There's some serious fight going on.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think that, you know, there were some comments made from other teams about when they were in the playoff push, saying, "Oh, we, you know, we're gonna go play the A's.

We're gonna do what we do and take a couple there." And it was like, you know, we're not gonna let that happen.

You know, just 'cause, you know, we don't have a chance at the playoffs this year doesn't mean we're gonna let you come in here and, and just run us over for a couple games.

Like, we're a big league team.

We're gonna play to the end of the year, and if you're gonna go to the playoffs and you got us in the way, then, you know, we're gonna give you our best fight.

... what does that mean to you as a player?

What do you think attributes to it?

it?Um, you know, this year I think we had some injuries to certain guys that would normally play against, um, against lefties, and so I got, I got a little bit more at-bats off, uh, left-handed starters.

And in the past when I played every day, I always felt like that was when I did well was when I faced a left-handed starter.

Um, you know, 'cause you're getting two or three at-bats off the same guy.

And, you know, the starter mix is obviously a lot different than a reliever mix, and unless you're facing a guy like Sale, then it's just like you're facing a closer the entire game.

But, um, you know, in the past when I wouldn't start against the lefties, um, I would still face the left-handed bullpen guys, and their only job in the big leagues is to get left-handers out.

And so, you know, me not having great numbers against lefties, it's like, well, that's, that should be understandable.

I was like starving

It's always about grinding, getting better, and you see it at third base.

Yeah, I mean, look, my whole life defense has always been the thing that's been questioned about me.

Um, you know, I was always told that I could hit and I was gonna do things, but, uh, defense was always the question about me and so that's just from an early age I learned how to put in the work defensively and, um, you know, when I, when given enough time every position I've played I've been able to get good at.

Um, you know, I thought I was very good at second base.

At first base I was extremely good.

I shouldn't wa- I should've won a Gold Glove but came in second one year.

Um, and then we bring in [laughs] a guy, like you said, a future Hall of Famer to, to kick me off the position the next year.

Is it like an out-of-body experience? Do you just let the moment take over? 'Cause you've had some good ones this year.

It's always about grinding, getting better, and you see it at third base.

Yeah, I mean, look, my whole life defense has always been the thing that's been questioned about me.

Um, you know, I was always told that I could hit and I was gonna do things, but, uh, defense was always the question about me.

And so that's just from an early age I learned how to put in the work defensively and, um, you know, when I, when given enough time, every position I've played I've been able to get good at.

Um, you know, I thought I was very good at second base.

At first base I was extremely good.

I should've wo- I should've won a Gold Glove but came in second one year.

Is it like an out-of-body experience? Do you just let the moment take over? 'Cause you've had some good ones this year.

Max, uh, how'd it feel to be part of a night like tonight as a group?

Yeah, tonight was good.

Uh, obviously, you know, we've been struggling offensively lately, so to have a game, uh, you know, where we go out there and kind of explode a little bit, uh, it's huge for the confidence, huge for the boys and, uh, you know, just gotta keep building off this.

I'll let it l- I'll let it marinate there, but before I let you go, for you guys to get the start you got from Snell here at Coors Field, and for you guys to give him run support, how big was that?

Yeah, it's huge.

You know, obviously this is, uh, not a great pitcher's park, and for Snell to come out and do what he did, uh, you know, it's really impressive.

Um, again, just building off his last start and, uh, you know, just more of what we expect of him and, you know, it's gonna be fun to watch him, you know, keep moving forward.

I know you weren't aware of it last night, but how aware of you were at rounding the bases tonight? Yeah,

that was a pretty cool one.

You know, for me to do that right there in that situation, I definitely wasn't trying to do that.

I was just trying to get Freddie to third base, and, you know, I was trying to get something that I could get on the ground to the right side, and Looking out over, he gave me a pitch that just stayed up, and I was able to just get the barrel to it.

I know you

Yeah, how big was it for you guys tonight to not only win the series, but also get some performances from Tommy Edmond and Dalton Rushing, who have been big during this road trip?

Yeah, yeah, they had great games tonight.

They've been, you know, it's been a...

Max Muncy, who's been on the Dodgers since 2018, has seen a lot of big leads turn into October clunkers, is confident that this Dodger team that has won back-to-back championships knows how to win and knows how to

handle all this.

This group is a little bit different, just the amount of experience we have on the team.

In the past, we hadn't been as bought into just taking it day by day as we are now.

And part of that is just understanding what the end goal is for us.

And the only way you get there is you show up every day and you do what you have to do for that day.

You can't worry about anything else that's going on.

Will that be the challenge in the second half for you guys to stay in the moment

This would get more guys to not be exhausted after the two days." What would you change since you're a vet of this game now?

Uh, I mean, the thing that I would change, and it's, it'd be tough to change, is, you know, you add, add, like, an extra day in there so that people can get somewhere and not... you know, we're not having 5:00, 5:00 AM check-ins.

Uh, you know, 'cause there was teams that showed up after us last night, so, um, you know, so if there's any way to make it less exhausting, that'd be what I would change.

I don't know how you would do that, but, you know, I think the answer is maybe just adding an extra day.

Exactly.

Um, and for me, that's something that I want to be there to celebrate with the team.

It's not about anything else other than, you know, you accomplished the ultimate goal in winning the World Series the previous year.

What you do is you celebrate that as a team, you go and you meet the President, and for me that's really all it is, is just celebration of the team and, um, it's honestly as simple as that.

So when you were sitting on the couch, like, you had mentally moved on?

Yeah.

I mean, I had just reached a point where mentally I was kinda done with baseball.

You know, I just, I had no love for it anymore.

Um, let me take it back.

I had no love for playing it anymore.

You know, I still loved baseball, but, uh, I just had no love to play it.

What in the world is he doing?" Why was it important for you to take that stability instead of maybe chase dollars or even try and get a bigger deal from this team?

Seems like Scottie Sheffield is doing a little up and down, up and down, but where is the state of golf?

I think there's still so much excitement around it.

I think people that were casually watching what was happening with Liv tuned in more because they liked the little controversy.

What's happening, right? My personal opinion is I want to see the Liv golfers back on the PGA in one big setting and format.

It was interesting this past weekend watching John Deere over the fourth.

I didn't know the first screen of the page of the names.

I think Who the hell is Coles? I love seeing younger players coming up and names that you don't know.

that showroom on both sides man is epic and the things that la fontaine are doing right now like very soon you know i'll be representing in a different way but yeah yeah talk to me about la fontaine

[laughs]

It's a little bit tougher, you know? I mean, uh, uh, you know, and I think...

But I also think that's one of the things that was good for, for Will, and I think, you know, you look at what Rush is doing with Shohei and with Yama, like, it's good for him to understand, um...

And you know, we talk about this in the infield all the time, like, why we call in certain pitches-

Mm-hmm

... and so you gotta let him do it, and you gotta make sure you're behind him, and, you know, I think that's, that's one of the things that Rush is learning, and it's, um, yeah, it, it does make you appreciate Will, because Will's grown so much in that aspect of it that, that, you know, there's no second-guessing what he's calling back there, and the pitchers have given full trust to Will, and, you know, I feel like Will's hardly ever shaken off.

Like-

How proud are you that your game has evolved into being the well-rounded hitter that you've become?

I mean a lot uh I feel like anytime you're a guy that walks a lot you kind of get put into that category and uh you know part of that is just a result of you're losing at bats because you're you're walking but you're getting on base and that's the goal is to get on base uh so for me it's never something that bothered me but uh you know you when you look at some guys they're getting five at bats a game well if you're a guy that walks a bunch you're only getting three bats or maybe even two at bats depending and so sometimes the hits just don't come as much when you're when you're constantly getting walks, but that's always something that I've been proud of is I'm on base for the guys behind me to drive me in, and ultimately that helps us win the game, and that's the whole point of playing is you're trying to win the game.

What have you learned from that and the experience of winning back-to-back championships with this big of a lead? What do you guys have to continue to do to not let down?

I think this group is a little bit different, just the amount of experience we have on the team.

In the past, we hadn't been as bought into just taking it day by day as we are now.

Part of that is just understanding what the end goal is for us.

The only way you get there is you show up every day and you do what you have to do for that day.

You can't worry about anything else that's going on.

At this stage of your career, is it interesting that you still have a routine and you still have to maintain and be religious to it?

I don't think you ever lose a routine.

It doesn't matter what part of your career.

And for me, it's not a shock at all.

Because like I said, every single year, I feel like I'm continuing to learn the position of third base and Maybe it'd be different if it was a position that I'd played my entire life and I felt like I knew it already, but I'm still learning it, and even now I'm still learning how to play it.

There's little things I pick up on almost every single day about how I feel like I can be playing it better just from... watching my teammates, watching the other team, watching games on TV.

You're kind of just studying baseball.

What have you learned from that and the experience of winning back-to-back championships with this big of a lead? What do you guys have to continue to do to not be able to let down?

let's start with the team you guys come in here you sweep this three game series you win two games again by one run how good did it feel to kind of get back on track again

Yeah, it was a good series for us, a good start to the road trip.

Hopefully we can carry momentum through the off day.

The off day will be good for everyone to get a little rest and just keep the road trip going.

You guys made Joe Ryan look pretty average tonight.

Why were you guys so effective

against

him? I think we had a good game plan, and we were executing it well.

Why were you guys so effective against him? I think

we had a good game plan and we were executing it well.

Towards the end, he kind of shifted from what he was doing and got us a little off balance.

Coming out of the gate, we did what we wanted to do.

Were you surprised he never threw you a fastball in any of your first two at-bats?

No, not at all.

It's just, you know, I understand who I am, and that's part of when I step in the box.

You've got to understand that there's not many times I'm going to see a fastball, and so, you know, you've just got to be ready for the other stuff.

Sure

... "You get after it." Like, you know, "I've seen guys that don't get this opportunity, so you take it, you go." So I learned that from them, and then I went and played with PBA, and there were some good players on that team that were more like, I feel like they were smarter players.

It was very like mechanically driven, like how do we get to this? How do I hit this pitch? And I was like, oh, so I learned that from them.

And it, it's just like all those teams combined kinda made me the guy that I am, and, and then obviously led into high school.

Sure.

He's like, "This is not who you are.

You know, I expect more from you." And like I needed that, and he's like, "Let's make a plan that you wanna do, that you think will help to get this done." So I started showing up to the field every day at 11:00, hitting with Craig Conklin on the field alone for an hour, taking ground balls for an hour, and then doing the full team practice.

And from that conversation on, I hit 300 I think the rest of the time in the minor leagues.

Uh, what is the biggest difference between short and third?

My dad told me when I played short, his thing was ABC, always be closing.

So it's when they hit that ball, you're going at it.

Like when Dor talks about it, you gotta play offense on defense.

It's a little different at third.

I think at third of, like, you gotta be like a bishop in chess.

Like, you only move back diagonally, forward diagonally.

How's everybody feeling in the clubhouse after Vegas?

I mean its just fun to wa- When you're playing third base are you just out there bored or did you Do you become an outfielder and you're out there working on your swing because nobody puts the ball in play?

No no I mean y- you know wh- when uh ...

I, I feel I feel pretty engaged when he's pitching you know With the righties when he th- when he throws the sweeper or the curveball uh you know you feel pretty confident If they happen to put it in play it's gonna be on the ground towards you And then with the left When the lefties are up you're kind of like "well he's gonna blow a fastball by them" and the only chance they're gonna put it in play it's, it's gonna be slap to the left side." So um you know you, you feel pretty engaged when he's on the mount and uh eh you know it's w- There's not too many balls getting hit hard at you so uh you know it's a pretty comfortable experience at third base At least a lot of the balls are just slow rollers hit towards you so um you know it, it, it's fun.

Max how important do you think a Cy Young is for him? You know we were mentioning how he's got so much already on his bucket list To be you know the greatest player ever and win the titles and MVPs; he hasn't won a Cy Young so it's like, "Oh I'm gonna be so good this..." You know it's like he had the fifty-fifty season and okay I did that I showed everyone how I can do that This is my time to shine here Th- The other caveat is we happen to be in a year where there's really really good top end starters in the Cy Young race And even if one or two fall off there's like five or six that he's going up against.

Yeah I mean I think a Cy Young means a lot to him I think thats you know he mentioned that was that was his goal at the start of the season and uh you know that might be the only award he hasn't gotten yet So uh you know I thi- I think it probably means a lot You know whe- when, when he says he's gonna do something he generally goes out and does it and uh you know that's that's pretty much what he's been doing this year.

You know, I, I know the team is well stacked and well coached and developed and all of that, but it still takes a toll, right?

Yeah absolutely.

Um, you know, I, I think ultimately our cure to that is just, uh, you know, the, the veteran, you know, how many veterans we have, how much experience we have, um, you know guys understanding how you show up every day and you go about the business and, uh...

How are you and the team able to homer four times off of him?

I think we were pretty stubborn to our approach, and we got some good pitches to hit, didn't miss.

And, you know, Zach Wheeler is obviously a very good pitcher.

We didn't have a whole lot of traffic the rest of the game, but we took advantage of the few pitches that we got, and, you know, that's the difference.

Before I let you go, Robleski, what can you say about how he navigated that dangerous lineup?

Yeah, he was great tonight.

He was unbelievable.

You know, he was spotting up again and, you know, just doing what he does.

Do you feel like teams are pitching the Dodgers differently this year than they did a year ago?

I mean, it's been that way for several years for us.

I don't know if that's just a report that's gotten out about us, about how we prepare, how we game plan, and, you know, guys change teams.

And so I don't know if that's gotten out there, but we started noticing that years ago.

teams have always pitched us differently they go off game plan they go off scouting report and it makes it tough because you try to prepare a certain way and when teams flip the script on you it makes it really tough and you know these are big league players uh you know they get the saying that everyone always says is the guys on the other team drive mercedes too you know and that's a that's a true fact these are the best players in the world and um you know i know we're a really good team but those everyone in major league baseball is good and so when they do something that you're not completely prepared for it makes it challenging and uh you know Like I said, we've noticed that for the last several years.

That's just how it's been.

Especially when it gets close to playoff time, if you face a team that you might face in the playoffs, they always pitch you a completely different way, knowing that they're not going to pitch you that way in the playoffs.

Do you feel like the shape that you came into this season, that's the area that we're seeing it the most?

Now that he's retired, where did you guys leave your relationship, your competitive relationship? Did you guys ever talk about that moment? No,

you know, we never talked about it, but there was never any hard feelings between us.

And, you know, and I've always understood that.

I think he understands that when he's on the mound, he's a competitor.

He's a fiery competitor.

That was something I always respected about him was he was always doing his best out there.

And he wasn't going to let anything get in his way.

Do you feel like teams are pitching the Dodgers differently this year than they did a year ago?

Do you think Shohei could win a Cy Young if he pitches every sixth or seventh day like they're planning on using him now?

I mean, I don't see why not.

Um, I mean, I, I think the o- the only, the only thing that would hold him back is if there's a guy that's got very similar numbers to what he's gonna have, just have that extra two, three starts.

You know, I really think that the voters will take that into account when it, when it- ... comes down to, to it at the end.

But, you know, I, I, I don't see any reason why Shohei couldn't win the Cy Young.

You know, he's incredible on the mound.

And I was talking about it last night that, you know, I know everyone talks about his hitting and how impressive his hitting is.

[laughs]

Do you wanna see professional, the big leaguers play in the Olympics? And do you think Doc would be a great manager even though he'd have to go right up until the day before the Olympics started with you guys, and then bang, right into Team USA?

Um, well, first off, yes, he would be a great manager.

Um, you know, uh, he's, he's elite at what he does.

He's so good at knowing his players and, and knowing how they operate.

And, um, you know, if you had professional players in the Olympics, he's gonna know every single one of them, so there wouldn't be that I gotta get to know my players phase.

Um, he'd be able to get right into there and, and be able to, to, you know, know everybody and manage them and, um- You know, i- if there were professional players, the first thing that he would do would b- would, you know, be he'd get in contact with, you know, all the coaches of those players just to learn, you know, more about those guys.

And, um, you know, I...

So thoughts on both there.

... you guys are all really good and you're like, "You know what? We can have mature arguments."

[chuckles] I, I think it's a, uh, it's an all of the above thing, you know? Um, Doc has always had his finger on the pulse of the clubhouse.

He knows ... exactly what's going on with people.

He knows, um, you know, who he can talk to certain ways.

Uh, you know, 'cause e- everyone's different.

There's some guys that need to have, you know, they need to get chewed out a little bit, and there's other guys, you need to coddle them a little bit.

And, um, you know, sometimes you have to go outside the norm.

And there are other stats like that, of course, that are easy to use for the casual fan or just for our game in general, but what are your thoughts on what you observe that's most important, not just to you, but to teams when they're evaluating hitters and pitchers these days?

Don't you wish there was like another day or two in between instead of like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, oh my gosh, I'm exhausted, now I have to go home?

Well, uh, this year was a little bit better than last year, um, because we had planned that we were gonna stay the night regardless whether we won or lose in Toronto.

Uh, so we weren't flying back till the next day.

Last year, with it being game five in New York, uh, we didn't have a hotel reservation, so when we won, we had to party at the field, then get on a bus, go to the plane, [clears throat] fly back.

So the plane didn't take off till like 5:00 New York time, in the morning, and then we, we landed and then it was Halloween that night, so everyone's taking the kids out and then we had the parade the next morning.

Uh, versus this year, you know, win on Saturday, we had all night to kind of, you know, enjoy it and then the flight was, uh, the next day.

So everyone was able to sleep in for about three hours or however, [laughs] however long we got sleep that night.

Can you paint the picture as the third baseman, all the things you look at, the things you're looking for with his lead with a predominantly pull hitter in Varsho up, and evaluate the lead and secondary if you saw it afterwards?