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Manny Machado deserves to be in ‘The Conversation’
- Updated: April 21, 2016
1:52 AM ET
BALTIMORE — Much of the last couple of days in baseball-land was spent debating whether Mike Trout or Bryce Harper — who’s so hot that his body temperature is now measured on the Kelvin scale — is the best player in the game. But if we’re having “The Conversation,” then Manny Machado must be a part of it.
Much like Harper, over the first few years of his career, we didn’t get to see the full Manny because he was either a little too young, a little too injured, or both. And much like Harper, a more mature Machado last season finally showed what he’s capable of doing. He played in all 162 games (the only major leaguer to do so), slashing .286/.359/.502 in the process, and played his usual brand of have-to-see-it-to-believe-it third base. He was the American League’s only 20/20 guy and was fourth in the MVP balloting.
And you can’t help but think that if a) the Orioles had won more games, and/or b) he’d hit where he belongs in the lineup (third) rather than where the Orioles needed him (leadoff) and finished with 100-plus RBIs instead of 86, he would have finished even higher.
This year, Machado is picking up right where he left off. In Wednesday night’s extra-inning affair against the Blue Jays (which the bombs-bursting O’s won 4-3 on, of all things, a walk-off passed ball), all Machado did was reach base four times in five plate appearances. Ho-hum. Just another day at the office. His RBI double in the first inning — a laser to left-center — extended his hitting streak to 13 games, making him the only player in the majors with at least one hit in every one of his team’s contests. His .407 average leads the American League, as does his 1.263 OPS.
Just how good has Machado been?
In addition to leading the American League in batting average and OPS, Manny Machado continues to play spectacular defense, making him one of the game’s best all-around players. Evan Habeeb/USA TODAY Sports
So good that on Wednesday, with two outs and a runner on second in the eighth inning of a 3-3 tie, the Blue Jays decided that they would rather …
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