They went to area high schools six miles apart. You’ll never guess when Dodgers Muncy, Stripling met
National League All-Star Ross Stripling and his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Max Muncy were together Monday night at Nationals Park as Muncy took part in the Home Run Derby.
The Keller High graduate held his own, winning his first-round matchup before getting knocked off in the semifinals by eventual winner Bryce Harper. Stripling, who went to Southlake Carroll, didn’t miss a swing.
That’s what longtime friends do, right?
Well, it turns out that Stripling and Muncy haven’t been friends all that long.
They didn’t know each other during their days tormenting District 5-5A and were never summer teammates. They never ran into each other along the 6.2-mile span that separates their two high schools, or talked in college when Stripling’s Texas A&M Aggies played Muncy’s Baylor Bears.
“I didn’t not meet him until Triple A last year,” Stripling said on Monday during All-Star media day.
They are buddies now and were key cogs as the Dodgers survived injuries and some underachieving to finish the first-half with a slim half-game lead in the National League West.
But even they agree that it’s a bit odd that they never met until becoming teammates in the minors.
“It’s just a very small world,” Muncy said. “We went to high schools that were about [six] miles from each other, and then we went to rival colleges and played against each other. And then we actually played against each other growing up through the minors and now we’re teammates.
“We’re both here in D.C., and I’m in the Derby and he’s on the All-Star team. And it’s one of those things that’s incredible. It makes you realize how small the world can be sometimes. And it’s also just great finding someone that lives that close you can build a relationship with.”
Another link between the two? They were both drafted, seven picks apart, in the fifth round of the 2012 draft. Muncy, 27, was selected by the Oakland A’s and made is MLB debut with them in 2015 before being released last year at the end of spring training.
The Dodgers signed him a month later, but he spent the whole season in Oklahoma City. That’s where he met Stripling, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014 and his big-league debut in 2016.
Both players needed injuries early this season to get their chances to break through. Muncy was promoted April 18 from Oklahoma City after second baseman Logan Forsythe was placed on the disabled list.
Muncy wasn’t expected to stay long, but he played well and also was needed after shortstop Corey Seager was lost for the season. Muncy hit five home runs in May and 10 more in June, including one against the Texas Rangers on June 12.
Stripling’s first 10 appearances this season were as a reliever before a bevy of injuries, including one to three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, presented a need for Stripling to start.
His arm was stretched out, and the right-hander emerged as the Dodgers best starter. At 8-2 with a 2.08 ERA overall, he has pitched to a 2.36 ERA in 14 starts and has walked only eight while striking out 91.
Though he was initially left off the NL team, he was quickly added as a replacement.
“Just to think of battling for a bullpen spot out of spring training and to get built up to be a starter, and then just coming from an organization that a lot times might go to trades to find depth and they trust me to take the ball every fifth day, it’s just been motivation for me to try and stay in the rotation,” said Stripling, 28.
“To find my way here, it’s just insane to look around at the other guys at this room. It’s pretty special and something I’ll remember for ever.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2018 at 3:42 PM with the headline "They went to area high schools six miles apart. You’ll never guess when Dodgers Muncy, Stripling met."