Major League Baseball announced on Friday afternoon that Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Max Muncy has been added to the National League team as an injury replacement for Washington Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game.
Muncy was one of the biggest snubs when the teams were announced this past week but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who is guiding the NL team for the second straight season, remained confident that Muncy would eventually get in.
After a breakout 2018 season, many people questioned if Muncy would be able to follow that up in 2019 and through the first half of the season, he has been able to do exactly that as he is named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
In 87 games this season, Muncy is hitting .269/.371/.532 with 21 home runs, 55 runs scored and 59 RBI. He has also moved all over the infield for the Dodgers, demonstrating his defensive versatility. Muncy’s 3.5 WAR is one of the best marks in all of baseball.
Muncy becomes the fifth Dodgers player to make the team, joining Cody Bellinger, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler. Bellinger was voted in as a starter in the outfield while Roberts selected Ryu as the NL starting pitcher.
Joc Pederson will also be in Cleveland for the festivities as he will be participating in Monday night’s Home Run Derby, which Muncy did last season.
Considering the Dodgers own the best record in baseball at 60-29, a number of their other players have had All-Star-caliber seasons but did not make the team, so it was nice to see Muncy make it as a replacement.
For Muncy, his long journey to get to this point makes him being named an All-Star for the first time that much cooler. The 28-year-old was released by the Oakland Athletics in 2017 and was forced to sign a Minor League contract with the Dodgers, where he burst onto the scene a little over a year later.
“It was kind of everything to me, a dream come true,” Muncy said of the accomplishment. “It’s something that I wouldn’t have thought would happen but here we are and it’s something that me and my family are incredibly excited about.”
The Midsummer Classic is set for Tuesday night at 4:30 p.m. PT at Progressive Field and will be televised on Fox.
