Manny Machado Only Hurts Orioles By Brawling

Manny Machado got into his second huge brawl last night and for the Orioles sake, it better be his last one.

Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is an extremely competitive and talented player. Machado plays with a huge chip on shoulder, which allows him to play like he’s always trying to prove somebody wrong. Combined with athleticism that is matched by few, if any, in baseball, that makes Machado an incredibly valuable player. That is precisely why he shouldn’t ever put himself in a situation to be suspended.

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For the record, I don’t blame Machado for his actions against Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura. Ventura went after him three times. During Machado’s second at bat on Tuesday night, Ventura went against what he told catcher Salvador Perez he was going to do twice by throwing inside against him. Factor in Ventura’s reputation and the fact that he had average control at best during the game and the 99 MPH pitch to Manny Machado’s back was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Manny did nothing to justify that pitch to his back. No amount of trash talk justifies putting a hitter in that situation.

At that point, the human body loses any sense of rational thought and adrenaline takes over. As a competitor, I know that and therefore, I can’t fault Machado for what he did. Many players likely would have done the same thing. After that pitch to the back, anything short of Machado channeling Juan Marichal on Ventura was a deserved reaction.

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However, this needs to be the last time that Machado puts himself in a situation where he can be suspended. He is much too valuable to lose as arguably the best player in baseball. Ventura played mind games with Machado and Machado gave him the reaction that he was looking for.

So who really won the battle? Not the Orioles, who will be without Machado for at least five games. The Royals could lose Ventura for 30 games and it wouldn’t really hurt them. Losing Machado clearly hurts the Orioles.

Worst of all, Machado put himself in a position where he could have been seriously injured. Granted, Ventura throwing at him three times also put him in a situation where he could have been seriously injured had Ventura missed even slightly with his pitches. However, that doesn’t justify charging the mound, an action where a busted jaw or nose are just two of the injuries that could happen.

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What’s frustrating is that Machado should have known better. If he just jogs to first base, the entire brawl doesn’t happen. It would have proven that Machado is the bigger man and would have been the equivalent of telling Ventura that he’s not even worth the energy to care about. It’s why stars in hockey rarely fight – they know their team can’t afford to lose them for five minutes. While Manny Machado isn’t at fault for the Brawl, he isn’t absolved from responsibility as well.

One good thing came from Machado’s actions (other than three home runs). After the game, Machado accepted responsibility for his actions. In 2014 when he threw his bat, it seemed forced when he did so. On Tuesday night, it appeared that he realized the true magnitude of charging the mound. He didn’t duck like Ventura did and answered every question that he faced. That’s a sign of a mature adult.

Manny Machado has grown from being an immature kid in 2014 to being a grown man in 2016. Humans make mistakes. With few exceptions, those mistakes don’t define us because humans are flawed. How we respond to those mistakes that we make defines who we are. Machado handled the situation well.

In a vacuum, it was awesome to see Manny Machado stand up for himself. Buck Showalter and the rest of his team having his back is a microcosm of the brotherhood that the Orioles have. That brotherhood is why they are more than just the sum of the talent of 25 players. Showalter saying that he didn’t have any issue with Machado’s response was awesome and it’s why Orioles fans love Buck so much.

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Manny Machado can’t ever do this kind of thing again. Hopefully this serves as a learning experience for him just like the 2014 bat incident did because Manny Machado is far too valuable a player to lose, even for one game. He is better than he was on Tuesday night. Hopefully he proves that moving forward because with two isolated incidents on his record, his reputation could take a huge hit with one more incident, just like Ventura’s has.

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