Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy identified recreating the intensity of October baseball as the biggest challenge of a first-round postseason bye before the National League Division Series begins.

The Dodgers earned the NL’s No. 2 seed after finishing 100-62, giving them several days without a game before Saturday’s NLDS opener at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles can hold live batting practice and simulated games, but Muncy said those settings cannot reproduce the emotional swings of a postseason contest.

Dodgers Nation relayed Muncy’s comments Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, as the veteran explained what Los Angeles cannot manufacture during the layoff.

“The emotion of it, you can do live AB’s, you can do sim games. It’s not even like a rehab assignment, there’s no way of replicating the emotion of a postseason game.”

Muncy’s concern reflects a challenge the Dodgers have experienced before. Los Angeles earned first-round byes in 2022 and 2023, then lost in the NLDS to the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, respectively.

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The club handled the break differently in 2024, keeping players together for extended stretches before eventually winning the World Series. The Dodgers did not receive a bye in 2025, instead playing through the Wild Card round on its way to another championship. With the bye returning in 2026, Muncy said the Dodgers are again leaning on their 2024 approach.

This matters because the Wild Card winner will arrive in L.A. tested by elimination-level pressure.

Los Angeles closed the regular season Sunday with a 5-1, 10-inning win over the San Francisco Giants, securing its 100th victory. Muncy finished the year batting .252 with a .348 on-base percentage and .490 slugging percentage, along with 29 home runs and 76 RBI.

The Dodgers will face the winner of the Atlanta Braves-Philadelphia Phillies Wild Card Series in Game 1 on Saturday. Atlanta currently holds a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series after a 5-3 Game 1 win Tuesday. Until then, Los Angeles can recreate baseball activity, but Muncy believes matching the postseason atmosphere its eventual opponent will already have experienced remains the harder task.