Oh, what a play, Manny!

[tinamodotti]

take Brooks Robinson with maybe a better bat?

No offense to Brooksie but MM looks to be a far superior offensive player. His power potential looks much greater and he's far advanced in age comparison. BR age 21 season he had a .597 OPS.

[ExileAngelos]

No offense to Brooksie but MM looks to be a far superior offensive player. His power potential looks much greater and he's far advanced in age comparison. BR age 21 season he had a .597 OPS.

Well ya that is why I say maybe. We don't know yet. It appears that will be the case.

[brianod]

No offense to Brooksie but MM looks to be a far superior offensive player. His power potential looks much greater and he's far advanced in age comparison. BR age 21 season he had a .597 OPS.

Brooks was the greatest defensive 3b of all time. He also average 20 hrs per year during one of the biggest pitchers eras of all time. Brook's prime was 62 to 71. Brooks also played in a pitchers park as opposed to Camden Yards. Add all that up and I think Manny has a ways to go. I plan to enjoy watching him get there (or close)

[ExileAngelos]

Brooks was the greatest defensive 3b of all time. He also average 20 hrs per year during one of the biggest pitchers eras of all time. Brook's prime was 62 to 71. Brooks also played in a pitchers park as opposed to Camden Yards. Add all that up and I think Manny has a ways to go. I plan to enjoy watching him get there (or close)

Well said and very true. Nice perspective.

[luismatos4prez]

Brooks was the greatest defensive 3b of all time. He also average 20 hrs per year during one of the biggest pitchers eras of all time. Brook's prime was 62 to 71. Brooks also played in a pitchers park as opposed to Camden Yards. Add all that up and I think Manny has a ways to go. I plan to enjoy watching him get there (or close)

Defensively, Brooks was the best over a huge timeframe. But as for offense, I'll just leave these stats here:

Brooks through age 21: 700 PAs, 67 wRC+

Manny through age 20: 602 PAs, 114 wRC+

wRC+ accounts for the stadium, the league, and the era that the player was playing in. Brooks developed into a great hitter in his mid-late 20s. Hopefully Manny's offense will follow the same trajectory.

[slakattack]

Love Brooksie, love Manny...but the gold standard for fielding and power and team value at 3B is Mike Schmidt. Even the Balto. Sun admitted that when he retired.

[Gurgi]

Brooks was an MVP. 16 time GG. Manny has a long way to go. However, this is exactly what a kid who could be as good as Brooks would look like at 20. So I cant wait to see what his career turns out to be. It could be a wonderful ride for O's fans.

[Frobby]

I have no idea what the long term holds. I saw Brooks in his prime and what amazed me was the sheer frequency of the amazing plays he made -- seemingly 2 or 3 every week. But that's what we're seeing from Machado now. Gun to my head, I'd say Brooks was slightly better at spearing balls in the hole, Manny is slightly better at gunning down runners on difficult throws from behind the bag or in foul territory. But Manny, For 140 games or so, has been as amazing as Brooks was for a decade. And I never thought I'd see that again.

[George Zuverink]

The thing that amazes me is how little time elapses between when the ball goes off the heel of his glove and when he picks it up. Seems to me that the transfer from glove to throwing hand, if fielded cleanly to begin with, would have possibly taken longer.

The first few times I watched the play I couldn't tell whether he had booted the ball or just flipped it from his glove to his throwing hand, something I wouldn't put past Manny anymore. I told my business partner to look at the play. He loves throwing cold water on any enthusiasm I show over things Oriole. (He's a Brewers fan. What else does he have to do?) He made the same point Hoosiers raised that the bobble forced the play to be more spectacular than it needed to be. Maybe, but I agree with Claudecat.

Someone with more technical skills than I have should do a Zapruder tape comparison of this play and Brooks' legendary catch and throw on Lee May. Side by side, frame by frame with a stop watch running. How long from contact with the bat to contact with the glove? From contact with the glove to release of the throw? From release of the throw to contact with the 1B glove? Also distances. How far from the foul line (and up the line from the base) was contact with the glove? How long was the throw?

[BMann]

Someone with more technical skills than I have should do a Zapruder tape comparison of this play and Brooks' legendary catch and throw on Lee May. Side by side, frame by frame with a stop watch running. How long from contact with the bat to contact with the glove? From contact with the glove to release of the throw? From release of the throw to contact with the 1B glove? Also distances. How far from the foul line (and up the line from the base) was contact with the glove? How long was the throw?

That's what I'd like to know - just how far from 1st base was Manny when the ball left his hand? Considering that he was about a half-step from the 3rd-base warning track, I'm wondering if it may have been the longest throw an infielder has EVER made to get a runner out at first. Of course, part of the equation is that Manny knocks the ball waaaay into foul territory: 99% of the time, that's the end of the play and the 3B either gets an error or the runner is awarded an infield single. So there are very few opportunities from that far away.

There have been some shortstop throws from shallow left field, of course, but, not being all that great at geometry, I'm not sure if any of them might've been as far from first as Manny was. I'm sure someone is/has studied this and will have an answer soon!

[NashLumber]

Someone with more technical skills than I have should do a Zapruder tape comparison of this play and Brooks' legendary catch and throw on Lee May. Side by side, frame by frame with a stop watch running. How long from contact with the bat to contact with the glove? From contact with the glove to release of the throw? From release of the throw to contact with the 1B glove? Also distances. How far from the foul line (and up the line from the base) was contact with the glove? How long was the throw?

I can't remember if it was ESPN or MLB-TV, but someone did a video overlay of the Brooks '70 Series play with the Manny play not long after the game. It was uncanny. Haven't seen a link, just when it aired as a sort of a summary of Sunday's game. If I hadn't erased my DVR copy of the game, I'd have filmed it on my cam. Did anyone else see that? Must have been ESPN, as MASN went to ESPN after the game interviews were over.

[Tony-OH]

The first few times I watched the play I couldn't tell whether he had booted the ball or just flipped it from his glove to his throwing hand, something I wouldn't put past Manny anymore. I told my business partner to look at the play. He loves throwing cold water on any enthusiasm I show over things Oriole. (He's a Brewers fan. What else does he have to do?) He made the same point Hoosiers raised that the bobble forced the play to be more spectacular than it needed to be. Maybe, but I agree with Claudecat.

Someone with more technical skills than I have should do a Zapruder tape comparison of this play and Brooks' legendary catch and throw on Lee May. Side by side, frame by frame with a stop watch running. How long from contact with the bat to contact with the glove? From contact with the glove to release of the throw? From release of the throw to contact with the 1B glove? Also distances. How far from the foul line (and up the line from the base) was contact with the glove? How long was the throw?

This would be pretty darn interesting. I wish I had the time to do it but maybe someone who wants a lot of rep points will.

Quite simply, it's the greatest play I've ever seen live (TV live). Yes, I understand the bobble thing, but at the end of the day, I've never seen a better throw nor the wherewithal too continue that play from a fielder. Manny is quite simply amazing!

[BohKnowsBmore]

This would be pretty darn interesting. I wish I had the time to do it but maybe someone who wants a lot of rep points will.

Quite simply, it's the greatest play I've ever seen live (TV live). Yes, I understand the bobble thing, but at the end of the day, I've never seen a better throw nor the wherewithal too continue that play from a fielder. Manny is quite simply amazing!

As others have said, the level of difficulty was largely self-imposed, but it's not as though Manny doesn't make that play 9 times out of 10 as well. Furthermore, the impressive part is how he was able to salvage the play whereas most other 3B could be happy that they prevented a double down the line.

[Ohfan67]

It was definitely the best throw by an infielder that I've ever seen. Manny is the best third baseman I've ever seen play. Just thrilled that the O's have him. Amazed really that the O's have a young player of his caliber.

[NashLumber]

Not the ESPN overlay, but still nice to have them in one gif.