Baseball contains two men named Max Muncy, and one birthday between them. Both were born on August 25 — the Dodger, Maxwell Steven, in 1990; the Athletic, Maxwell Price, in 2002 — no relation, no coordination, no excuse. Yesterday the elder celebrated his thirty-sixth by playing third base in Atlanta and going 1-for-5. The younger observed his twenty-fourth from the bench in the manner of a true professional: his club won anyway, 4–2 over Minnesota.
The encyclopedia, forced to tell them apart, could not use the name and could not use the birthday, and so filed the young man under the only fact left — the year. His page is titled, in genuine desperation, “Max Muncy (baseball, born 2002).” The Committee, which recently adjudicated the matter of two George Burnses and two Frank Thomases in its own deck, extends its professional sympathy to the record-keepers.
The Committee has reviewed the matter and rules that August 25 belongs to Max Muncy. It declines to say which one.
One imaginary game, chosen from all fifteen real ones by total bases, runs, ribbies, and walks. The Americans took it on paper, 17–10.
| AMERICAN LEAGUE NINE | |||||
| POS | BATTER | AB | H | R | RBI |
| C | Y. Diaz, Hou | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 1B | Alonso, Bal | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| 2B | Grissom, LAA | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3B | J. Ramírez, Cle | 6 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| SS | Peña, Hou | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| LF | Kwan, Cle | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| CF | Peters, ChW | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| RF | Beavers, Bal | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| DH | Gasper, Bos | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| TOTALS | 45 | 26 | 17 | 25 | |
HR—Diaz 2, Gasper 2, Grissom 2, Alonso, Peña, Peters. 2B—Ramírez 3, Alonso, Peters, Beavers. P—Kirby, Sea: 7⅓ IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 9 K (W).
| NATIONAL LEAGUE NINE | |||||
| POS | BATTER | AB | H | R | RBI |
| C | W. Contreras, Mil | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1B | Devers, SF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2B | Albies, Atl | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 3B | Baty, NYM | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | Lindor, NYM | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| LF | Lile, Was | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| CF | Robert, NYM | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| RF | Suzuki, ChC | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| DH | Ohtani, LA | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 37 | 16 | 10 | 6 | |
HR—Devers, Lindor, Lile, Robert. 2B—Contreras 2, Baty, Suzuki. 3B—Ohtani. P—Holmes, ChC: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 K (ND). CAPT. OF THE DAY—Alonso, 4 for 4.
Notes for the defense: the National League's best day at third base was one at-bat long — Baty, 1-for-1 with a double — while Arenado, Bregman, Bohm, Riley, and the birthday man Muncy went a combined 1-for-22 at the position. And the senior circuit's three finest pitching performances (Holmes, King, Skenes: twenty scoreless innings among them) produced not one decision. The bullpens took everything.
One hundred and seven pitching changes were made across the fifteen games — about seven a game. Every one is a decision; the box score bills only the pitcher. The Ledger bills the decision. Entries of note:
| CHC: Holmes hooked after 7 shutout innings, 2 hits, 93 pitches | The pen allows 5 in 2 innings; a 4–0 lead becomes a 4–5 loss in Arizona. Backfire of the day. |
| SD: King hooked after 7 scoreless, 98 pitches | Two clean relief innings, then the 9th: Cruz homers off Mason Miller, 0–1. The decisive backfire. |
| TEX: deGrom left in for 8 runs over 3⅔ | The slow hook. The Ledger records the changes not made, too. |
| COL: Adams hooked after 4 innings, 1 run | Five relievers, five scoreless innings, a road win. A perfect relay — 1.000 on the day. |
| CLE: Williams yanked after 1⅓, 5 runs | The pen throws 8⅔ innings of one-run ball; the club wins in ten. Mercy of the day. |
Filed without comment: Trevor Megill took a loss on zero earned runs, beaten by the extra-innings ghost runner — a decision the rulebook made, not the manager.
Pea Patch №1 is in the books. №2 was dealt this morning — the same nine cards to every player on earth, and somewhere in that deal is a perfect hand. The Committee knows what it is. The Committee is not telling.
Today's deal is waiting — play the daily Pea Patch →