Max Muncy has missed extended time due to an oblique injury and an earlier months-long stint on the injured list, and he feels anger and disappointment about not being able to help the team. Muncy began the season batting .180 through his first 28 games but, after addressing astigmatism by wearing glasses, hit .295/.430/.611 with a 1.040 OPS over the next 61 games, including a home run in his first game with the glasses. Muncy emphasizes that his presence forces pitchers to throw more pitches, creates traffic on the bases, and allows teammates to approach at-bats more freely. He has less control over injury timelines than his performance at the plate, and his absence has revealed team vulnerabilities.
"If anything, I feel anger and disappointment in myself that I'm not out there to help. ... You feel you're letting the guys down by not being out there," Muncy said to the Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett.
"I think the one thing that I always attribute it to is when I'm in there it allows everyone to be themselves," Muncy said. "You don't have to have a guy try to have an at-bat like I usually have. I know I hit home runs and I have some power, but the big thing that I do is I make the pitcher work. I make him throw a lot of pitches, I make him get stressed out there on the mound. "Sure, I may not always get a hit. I don't hit for a high average. But I get on base a ton. I create traffic on the bases. It's something that causes stress for the pitcher. It causes them to sw
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