtani commented that the organization viewed the last decade as a failure despite the 2020 World Series win. They dedicate themselves to winning and want players who exemplify that mentality.
It’s foolish to think that arguments or disagreements don’t occur in the locker room. These are professional athletes with egos who want to win. At the same time, they also have to look out for their needs and their families’ needs.
Roberts absorbs the manager’s typical share of criticism for his in-game decisions, but he has a superpower when it comes to managing egos. He seems to do an incredible job keeping a tight, harmonious clubhouse that plays for each other.
Roberts certainly has his work cut out for him in 2024. The Dodgers’ roster has some of the biggest stars in all of baseball, and it should make for an exciting season.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Possibilities for the non-team players “shipped out” include (in order of importance) Justin Turner, Corey Seager, Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger, Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, AJ Pollock, David Peralta, Edwin Rios, Joey Gallo, Hanser Alberto, and of course Julio Urias & Trevor Bauer. Of that group, I’d guess the prime suspects are Corey and Trea. My impression was that Justin, Cody, and Kenley were much-loved, integral parts of the team, although Cody may have been stubborn in not adjusting his batting habits. Julio and Trevor pretty much shipped themselves out, and the others left more due to poor performance than to attitude issues. It’s hard to guess from a fan’s perspective what players like Trea and Corey are like in person or as teammates. Whoever Max meant, he probably regrets opening up this can of worms, and I expect either he’ll retract it or the clubhouse will on his behalf.
I would definitely rule out Justin Turner, as a guess. The guy is a coach in the dugout.He seems to think “Team” over “Self”. I also got to meet him and had a great talk at the premiere of that Tom Brady movie. He kept asking about me and wanted to talk more about the entertainment industry, and I kept bringing it back to baseball, of course. He said he loved playing for the Dodgers and hopes that somehow he’ll come back to finish his career off here.
My guess is Julio. We needed him like nothing else, and he couldn’t seem to just stay out of trouble. Not that there’s ever a good time to be an abuser, of course. But there were with two rookies in the rotation at such a crucial time.
Sure would like to know which players Muncy was referring to.
If I had to guess at some players from the past few years I’d say maybe Scherzer, Machado, and Verdugo.
Machado left in free agency and the club tried to resign him so doubt it was him…
Yeah he left as a free agent but I don’t recall much effort to resign him. There was a lot of comment on his effort on the field and he was and still is full of attitude. I see him as club house poison. Regardless the reason I was glad to see him go!
And of course Muncy mentioned no names so I am completely speculating on likely candidates here.
The first two, I don’t know about Vergugo. I’d add possibly Bellinger.
I would guess Bauer
If I had to guess at some players from the past few years I’d say maybe Scherzer, Machado, and Verdugo.
Machado… absolutely agree!
Shipped out (traded) or let leave in free agency? Lots of candidates if “left in free agency”….
The rent a players picked up at the deadline are always suspect, although in their defense they may have not had a lot of emotional investment going in for 2 or 3 months on a team.
Not a lot of overlap, but some, I wonder if Yasiel Puig might have been on that list. No secret he wasn’t beloved in the clubhouse.
Could Corey Seager be one of them?
Absolutely not. I ‘ve had the opportunity to meet Corey Seager a couple of times. He is one of the nicest, humble kids i’ve ever met.
When Double M first brought this up Seager was my first choice.
Seager has 2 rings and I think 2 WS MVPs. It’s not him.
It is him, that is why he is no longer a Dodger, if he was so valuable, they would have found a way to keep him. But he was about as welcome as a screen door on a submarine.
Why now why I see some great players didn’t stay around wow I have been a dodger fan for sixty years and I grew up in Miami Florida I have always seen something special about the dodgers organization starting back with branch Rickey bringing in the first black player Jackie Robinson
Have to agree on that! ?..and we don’t miss them. ?
I am one of the oldest dodger fans as I was born 2 blocks from Ebbets field in 1935. I have seen the dodgers go from Dixie Walker days and Leo the lip to the present tram. I have noticed that all the way back from Branch Rickey’s time to the Friedman generation the dodgers have always been in the forefront. People have come and gone but the philosophy stays the same. It is the envy of the othe 29 clubs as they try to copy it but can never get that impetus. Long live blue….
Envy? They spend spend spend and can’t win a WS except in the covid year* worse stadium in baseball I hate the dodgers! Go Giants
Amen my fellow Dodger fan???
I think Bellinger could be one. He milked some injuries and used them for excuses. Then he gets his payday from the Cubs.
I still think he doesn’t understand going to the wall… playing through it all.
Definitely Albert Pujols. That guy just wanted to hit HR and break the record.
Could also be Joey Gallo, Trayce Thompson, Edwin Rios, Kevin Pillar, Steven Souza, AJ Pollock, Luke Raley, Julio Urías, Kenley Jansen
It wasn’t Pujols. He was beloved in the clubhouse and was a great mentor to the younger players.
I disagree about Pujols; he was so obviously loved and a wonderful mentor.
Very unselfish of Betts, Freeman and Muncy to give up hitting the last three months and playoffs to let other players have a chance to shine.
Now that’s funny!?
Puig is the first one that comes to mind.
I really doubt Muncy is referring to players from six years ago like Machado. Thats ancient history. It’s probably guys from the past 2-3 years he’s referencing who took Dodgers down when there were such high hopes for the postseason
Urias, Bauer, Scherzer come to mind.
Well that was a nothing burger article. Where’s the beef?
From a fan who pays close attention and has seen the ways acrimony and self-interest inside the clubhouse gets filtered out through front office moves and media interviews, I see a few of the most obvious candidates, starting with the most apparent example, given that he is still a good deal for his production and glove, yet he still has been enough of a headache that two teams have moved off him in that time: Alex Verdugo.
I think Corey Seager was really concerned with himself and prioritized his own needs over those of the team; consider how he would not move off of shortstop after Trea came over, even though it made the most sense to move him to third base given how big he is, his lack of range at short, and Trea’s ability to play entire seasons. If Eager had been willing to make that transition, there’s a greater likelihood that the Dodgers keep him and have him replace Muncy. I also question if Seager missed a lot of time when he possibly could have played but he was worried about his statistics suffering.
Joc Pederson could have been on Max’s mind here as well. Pederson was not interested in being part of a platoon and he sure did not give much effort when they tried him out at first. Finally, I think Bellinger is indeed one of the players alluded to, as he was capable of remaking his approach when he was struggling at the plate, and that would have made a big difference for the length of their lineup. But he wasn’t willing to see himself as a singles/speed hitter when he had already established himself (in his mind) as a guy who hits for power and average.
Bellinger Scherzer Trea Machado you can have all 4. The anithesis of JT , Seager , Kershaw.
Muncy should keep his mouth shut. Not only about this but at the buffet. Lose 10-15 pounds.