Padres' Cronenworth: Machado 'on his way to the Hall of Fame'
San Diego Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth believes teammate Manny Machado is on track to have a plaque in Cooperstown when the star third baseman hangs up his cleats.
"You look at his career, it's almost the same every year, 150-plus games played, 30 homers, it's just not normal," Cronenworth said, according to according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale. "It's almost the perfect recipe for a guy who's on his way to the Hall of Fame. This guy is on his own path to greatness."
Machado is slashing .280/.339/.489 with 1,989 hits, 354 homers, 1,095 RBIs, and 56.4 fWAR over his 14-year career. The 32-year-old is a six-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, two-time Gold Glover, and one-time Platinum Glove winner. He's also already signed two contracts worth $300 million or more.
Padres manager Mike Shildt said Machado's fiery personality and drive are just as essential to the player's success as the talent.
"I think he's probably one of the most misunderstood players in our game," Shildt said. "I know the quality of human Manny is. I know Manny's heart. But think, what's hard today is the sensitivity, the persecution, of just having the ability of being yourself.
"He is learning to channel all of the things that can be a challenge to be that consistent competitor and still be the core of who you are, which is core of who Manny Machado is, which is very special."
Machado was in the spotlight again when the Padres played the Los Angeles Dodgers during a chippy series last week that led to multiple suspensions. He said Friday the NL West rival has "gotta pray" Fernando Tatis Jr. wasn't injured on a pitch to the hand.
"It's much more difficult now to have a strong opinion or conviction," Shildt added. "I'm not green-lighting doing something inappropriate or to offend someone, but gosh, man, being able to be an alpha, it gets to be more of a challenge for players.
"Competing hard every day is still OK. You want a commitment by every player to be willing to lay out, and that's what comes with high expectations. I won't apologize for that, and I don't think Manny's going to apologize."