Max Muncy Might Have Accidentally Revealed Source of Dodgers' Postseason Struggles
For the second October in a row, the Dodgers were sent home early from the postseason, dispatched by a team they were all too familiar with. Last year it was the San Diego Padres. This year it was the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The parallels to the way they lost in each series are also surprising. Starting pitching... it was not good (much worse in 2023). But the bats suddenly disappearing in the last two playoffs was perhaps the most shocking thing that this club is still trying to wrap its head around.
It turns out, they did some of the homework after the World Series last year.
Long time Dodger slugger Max Muncy shared in a conversation on Foul Territory Live this week that the front office was able to point out something that was a stark contrast between LA -- who was bounced in the NLDS -- and the two teams that ultimately made it to the World Series last year. And what he pointed out might have accidentally thrown the staff of hitting coaches firmly under the bus.
"What's funny is we've tried to dig into this a bunch, especially on the offensive side. We've really dug into it about why things are so different for us in the postseason and every year we look at the numbers and last year, in terms of chase rate outside the zone, we were like the first or the second best. And then, the two teams that made the World Series were like the first and second worst at chase rate.
"So, we start looking into that kind of stuff, and those are the teams that are making it to the World Series. They're going up there and they're getting their swings off, whereas we're being too disciplined and that's almost where it seems like we got to just flip the script and go up there and start hacking."
Via Foul Territory
Sure sounds like an approach issue for the Dodgers. And it gives more weight to those who say the team doesn't adjust well to the different animal that is baseball in October.
Now, this is certainly incomplete homework and a tiny sample of cherry picked data. But it seems like the disciplined approach might not be as fruitful in the postseason. Using walks as an imperfect example, the Dodgers were second in baseball with 644 free passes in 2023; same as 2022. They were also second in the league in runs scored with 906 this year.
So why does their approach not translate to postseason success?
For what it's worth, the Atlanta Braves were fairly middle of the pack when it comes to walks in 2023, as were the Baltimore Orioles -- two teams that won 100-plus games and were sent packing in the NLDS.
Again, using walks here is absolutely imperfect. A quality chase rate doesn't necessarily translate directly to walks.
Getting back to the Dodgers and a second playoff failure, it seems like questions have to be raised about Robert Van Scoyoc and the hitting staff. The approach the team takes at the plate starts right there. Why would the team not pivot this year if they found something they identified as a problem after last year?
Muncy touched on that.
"It's hard to get a team that's whole thing is grinding the pitcher out, get good pitches to hit, get on base -- and we're extremely good at doing all of that, it's not like it just happens every once in a while. It's hard to get a team like that to not do that when the game's count."
Bad luck. Bad timing. Poor approach? Whatever it is, it leaves the Dodgers facing an offseason of frustration once again.
