A Legend is Born

It was San Francisco Giants right-hander Madison Bumgarner‘s sixth pitch of the game, a 92.4-mph two-seam fastball to Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy on a 2-1 count that Muncy absolutely crushed for a 426-foot “splash-hit” solo home run into McCovey Cove. It also sent MadBum into a childish tirade.

…and it was epic.

As the 28-year-old Muncy began his home run trot up the first base line, the 29-year-old Bumgarner apparently became incensed that Muncy was taking too long to admire his extremely admirable blast and hollered at him to run and not watch it.

But it was Muncy’s retort that will go down as one of the greatest baseball quotes of all time.

“I hit the ball and then he yelled at me,” Muncy told SportsNetLA’s Alanna Rizzo immediately after the Dodgers 1-0 shutout of Bumgarner and the Giants. “He said ‘Don’t watch the ball, you run,’ and I just responded back ‘If you don’t want me to watch the ball, you can go get it out of the ocean.”

And with that, Midland, Texas native Maxwell Steven Muncy etched his name into baseball lore in one of the greatest sports rivalries the world has ever known, while becoming a living legend in the process.

‘If you don’t want me to watch the ball, you can go get it out of the ocean.”
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA

But Muncy was quick to dismiss that this is the next chapter in the on-going rivalry that is now in its 129th year.

“He kept mouthing off and I told him to come get it,” Muncy added. “But he’s a competitor, he was just fired up about it. But I definitely hope that this doesn’t turn into a Puig thing, because I don’t want that on my shoulders. But it’s just him competing out there. He was upset that he made a bad pitch and that’s all there was to it.”

That ‘Puig thing’ had to do with yet another MadBum tirade.

During a game between the Dodgers and Giants on September 19, 2016 at Dodger Stadium, Bumgarner took exception to former Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig staring at him after he threw Puig out at first. Bumgarner repeatedly yelled “Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me” at Puig. The incident caused both benches to clear but there was no brawl. The following day, every Dodger player was sporting a blue T-shirt with ‘Don’t Look at Me’ on the front, obviously mocking Bumgarner’s childish outburst. Puig even signed one and had it sent over to the visiting Giants clubhouse as a gift to MadBum.

The Dodgers had fun the last time Bumgarner went on one of his famous tirades. (Twitter photo courtesy of Adrian Gonzalez)

Sure enough, within two hours of Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen’s final pitch to save Walker Buehler’s absolutely gem, T-shirts with Muncy’s now-famous quote were being offered for sale on Twitter.

These T-shirts were available two hours after the Dodgers
1-0 Dodgers win over the Giants on Sunday afternoon.
(Image courtesy of rotowear.com)

As for Bumgarner, his ability to judge age is as bad as his baseball etiquette. Following the game and apparently believing that Muncy is “a kid” even though they are almost exactly one year apart in age, he stepped on it again when he said this to reporters after the game:

“I can’t even say it with a straight face but the more I think about it, I should just let the kids play. But I just … I can’t. … They want to let everybody be themselves, then let me be myself. That’s me.”

You lose, MadBum … again.

As for MadMax, as Muncy is affectionately known,

… A Legend is Born.

Play Ball!

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3 Responses to “A Legend is Born”

  1. I can’t stand these guys who take it personal and feel like someone is “showing them up” whenever an opponent player is doing something like admiring their shot.

  2. Philip Ellis Philip Ellis says:

    Great article.👍

  3. Dan in Pasadena says:

    I enjoyed this short article.

    Max was a pro in being conciliatory saying MadBum was just upset that he had made a bad pitch. Good on you Max for being the bigger man. I absolutely love that the T shirt got printed so quickly!

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