Dodgers Stars Address Risk of Complacency With Huge NL West Lead

The Dodgers know they can't get complacent.

Jul 2, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing (68), Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50), Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tanner Scott (66), Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (13) and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) high five each other after Los Angeles Dodgers secure the win over the San Diego Padres 12-7 at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Los Angeles Dodgers are preparing to start the second half of the 2026 campaign with the best record in baseball. Not only is their 61-36 mark at the top of MLB, but they are currently 11.5 games up in the National League West.

According to All-Star third baseman Max Muncy, though, these numbers are meaningless.

The slugger recently spoke on his team's mentality moving forward and how important it is to be zoned in on the present task: finishing the second half strong.

“I think we just do such a good job of not worrying about that in this clubhouse,” Muncy said to the Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett regarding LA's big division lead. “Obviously we know it. But you still have to go out there and win."

"You worry about what you need to do today," he added. "You don’t worry about, ‘You’re one game up. You’re 15 games up. You’re 100 games up.’ It doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re trying to play that game tonight and win that game.”

Superstar Freddie Freeman agreed with Muncy and touched on a team just 1.5 games behind the Dodgers in the overall standings.

“They’re all meaningful. Every at-bat is meaningful,” Freeman said. “You’re still going for the No. 1 seed. You have the [Milwaukee] Brewers who are playing well. You just don’t know. I don’t want to be on the road for every series in the playoffs. So you’re fighting for everything.

“Everything is meaningful because this is how you build towards October. If you put on this uniform and you step in that box and you don’t think that at-bat is meaningful — wrong team then. Every at-bat, every play on defense, every pitch that you’re throwing is meaningful."

The competitors that make up the roster of the Dodgers know what postseason success looks like, but those who have followed the premier baseball team in Los Angeles for the last decade know how meaningless regular season success can be.

LA had the best regular season record in 2017, the best record in the NL in 2019 and the most wins in franchise history (111) in 2022. None of those years resulted in a World Series championship and just one of them runs resulted in a National League pennant.

As the All-Stars noted, the pursuit of becoming a champion happens in each pitch, at-bat and defensive play. Regardless of the Dodgers' lead in both the division and in terms of overall record, it is all building towards what hopes to be a deep October run.

That is the mindset that has allowed the Dodgers to become back-to-back World Series champions.

"There’s so many little things inside the game. If you think something is not meaningful, then you’ve got the wrong mindset," Freeman said. “If you have to play it for yourself, then you play it for yourself. There’s ways to make every at-bat meaningful.

"If you’re a competitor, every at-bat is meaningful. I want a hit every at-bat.”

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