As the Los Angeles Dodgers were nearing the end of a season that saw them win a franchise-record 106 games, Max Muncy provided one of the more memorable highlights from 2019 during a midseason matchup with the San Francisco Giants and former ace Madison Bumgarner.
The two exchanged words when Muncy launched a home run into McCovey Cove in the first inning. He took a brief second to watch the trajectory of the ball before breaking into a home run trot.
Bumgarner walked toward Muncy and yelled for him to run the bases, not admire his majestic blast. They continued trading barbs and Muncy gestured toward the water as he jogged down the third-base line.
Muncy later told Alanna Rizzo on SportsNet LA that his retort to Bumgarner was for him to ‘go get it out of the ocean’ if he was upset. That quickly circulated on social media and became the slogan for t-shirts.
However, during an appearance on “The Big Swing Podcast” with Ross Stripling and Cooper Surles, Muncy revealed there was more to his message:
“That was what I told the media because I didn’t want to say the whole thing. What I told him while I was running down the third-base line, I’ll leave a lot of it out but a bunch of curse words.
“Something along the lines of curse word, curse word, curse word, ‘Get your trunks on and go get it out of the ocean.’ I never said that to the media, because I was like, I can’t say that.”
Bumgarner defended his reaction after the Giants’ 1-0 loss that afternoon, referencing MLB’s “Let the Kids Play” marketing campaign and arguing he too should be allowed to express himself, even if it’s against the grain.
Of course, the run-in was commonplace for Bumgarner and the Dodgers. He was at the center of tension between longtime rivals and known for picking fights with Yasiel Puig during the latter’s tenure with the Dodgers.
However, just as Muncy hoped would be the case, his exchange with Bumgarner did not spiral into a similar rivalry or, as he put it, a ‘Puig thing.’
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