Baltimore Orioles Manny Machado featured in Rolling Stone

The Baltimore Orioles Manny Machado has become a celebrity in the world of baseball due to his infectious smile and acrobatic defensive plays.

But, until recently, the Baltimore Orioles third baseman’s celebrity was confined to the baseball world.

Now, he’s a celebrity for the whole world after Andy Frye from Rolling Stone magazine wrote a feature about him titled “Manny Machado: Why Baltimore Orioles Star Is Key to Team’s Resurgence.”

It is not uncommon for Rolling Stone to cover exciting athletes. The first baseball player to grace the cover of the magazine was Mark Fidrych who pitched for the Detroit Tigers for a single season in 1977. Other athletes who have appeared on the cover include Muhammad Ali and Jim McMahon of the Chicago Bears.

The magazine’s writers have covered a handful of today’s iconic athletes. Along with Machado, the magazine has featured Aaron Judge and Javier Baez this baseball season. When the magazine covers an athlete, it is a clear sign that that athlete has arrived.

Frye’s feature focused on how Machado is the key to the team’s success in the second half and to the future success of the MLB. Machado, who is only 25, is already loaded with honors. He has been to three All-Star Games, has two Gold Glove awards, and he has the Platinum Glove award. These honors do not come easy, but Machado makes it look like it.

What makes Machado a special player is not just his defensive ability at third base. He is a real team player. Frye quoted him as saying:

“The way that the game is played today, you’re going to battle everyday. But I look at the guys we have in the clubhouse and that gives me energy.”

Machado mentioned the bond that he has built with Jonathan Schoop as well as Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo. The veterans and younger players have worked together to “smooth over the difficult spots that arise in a 162-game season.”

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Frye also commented on how Machado believes in the wisdom Buck Showalter. He appreciates the way that Showalter earns the respect of the players because he “cultivates a respectful, hardworking culture.”

It is clear that Machado pays attention to the lessons from Showalter. According to another recent piece about Machado by Ryan Spaeder with the Sporting News, Machado’s skills are being overcome by bad luck. Spaeder did some research on exit velocity. He found that Machado is actually leading the MLB with the highest average exit velocity of 93 MPH. But, Machado is the only batter in the top five with a batting average under .300. Machado’s problem isn’t putting the ball in play with power, it’s putting in play where players are not waiting for him. With a manager like Showalter, Machado has a good chance of ending that problem and capitalizing on his powerful stroke.

Next: Orioles lose a heart breaker to start the second half

So, if Machado can start to change where he is hitting, he could truly be what the Rolling Stone article said he could be: The key to the Orioles’ second-half resurgence. That may be a lot of pressure to put on a young player, but Machado’s certainly got the shoulders for it.