Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Max Muncy explains what led to his ejection vs. St. Louis Cardinals: "The more you complained, the bigger zone you got"
Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Max Muncy was ejected from Sunday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals for complaining about inconsistent calls during the four-game series.
The Dodgers dropped three of four games against the host Cardinals, who are suddenly surging after the team's worst start to a season in 50 years.
Muncy was ejected on Sunday after striking out looking. On his way back to the dugout, he gestured towards third-base umpire Paul Emmel, who Muncy had disagreements with when Emmel worked home plate on Saturday.
youtube.com/watch?v=jp6_zI…"It was like the more you complained, the bigger zone you got."
Max Muncy explained what happened leading up to his ejection yesterday.
#FTLive ▶️ youtube.com/watch?v=jp6_zI… https://t.co/rzQ2EIAwkk
On the Foul Territory show, Max Muncy explained the frustration that led to his eventual ejection:
"It was like the more you complained, the bigger zone you got."
Muncy also told reporters in the Los Angeles Dodgers' clubhouse following the game that Sunday's ejection-worthy rant was a buildup of four games of calls seeming to all go the Cardinals' way. He said:
"I think it was a weekend-long frustration that was building up. For me, it wasn’t about the call. These guys are human. They’re going to call the games how they see it. And to me, that’s a beautiful thing about this game. For me, it was how the calls were happening. The pitch before was almost the exact same location, and whether it’s a ball or strike — I don’t care. He called it how he saw it. He called it a ball."
However, Max Muncy also said he felt that Cardinals players were able to "bully" the umpires into getting calls to go their way en route to nearly sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers. He said:
"And for the catcher to sit there and tell him that’s a terrible call and he missed and he needs to be better. And then the next one, he gives it to him. That to me was where the frustration was coming from. It felt like that was happening all weekend long. I felt like they were getting bullied, and they gave in to it."
Max Muncy: A homer machine for Los Angeles Dodgers
Max Muncy has 15 home runs on the season heading into Monday's game against the Atlanta Braves. He is second in all of MLB for homers thus far, trailing only Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, who has 17 round-trippers.
Muncy has played both first and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season.