April 24, 2019
By Bob Zayas, 360 Sports Contributor
Newly signed Manny Machado, third baseman/shortstop for the San Diego Padres, is looking to make the Padres a force in the NL West this year. The Padres have not had a winning season since 2010 when they had a .556 winning percentage. SD has had 5 playoff appearances since their inception in 1969. Their last playoff appearance was in 2006 when they lost the NL Division series to the St Louis Cardinals. They have appeared in 2 World Series, in 1984 and in 1998, both ending in five games or less with the Padres on the losing end. However, many are hoping that bringing in Machado will increase the club's chances to take home their first World Series Championship.
Machado, a career .282 hitter, joined SD this season after signing a 10 year, $300 million dollar contract (free agent). He was drafted in 2010 by the Baltimore Orioles right out of high school and made his MLB debut in August of 2012. He played for Baltimore from 2012 to 2018, then played 66 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in late 2018 before picking up the lucrative contract with SD.
This season, the 26 year old who hails from South Florida, is hitting .241 with 4 HR and 9 RBI’s. He has also shown a knack for reaching base with an OBP of .337. The 4-time All-Star brings a certain excitement and hope to the Padres. SD is off to a great start and is presently in 2nd place (.542 winning %) in the NL West 1.5 games behind 1st place Dodgers. They are looking to add to the win column with a two-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners today.
Sources: Baseball-reference.com,
Wikipedia, ESP
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