MANNY TAKES ISSUE
Machado says race plays role in negative way he’s covered
In baseball, as in life, there are racists, and there are a—-holes, and there are racist a—-holes. Sometimes the a—holes feel compelled to confront the racists. In America’s pastime, they share the diamonds and dugouts.
To some, Manny Machado might be an a—hole. People in and around the game don’t appreciate how he carries himself on the field, such as when Machado brushed up on an umpire while arguing a strike three call and earned a onegame suspension.
Sometimes, Machado has embraced the persona, or at least not gone out of his way to deny it. When Machado clipped Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar while running a grounder during the 2018 NLCS, Machado said in defiance that “If that’s dirty, that’s dirty. I don’t know, call it what you want. I play baseball.”
But this time, when Machado heard MLB Network studio analysts Eric Byrnes and Dan Plesac praise Astros outfielder Jake Marisnic’s restraint after he was drilled by Angels pitcher Noe Ramirez — direct payback for his July 7 collision with Jonathan Lucroy on the basepaths — the star infielder took to social media to share his thoughts on why his colleague seemed to evade the criticism.
“They’re protecting that guy,” Machado says of Byrnes and co-host Dan Plesac regarding their praise of Marisnick. “Was it dirty or not? I dunno.”
Neither do I, Manny. Dirty connotes a malicious intent that is challenging to ascribe on any man’s soul. But stepping away from the baseline, a choice Marisnick made before crashing into Lucroy does violate MLB’s home-plate collision rule.
Machado has a rep. His questionable (at best) altercation Aguilar deserves a side eye. Then again, so does Byrnes. In his newsletter — yes, the journeyman outfielder is also a content provider — Byrnes proclaimed that despite Machado being “incredibly
talented” if he was in charge of a team, “there is zero chance I would give this dude 1 f—-ing dollar.” This might be why Byrnes has a blog, not a front office job.
Machado decided to sound out the way people pronounce his name when he’s being praised, compared to when he is scolded for his conduct. Like when Byrnes once said Machado was the “biggest piece of [poo emoji]” he had ever seen play the game.
“Machado. Ma-cha-do,” said Manny, live from his Instagram, stressing every syllable on his Dominican last name. “That’s the key word.”
Then, Machado, staring directly into his smartphone, said the quiet part out loud: “Machado. Latino.”
Adrian Burgos, an associate professor of US Latino history and editor at large of La Vida Baseball, says that with some context about the Byrnes’ of the world, you can “totally see where Manny Machado is coming from.” According to Burgos, Machado faces an uphill battle against the assumption that they don’t know how to “play the game the right way”
“If you start with the premise that many people do — that Latinos don’t play the game right,” Burgos told the Daily News via telephone, then Latin baseball players are perceived as “the guys we need to school.”
I’ll let you guess who the “we” is.
Machado doesn’t need my advocacy. He can speak for himself, clearly. The $300 million contract and opportunity to work in sunny San Diego leaves him sitting prettier than most. Even then, when he does, his pointed, but level observations were labeled by numerous outlets as a “rant” or “explosive.” Machado swears twice during the three minute video. He never loses his composure as he spells out a double standard.
For example, try finding a substantive group outside Queens holding a grudge over Chase Utley’s dirty take out slide on Mets infielder Ruben Tejada during the NLDS. Granted, Utley apologized for his dirty play. But, hey, so did Machado. Or that time he told a booing Yankee Stadium crowd “boo? F—k you!” at the 2008 All Star game.
Utley’s longtime Phillies teammate Cole Hamels has been known to plunk a batter. As recently as 2018 with the Cubs, he played enforcer against the Rockies throwing inside and plunking third baseman Nolan Arenado one day after Rockies pitcher Peter Lambert hit Kris Bryant twice. “I had a feeling it was gonna happen,” Arenado said after getting drilled by Hamels’ 90 mph fastball in his forearm.
This is Machado’s beef: In baseball, everybody’s trying to hurt someone for some reason. The whole league is ready to throw hands, balls or cleats. This begs the question: Is Machado really dirtier than his peers? Or is he just less performative in the aftermath?
When Mark Mulder, an All Star with the Athletics and former Baseball Tonight analyst, saw Machado’s spike, he claimed it confirmed “why people think what they do about him.” But when Cole Hamels threw at Bryce Harper in 2012, his tone changed. “If a pitcher wants to hit a guy, that’s fine.” His only problem with Hamels trying to injure someone was being honest with the media.
“Don’t go on the interview and say you did it on purpose,” added Mulder. Only after getting pressed by the ESPN host does Mulder walk it back. “You can appreciate the honesty, I guess.” Boy scouts, everywhere.
So we know that in baseball, as in life, dirt spreads around quick. Plesac and Byrnes have never explained what makes Jacob Shawn Marisnick a hero and why Manuel Arturo Machado is a villain. Perhaps it’s all in a name.