Manny Machado Appreciation Thread

[Natty]

I really enjoyed watching Manny Machado play.  If only our team wasn't so lousy, and mismanaged, we could have kept him. Cant blame Manny for wanting to play with a good organization. Good luck to him. 

 

[NashLumber]

 

Nice haul you got us, Manny. 

[ReclaimTheCrown]

Manny will always be one of my favorite Orioles, and the most naturally gifted player I’ve ever watched in Baltimore. I’ll miss his incredible defensive plays, his ability to do consistently barrel up the ball, his passion for the game, his youthful enthusiasm, his interactions with Schoop and others, and his flair. I’ll also miss being able to where my black authentic #13. And his OPS. Gonna miss that OPS for sure lol...

Thank you, Manny. I hope that at some point in your career, maybe in a few months, few years, or many years, we see you back in orange and black. I promise I’ll be there for that game to welcome you back.

[Roll Tide]

Thanks for the memories Manny! I hope you have a long career and sigh the big contract you are hoping for in LA.

[TonySoprano]

Buck speaks - 
 

Quote

"I gotta call him in," Showalter said. "Manny's got his spikes back on, the game's about to start back up. I tell him that I'm pulling him and then he gives me that look. And what the look says to me is: This is it. And just like that, it got real emotional. I said, 'Manny, I've got to be honest with you. It looks like they must have something in place. And if they don't, they're close to having something in place. And they don't want to take a chance on you getting hurt.'

"Now he says, 'Where am I going? Buck, if you know, tell me where I'm going.' I told him the truth, because I didn't, but I said, 'If I knew, I would tell you.'"

Quote

Still: After Showalter had watched Machado play third base and shortstop for him, play 860 regular-season games across seven years -- seven more games in the postseason -- they both knew they were saying goodbye in Showalter's office last Sunday afternoon, after all the rumors about Machado that have dominated the season in Baltimore as much as all the losing has.

"There's a part of me hoping that when we both find out now, it's with a phone call, that when it is official, we don't have to do it again in my office," Showalter said. "That would not be pretty."

He paused again and said, "Listen, I know how the industry operates. But there's a part of me that believes that he shouldn't be leaving Baltimore. I get why he is. But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Then Showalter was talking about the last 96 games Machado played for the Orioles, with those 24 homers and 65 RBIs and a .315 batting average and a .387 on-base percentage and an OPS of .963, on a team that can't win.

"He's had such little protection," Showalter said. "If you had told me that he'd have 65 RBIs the way our offense has been, with all the focus on him, I wouldn't have believed you. There's been times when [Orioles bench coach] John Russell has said to me, 'Can you believe they're pitching to him?'"

He remembered when Machado first came up to the big leagues as a third baseman, in 2012.

"We knew that he would impact the club defensively until he figured out the offensive part of it," Showalter said. "The biggest jump in all of professional sports is from the pitching you see in the Minors and the pitching you see in the big leagues."

Then everybody, starting with Machado's manager, watched him grow into his body, and into his immense talent for baseball.

"Have I had my moments with him?" Showalter said. "Of course we've had our moments. But I never lost sight of how pure he is, what I call the pureness of his baseball heart. And you could never lose sight of the competitor in him. You push him into a corner, he'll come out firing. You throw at him once too often, he will come at [you].

"He is as talented as they come. He has been focused this season, knowing that stakes for him, from the first pitch of Spring Training. And even over the last two weeks, with all the rumors swirling, he has played [well at] shortstop. To the end, he's done the thing he can do that not many can, which is play this game with imagination."

Mike Lupica - https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/buck-showalter-fondly-remembers-manny-machado/c-286392400

[Frobby]

Awesome interview by Lupica there.   

[TonySoprano]

 

[Hank Scorpio]

He was the best defensive third baseman I've ever seen play live. He always had that clock - knew exactly how long he had to get the ball out. Perfect example:

 

[HillbillyBird]

Best of luck, Manny. You made watching fun, and the fans deserved to have you retire as an Oriole forever.

[BMann]

45 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Awesome interview by Lupica there.   

I got a little choked up, TBH.

[Aristotelian]

I'll always remember you...

[TonySoprano]

43 minutes ago, BMann said:

I got a little choked up, TBH.

"This is it. And just like that, it got real emotional. I said, 'Manny, I've got to be honest with you. It looks like they must have something in place. And if they don't, they're close to having something in place. And they don't want to take a chance on you getting hurt."

[TonySoprano]

Yeah, baseball is a business but.....

 

[TonySoprano]

 

[Grt 2BA FL Gator]

Bump because this:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-machado-20180729-story.html

 

You’re a good dude Manny. Go win a ring and if it can be avoided, please stay away from the Yankees and Red Sox. I’ll still root for you regardless but then I can have a second team.