Speaker 1: It's the Dodgers and Cubs as we get ready for
Speaker 1: spring training, and we're joined right now by a two
Speaker 1: time World Series champion with the Dodgers. One of the
Speaker 1: veterans on this team now. He was in the clubhouse
Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen and burst onto the scene during that
Speaker 1: year and has never looked back. That is the one
Speaker 1: and only Funky Moncie. Max Munsey joins us before first pitch. Monsey,
Speaker 1: thanks a lot for the time, appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's good to be back. It's good to get going.
Speaker 2: It was a short offseason, but you know that's what
Speaker 2: you want in this game. You want to have it
Speaker 2: as short as possible. That means you're playing late, and
Speaker 2: that's what we wanted.
Speaker 3: At this stage of your career.
Speaker 1: How do you approach spring training and after winning a
Speaker 1: World Series championship, how do you stay motivated for this season?
Speaker 2: Well, the motivations on issue. Well, you know this team
Speaker 2: is as hungry as ever. You know, the guys have
Speaker 2: already been out here for several weeks working hard, and
Speaker 2: it's just you can kind of see it on everyone's faces.
Speaker 2: Yet we got over the hump last year we won
Speaker 2: that World Series. But at the same time, everyone's coming
Speaker 2: in almost like we haven't done anything yet. That's a
Speaker 2: good thing.
Speaker 4: It's no one's stagnant. You know.
Speaker 2: We've got a lot of people in there, absolutely, you know,
Speaker 2: working the tails off right now.
Speaker 4: And it's been a lot of fun. It's it's been
Speaker 4: really enjoyable to show up to.
Speaker 2: Camp every single day and uh and work with these
Speaker 2: guys and it's just been you know, you've been getting
Speaker 2: some good stuff done.
Speaker 3: Why does Mookie wear a beanie everywhere he goes and
Speaker 3: not a hat?
Speaker 4: You got to ask you, I ain't got I don't
Speaker 4: got that answer.
Speaker 3: Mookie bets walking right by.
Speaker 1: But I thought it was awesome how Mookie, Freddie and
Speaker 1: Max Munsey spoke to the team the first day of
Speaker 1: spring training, setting the tone for the entire group. What
Speaker 1: was that like for you to be one of those guys.
Speaker 4: Now, it's cool. Yeah, it was a cool moment.
Speaker 2: And you know, I think it's something that that Doc
Speaker 2: who loves to do he likes to get the players
Speaker 2: involved with what's going on. And you know, all three
Speaker 2: of us essentially had the same exact message. You got
Speaker 2: to show up every day, could be willing to put
Speaker 2: the work in every single day, and he can't worry
Speaker 2: about anything else that's.
Speaker 4: Going on around.
Speaker 2: It's it's what's in front of you for that day.
Speaker 2: You know what, what do you have on your slate
Speaker 2: that day? If you're in the game, like especially in camp,
Speaker 2: if you're in the game, what are you doing to
Speaker 2: make sure you're ready for that game. If you're not
Speaker 2: in the game, how are you still getting better or
Speaker 2: getting yourself prepared to do something better that day? And
Speaker 2: then when the next day comes, you worry about that day.
Speaker 2: You can't worry about what's going on in two weeks
Speaker 2: or you can't you can't worry about what's what happened
Speaker 2: in August of last year. You're trying to focus on today,
Speaker 2: how you can get better today. And that was the
Speaker 2: same message that you know, all of us essentially had,
Speaker 2: and it was it was really cool to just see
Speaker 2: the guys stand up. And you know, when you hear
Speaker 2: from your teammates and you hear from your peers, it's
Speaker 2: it always resonates more. Not that no one's listening to
Speaker 2: DOC and there everyone's listening at DOC. Doc had a
Speaker 2: great message, but for the younger guys, when you see
Speaker 2: veteran players stand up. I always felt like when I
Speaker 2: was younger, hearing those guys, you know, stand up and
Speaker 2: say things, you listen just a little bit more, and
Speaker 2: it's a it's a really cool.
Speaker 3: Thing, Muncie.
Speaker 1: I heard two weeks before you were supposed to report
Speaker 1: to spring training, the entire infield was already here in Arizona.
Speaker 1: When you talk about leading and setting the tone, it's
Speaker 1: not by just what you had to say. I'm sure
Speaker 1: a lot of that has to do with being accountable
Speaker 1: and preparing the way the best of the best prepare.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know that's something that you know number
Speaker 2: twenty two has done for a long time here. You
Speaker 2: know Clayton, he he has always set the example by
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 4: Being it.
Speaker 2: And when that guy's when it's his start day, he's
Speaker 2: as fierce and as competitive as anyone.
Speaker 4: And you know that.
Speaker 2: And when it's not his start day, he loves to
Speaker 2: have a ton of fun. But that's after he's been
Speaker 2: in the weight room for two and a half hours,
Speaker 2: he's been working on his mechanics for an hour, he's
Speaker 2: been getting the work done.
Speaker 4: He's there early.
Speaker 2: He is just you know, just grinding away in the
Speaker 2: work out on the field, out on the mound, doing
Speaker 2: everything he needs to do to prepare for that start day.
Speaker 2: And then when he's done, then he has fun in
Speaker 2: the dog out. He has fun with you, He has
Speaker 2: fun with the you know, that's just who he is.
Speaker 2: But he says the example that you can have a
Speaker 2: lot of fun in this game. You got to make
Speaker 2: sure you're getting better before you just start goofing off.
Speaker 2: And you know, for us, for me and Meggie and
Speaker 2: Mookie and a couple of the other guys. You know, yeah,
Speaker 2: we've been out here for almost three weeks already, and
Speaker 2: you know, before camp even started, we were out there
Speaker 2: for two to three hours every single day taking ground balls,
Speaker 2: working on communication, working on positioning.
Speaker 4: Where are we at where you know, how how does
Speaker 4: certain guys move to the ball.
Speaker 2: And that's a you know, for Mooki, it's really important
Speaker 2: because he's putting in a tunnel work this offseason to
Speaker 2: make sure he's ready for short stuff and he's gonna
Speaker 2: be great, by the way, just side note on that
Speaker 2: he looks he looks amazing at short already, but like
Speaker 2: for him to understand, this is where I'm at third base,
Speaker 2: this is where the second basement is this is how
Speaker 2: we approach balls. Like you know, the ball in between
Speaker 2: me and MOOKI he knows I'm always I'm always coming
Speaker 2: in at a certain angle that way, he knows which
Speaker 2: way he's going, and that there's no miscommunication when a
Speaker 2: ball is hitting the game. And granted, there's nothing that
Speaker 2: will give you those reps like being in the game,
Speaker 2: but we're we're doing everything we can to kind of
Speaker 2: simulate it. And it's been going really well. And it's been,
Speaker 2: like I said, two to three hours every single day.
Speaker 2: It's a lot of work, especially for guys like us
Speaker 2: that have been here for a long time.
Speaker 4: But it's been fun.
Speaker 2: It's been and that's what makes it worth it is
Speaker 2: we're having fun out there.
Speaker 4: But we're getting so much better every single day.
Speaker 3: Max.
Speaker 1: When you said you already know Mookie's going to be
Speaker 1: amazing at shortstop, what was the first sign or what
Speaker 1: are the signs that lead you to believe that.
Speaker 2: I mean, he has just natural instincts. His hands are soft,
Speaker 2: they're good. The one thing that he got in trouble
Speaker 2: with last year, and he'll tell you this was he
Speaker 2: got a little bit in between on what he was
Speaker 2: trying to do with the ball. He spent all last
Speaker 2: off season preparing for second base, and that's a completely
Speaker 2: different throw. You just feel it and you throw it
Speaker 2: to first base. It's not a very long throw. Your
Speaker 2: footwork's real easy over there. You get to shortstop, you
Speaker 2: have to figure out how you get momentum going towards
Speaker 2: first base on every single play, and he just he
Speaker 2: got in between on a lot of balls because he
Speaker 2: wasn't sure what he's wanting to do.
Speaker 4: Field it with one hand, field with two hands, be
Speaker 4: on the run.
Speaker 2: And you know he's cleaned that up big time, just
Speaker 2: because he's taken so many reps shortstop now where it
Speaker 2: just looks so much more natural to him, and that
Speaker 2: you know, the skills aren't aren't an issue. It's just
Speaker 2: getting reps out there, and you know, he just he's looking.
Speaker 4: Really comfortable now.
Speaker 2: Any ball that gets hit to him, he knows what
Speaker 2: he wants to do with it. He's not getting in between.
Speaker 2: His footwork's going great, his arm slot's great, it's the
Speaker 2: ball's coming out good, and he's he's being relaccurate.
Speaker 4: First Place.
Speaker 1: Max Munsey, two time World Series champion, is our guest.
Speaker 1: I hate to say this or put this label on anybody,
Speaker 1: But it feels like Max Munsey is in the best
Speaker 1: shape of his life.
Speaker 3: Does it feel that way?
Speaker 4: It feels pretty good right now.
Speaker 1: You look like second base Monsy right now.
Speaker 2: That's a that's a good compliment because he's back back
Speaker 2: in twenty nineteen and I felt like I was in
Speaker 2: really good shape then. But yeah, just something I tried
Speaker 2: to put a, you know, an even bigger focus on
Speaker 2: this offseason. I laid off trying to build strength, just
Speaker 2: trying to focus on getting a little bit lighter. Hopefully
Speaker 2: that helps out with a little bit of health and
Speaker 2: you know, keep me on the field longer.
Speaker 4: And it's just one of those.
Speaker 2: Things where I want to keep playing and I want
Speaker 2: to keep playing for the Dodgers, and if you want
Speaker 2: to do that, you got to be able to move
Speaker 2: around in the field. And that's just, you know, to me,
Speaker 2: that's very important to be here. And so you got
Speaker 2: to make some changes, you got to focus on some stuff,
Speaker 2: and that's what I really tried to do this offseason,
Speaker 2: and I felt like it's worked. I feel really good
Speaker 2: coming in the camp right now and I'm and I'm
Speaker 2: going to keep it. The big thing for me is
Speaker 2: to keep it going this year, not just stop once
Speaker 2: the season starts. And you know, as you know, that's
Speaker 2: sometimes it's hard to do. You get on the planes,
Speaker 2: you get it, you know, get to the hotels. It's
Speaker 2: it's tough to do sometimes.
Speaker 4: So for me, it's just.
Speaker 2: You know, cutting out some of the other stuff, the
Speaker 2: you know, some of the drinks, and you know that
Speaker 2: goes a long way.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'll get there one day. Month.
Speaker 1: Sie, you handle it for both of us for now.
Speaker 1: But man, I am very happy that you're back, and
Speaker 1: I know you are the epitome of the sum is
Speaker 1: greater than the parts, and you understand what team is about.
Speaker 1: You understand your job and how it all fits, and
Speaker 1: it's really been a pleasure to watch your career. And man,
Speaker 1: it's awesome that I'm with a two time World Series
Speaker 1: champion and Max and it doesn't get old. And I
Speaker 1: guess we'll be on this ride again another year, Max,
Speaker 1: So thanks a lot for the time.
Speaker 4: Well hopefully we'll be on this ride for a couple
Speaker 4: more years.
Speaker 2: But uh, yeah, it's it's doesn't get old here in
Speaker 2: two times champ, that's for sure.
Speaker 4: And yeah, as you said that, the team is all
Speaker 4: the all that matters. You put.
Speaker 2: You do anything you can to put the team in
Speaker 2: a good position to win. And at the end of
Speaker 2: the day, percent of the time, when you put the
Speaker 2: team first, your yourself is going to look better. And
Speaker 2: so that's something that we try we try to spread
Speaker 2: to the young guys. You know, everyone gets in this
Speaker 2: game for their own reasons, and if your own reason
Speaker 2: to get in this game is for personal game, you
Speaker 2: have to understand you can get a lot of personal
Speaker 2: game by helping a team win. And you see it
Speaker 2: all the time, and it's just a message that we
Speaker 2: try to get in this clubhouse, and everyone's bought in.
Speaker 2: You talk about the superstars that we have in here.
Speaker 2: They're all about the team and it's it's just really
Speaker 2: fun to be a part of it.
Speaker 1: You're the guy paying it forward now at this stage
Speaker 1: of your career, Max, no doubt.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well I try I try my best.
Speaker 1: Thanks a lot for the time and always great to
Speaker 1: be with you, and it will be great to see
Speaker 1: you get your ring on ring day. When the Dodgers
Speaker 1: returned from a big Tokyo trip, Munseian Vassa going international again.
Speaker 4: I mean, I don't plan on spending too much time
Speaker 4: with you over there. But uh yeah, yeah, I'm I'm not.
Speaker 2: I'm not walking the streets to Tokyo, David, I tell
Speaker 2: you that right now.
Speaker 3: All right, I'll take that out of some maybe.
Speaker 4: You can take it how you want. Yeah,