Manny Machado has built for himself a reputation as a trouble-maker. This past postseason alone, during the San Diego Padres’ NLDS clash against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he made waves when he threw a ball towards the Dodgers dugout, nearly hitting manager Dave Roberts in the process. This triggered a bit of a skirmish between the two teams, and it’s clear that heading into 2025, there is going to be no love lost between these two teams.
Machado, however, is looking to turn over a new leaf. After all, a new season brings forth the possibility of new outcomes. The Padres third baseman is looking forward to the season that lies ahead, as they look to finish what they started and dethrone the Dodgers.
“The past is the past. I’m looking forward to going out there and competing again this year and trying to take them down. We’re ready and we’re gonna go out and compete and possibly bring a title to San Diego,” Machado said, via 97.3 The Fan San Diego on X (formerly Twitter).
Manny Machado on Dave Roberts saying he used the incident with Manny in the playoffs as motivation and his relationship with Roberts: pic.twitter.com/QQWevjjEJ4
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 17, 2025
The Padres third baseman even went as far as to say that he does not necessarily remember the incident that transpired between him and the Dodgers manager.
“I don’t know what it was, man. That’s in the past. I even forgot about that until you brought it up. I’m just ready to go out there and compete with our guys and you know, hopefully be holding the trophy that they held up,” Machado added.
While Machado’s temperament in that interview seems to be level-headed, don’t expect him to play nice all of a sudden on the field. The Padres star is one of the most fiery competitors there is in the sport, so expect him to be up to some shenanigans yet again, especially when they face the Dodgers.
Manny Machado, Padres look to start revenge tour
It was the Padres that came oh so close to knocking out the Dodgers in the NLDS before their bats went frigid and failed to produce runs towards the end of the series. The gulf in quality between the two teams isn’t very large, which means that the Padres, so long as they maintain their 2024 levels, should still make the Dodgers sweat.
Manny Machado, in particular, is expected to continue playing a starring role for the Padres. Last season, he tallied 29 home runs and 105 runs batted in, winning the 3B Silver Slugger award in the NL.
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