Behind Dodgers third baseman Mancy's rebound: Glasses are not the only key

For the onlooker, Max Muncy presents two very different states this season: before and after wearing glasses. Muncy has not denied that his striking performance has improved significantly since he started wearing prescription glasses to correct astigmatism in his right eye on May 1 (April 30 local time in Los Angeles), but he refuses to attribute the recovery to it entirely – in part because it would negate his hard work.

"I don't want to put too much emphasis on the role of glasses, because I'm not in a multi-year downturn," says Mancy, "and maybe glasses do have an impact, but I'd rather trust the results of my training than the random introduction of foreign objects." "

On Wednesday afternoon Beijing time (Tuesday night local time in Los Angeles), Muncy hit two home runs — including a hit in the first hit under nine innings — and then Freddie Freeman hit a goodbye second base hit in 10 innings to help the Dodgers beat the Mets 6-5. Redemptive air at Dodger Stadium: Terminator Tanner Scott blocked the line with three up and three down in the 10th inning, and extended the game on the eve of the disgrace.

For Mancy, the nine-game bomb is also redeministic. Although a three-point shot in the first inning set the stage for the Rounds, a third-base shooting error in the fifth inning allowed the Mets to tie the lead (the error sent Clayton Kershaw with a two-point non-foul break). In this context, the ninth hit of the season (the fifth hit in the last four games) is even more precious.

"Mistakes taste bitter," Muncy said of his ninth turnover of the season, "and it's especially painful when a pitcher like Kershaw is on the board." I'm relieved to be able to make amends. Kershaw responded: "That's the essence of the team. We support each other, and it's okay to make a difficult defensive mistake. He's in hot form right now, and I'm glad for him. When he hit the second shot, I was heartened too. "

Muncy admits it is "hard to deny" the correlation between wearing glasses and striking performance. Although his vision was near-perfect, he was diagnosed last year by an optometrist who diagnosed Kiké Hernández's astigmatism and confirmed that he had left-eyed dominant vision. On April 30, the day he made his debut with a mirror, he ended his career's longest home run drought. The data reveals upheaval:

• By April 30: Batting average 0.180, attack index 0.531, 105 batting 5 long bats (zero home runs)
• From April 30: Batting average 0.277, attack index 1.015, 118 batting 13 long bats (9 home runs)

Muncy's hot form did coincide directly with the time he wore glasses, but such a strong comeback in the season also showed his mental toughness.
"He's had his ups and downs, and his journey has been anything but linear," said head coach Dave Roberts, "whether it's a fluctuating defense, an offensive slump or a skepticism, he's built a hard shell to block out the noise and focus on the task at hand." "The Dodgers have witnessed Mancy's resilience throughout the season and in individual games – as shown on Tuesday.
"It's important to fight back immediately after five innings of errors," Roberts stressed, "and to play for this team in this market, you have to be able to withstand the storm and keep going." "