2019 MLB Season: Max Muncy mixes it up with Madison Bumgarner

In one of the oddest exchanges of the 2019 MLB season, Bumgarner voiced his displeasure with Muncy after deposited a home run in the bay in San Francisco.

One day we might look back on the 2019 MLB season and call Max Muncy and Madison Bumgarner’s exchange as a defining moment.

On Sunday, The Los Angeles Dodgers ended up beating the San Francisco Giants 1-0 on a home run by Max Muncy off Madison Bumgarner in the first inning in San Francisco. That home run is where the words were exchanged.

Muncy blasted a pitch over the right-field wall, out of the park and into the bay to give the Dodgers the one-run lead they would hold onto throughout the game. Bumgarner apparently took issue with the way Muncy was rounding the bases and decided to tell Muncy how he felt.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Now because of this interaction, many are saying that Bumgarner was out of line, voicing his opinion on what he thought was disrespectful to him and his teammates.

We are now in the era of bat flips and the younger generation who prefer to show their emotions much more than the predecessors, the older generation of baseball players.  Players such as Ronald Acuna Jr. and Vladimer Guerrero Jr. are setting the standard for these types of emotions.

Many ‘baseball’ purists would say that something like that should warrant a hit batter the next time Muncy was up.

That didn’t happen and I have to give credit to Bumgarner for not plunking him the next time he was up.

Let’s all not forget these teams don’t exactly care for each other that much.  There is always going to be some kind of incident when they are on the same field.

Just as many people say we should let the young kids play, when it comes to the bat flips and shows of emotion, I think we should also let Bumgarner be who he is and allow him to show emotion.

He definitely shows it in a different manner, but it is no different than a bat flip or showing a lot of emotion after a big play.  He should be allowed to play the game the way he wants to.

I say let the kids play, but also let the veterans play.  It is a good diverse group that makes the game fun to watch, no matter which generation you come from.