Dodgers star Max Muncy aims to correct swing following 79-PA home run slump

Max Muncy has gone 79 plate appearances without a home run this season. He is struggling overall (.191 average), but the power has completely left him. His OPS is .556, among the worst marks for an everyday player in baseball.

This is unlike Muncy. He's never been a power hitter like Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani, but he does have four seasons of more than 35 home runs. Only once has he played a mostly full season and hit less than 30 home runs.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star is struggling to figure out what's going on. He said via The Athletic:

“My swing speed was the same. My launch-to-contact speed was the exact same as it’s been since I first got here. But I was late on everything and missing everything.”

All the underlying metrics say his swing hasn't changed. His bat speed is the same and his launch-to-contact speed hasn't changed, either. He's just not getting good swings off, and he is struggling to figure out why.

His hitting coach Aaron Bates added:

“Max has natural loft in his swing. A lot of lefties do. So I think he doesn’t need to artificially try to elevate the baseball. For him, trying to think more line drive is just going to keep him above the ball longer.”

Despite the struggles, the slugger is working hard every day to find out what's going on so he can fix it. He'll have to play a crucial part as the Dodgers attempt to capture back-to-back World Series titles for the first time since the New York Yankees did at the turn of the century.

---

Max Muncy pinpoints area he believes will fix swing

If Max Muncy is going to bounce back, he and his coaches think it's going to be once he regains control of his back side during his swing. That seems to be the key to unlocking the power Muncy has had in the past.

Max Muncy has struggled with his swing (Imagn)

He said via the Athletic that when he keeps his back side at bay, he can do "whatever" he wants. The 34-year-old added:

"If I’m holding my back side I can do whatever I want to do. When I’m going bad, I’m not holding my back side at all. That’s always been the biggest key for me and that’s also my biggest strength."

Muncy said when he does this, he's "really, really good." Unfortunately, it's easier said than done so far.