Maximum Muncy: 2 MLB players share name, birthday and the field in A’s-Dodgers set
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Both Max Muncys started Monday’s MLB game at third base.
- Both Max Muncys started Monday’s game batting seventh and reached base twice.
- MLB.com said it was the third time since 1901 same-name players faced each other at the.
Athletics third baseman Max Muncy knew his second-inning ground ball down the third-base line Monday at Sutter Health Par was going to create a story.
The 80-mph grounder wasn’t necessarily routine, as it hit off of third base popping straight into the air for an infield single.
But what made it memorable wasn’t so much how hard it was hit or the result of the play, but who it was hit toward. That would be Max Muncy, of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I’m glad I got a hit out of it,” the A’s Muncy said ahead of Tuesday’s 9-3 loss to the Dodgers. “Couldn’t have planned it better.”
Both men named Max Muncy — no familial relation to one another — had been aware of each other for years, having faced off professionally once before while the Dodgers’ Muncy was on a rehab stint in Triple-A, but Monday in West Sacramento was the first time they played against each other in at the MLB level.
The coincidences don’t stop at the shared name.
While the A’s Muncy, 23, is 12 years younger than the Dodgers veteran, 35, a two-time All-Star, the two share an Aug. 25 birthday.
To boot, both Muncys started Monday’s game playing third base and hitting seventh in their respective lineups, reaching base twice apiece. Thanks in part to the Dodgers’ Muncy hitting a home run, L.A. won the game 9-4.
According to MLB.com, Monday’s game was just the third time since 1901 that two players of the same name faced each other while playing the same position and hitting in the same spot in the order. The first two times were when two players named Alex Gonzales faced off in a series between the then-Florida Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays in June 2000.
Muncy the Dodger sat Tuesday, while Muncy the Athletic played third and hit seventh again, going 1-for-4 with a double.
“I wonder if the managers got on the phone and did something there, who knows?” A’s Muncy said. “I saw the lineups come out and I was thinking ‘That’s got to be planned or something.’”
‘It’s strange’
A’s Muncy said he only experienced a few confusing moments during the game, looking up to the scoreboard to see Dodgers Muncy up next and getting confused for a few moments.
After Monday’s game, the Dodgers infielder recalled an awkward moment of his own, calling the situation “weird,” but said he is rooting for the younger Muncy, calling him a “great kid.”
“You’re standing out there at third base and they announce you’re hitting. … It’s strange,” Muncy the Dodger said. “Thankfully, it’s only a couple of games cause I don’t know if I’d ever get used to it.”
The younger Muncy said his parents had followed the older Muncy since he played college ball for Baylor and said he was glad his young career had gotten to a point where he could face off against the veteran in the big leagues, having spent parts of the last six seasons in the minor leagues.
To make the matchup even more improbable, the younger Muncy had missed more than a month with a left fifth metacarpal fracture, only being reactivated a few weeks before the Dodgers series.
Strawberry, the A’s announcers’ sideline reporter, poked fun at the situation Tuesday, calling the A’s Muncy the “real Max Muncy.” There’s no bad blood, though, with both offering nothing but good words to say about each other and wishing each other luck moving forward.
Muncy of the Dodgers, who holds a .873 OPS with 17 home runs this season, is looking to make his third All-Star game in his age-35 season, in which he has so far drastically improved upon his career batting average while maintaining strong power numbers.
Muncy of the A’s is in the second season of his career, where he has slashed .235/.299/.409 with 14 extra-base hits as he tries to prove himself as a mainstay in the A’s lineup for years to come.
“It was an interesting day,” Muncy said of Monday’s game. “And I think it’ll be an interesting series, with both of us over at third.”
Muncy’s team will face Muncy’s team for the final time this season in the series finale, 6:40 p.m. Wednesday at Sutter Health Park.
The Bee’s Chris Biderman contributed to this story.
