Manny Machado's antics should not turn the Phillies away

Manny Machado has been the talk of the NLCS and not because of his play on the field. Will his antics now affect his market come free agency?

Manny Machado has not been a fan favorite over the course of the NLCS. The Dodgers shortstop has been at the forefront of baseball controversy due to his multiple incidents from failing to run balls out, two “dirty” slides, and last night when he kicked Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar running to first after grounding out in the 10th inning.

The narrative has now been the same over Machado. The same outlets who promoted the “let the kids play” postseason hype video, now ridicule Machado as a cheap player who is making a mockery of the game. After the game, MVP frontrunner Christian Yelich went as far as to say “it was a dirty play by a dirty player.”

So are the critics right? Will the non “Johnny Hustle” (hilarious misquote honestly) cost himself tens of millions? Should the Phillies and other clubs steer clear from the dirty antagonist? There’s an obvious answer:

No. Just no. Now let us look at this one controversy at a time.

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No fan, coach, executive or player should not want Machado on their roster because he kicked a first baseman 55 pounds heavier than him. To the people who claim the kick was cheap, dirty and risked injury for Aguilar; how is it even remotely as close to dangerous as the pitchers throwing 100 mph at a guys head (sort of like how Chris Sale did to Machado earlier in the year but plenty blamed Machado for a slide there too.) By no means do I believe Machado when he says the kick was not intentional.

But how did it affect the rest of the game? The attacked Aguilar and steaming Yelich both were retired in their next at-bats. Meanwhile, sleazeball Machado singled and scored the eventual game-winning and series-altering run in the thirteenth.

On to the slides. The dirty disgusting slides cheaply attempting to break up a double play. On top of the fact that Machado gets hate no matter if he is hustling or not, can you even imagine a player who would do such a thing? No, Manny Machado obviously is not the same type of player as Chase Utley, the point is a slide to break up a double play in the playoffs should be something general managers should want to see.

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Finally the lack of hustle. I do not like it. I do not think admitting that you have no intentions of changing your style and starting to hustle sounds great. But is it possible that Machado losing interests from teams because he did not run out a 3-0 ground ball with two outs in the fourth inning is a bit of an overreaction? Of course, hustling that ball out is preferable but crucifying Machado for not testing his 60 time after an obviously frustrating at-bat seems unnecessary.

So let’s acknowledge some facts. Machado enters Game Five with a .353 series average, second highest between both championship series. He is tied for the NLCS lead in RBI and second in OBP.

Machado is also one of only four Dodgers batting over .200 in the postseason. But he should lose interest in free agency because he slaps a guy’s leg on a slide.

Did Machado have to kick Aguilar? Of course not, it was not necessary. Should he have run out those ground balls? Obviously. But by no means should a top-five defender, .297/37 HR/107 RBI hitter not be sought after in free agency because of these antics.

Gabe Kapler rated a top-40 coach in major 4 sports. dark. Next

While irritating, Machado’s actions have been far from worthy of the GM response many suggest he deserves. The biggest problem I have with Machado is his haircut. Come free agency, the Phillies would be making a big mistake to not go all in on Machado.

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Manny Machado’s antics should not turn the Phillies away

Manny Machado has been the talk of the NLCS and not because of his play on the field. Will his antics now affect his market come free agency?

More from That Balls Outta Here

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