ARLINGTON—Max Muncy has learned plenty of lessons this season as a rookie infielder with the Oakland A’s. But perhaps the biggest thing the 25-year-old Keller native might have realized is that going back and forth between the minors and majors is just something which sometimes happens to young players.
This season, Muncy has been back and forth between Oakland and Nashville, home to the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate, four times. His most recent call-up came on September 8 when he was summoned back to the Bay Area as a September call-up.
And even though shuttling between the minors and majors has been rough at times, it’s an experience he wouldn’t trade for anything.
“It’s been a challenging year, but it’s been a good one because I got my first call-up, what every player dreams of. It’s been a success just because of that. 
But it has been a little challenging, going up and down. It’s never easy as a position player or as a pitcher either,” Muncy said.
“It’s just been tough trying to figure out how to get into a rhythm. You go down, you play every game and then you come up and you play once a week maybe. So it’s just tough to figure out how to get into that rhythm but now that it’s getting towards the end, I feel like I’ve found a pretty good routine.”
Muncy played 60 games in Nashville, hitting .274 with 4 HR and 35 RBI for the Sounds. To date, his big-league resume includes 40 games and he has hit .202 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in Oakland.
Even though Muncy’s big-league playing time has been sparse, A’s veteran manager Bob Melvin likes what he has seen thus far.
“He gives you a nice solid at-bat. He hasn’t gotten really much time, three, four five starts in a row where he can get comfortable, but he’s a hard-working kid that’s ready for every opportunity that he gets,” Melvin said. “He can play first and third both, can come off the bench, can pinch hit, has got some power. We like him. He’s been here multiple times this year, which is tough to do, go up and down like that, but it certainly means that we think highly of him and we have plans for him in the future.”
But despite shuttling between the American and Pacific Coast Leagues, Muncy has been with the A’s for each of their three 2015 trips to Arlington to face the Rangers. And getting to play in a ballpark he used to attend games in has been a great experience for this DFW product.
“Oh, it’s been great,” Muncy said. “I don’t how many games I’ve been to here, including the 2010 World Series games, so it’s kind of a surreal experience to be able to actually play in it. It’s always great coming back home. My parents get to drive 15 minutes to see me. It’s always a great experience being here because it’s home.”
