On the television inside the Orioles’ clubhouse before Monday’s game at Petco Park, a group of MLB Network broadcasters discussed whether the best team in the American League should call up the best prospect in baseball, wondering what 19-year-old Jackson Holliday could bring to Baltimore’s lineup. The segment came before the Orioles faced a player who they promoted in that aggressive fashion more than 11 years ago.
Manny Machado has grown a lot, as a player and a person, since he was a 20-year-old joining Baltimore straight from Double-A for its 2012 playoff push. He’s now in his fifth season with the San Diego Padres, with many more to come after he signed an 11-year, $350 million extension this spring. But his time with them thus far still leaves him nearly a full season’s worth of games short of the total he played with the Orioles after his August 2012 call-up.
His tenure in Baltimore ended just shy of six years later, when the Orioles started their rebuild by trading Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers amid their dreadful 2018 season, the first of four straight campaigns in which they finished with one of baseball’s five worst records. But five years later, they’re the leaders in the AL East, and Machado’s Padres are one of baseball’s biggest underperformers.
But he’s pleased to see that Baltimore’s process has paid off, saying that this year’s team reminds him of the group he was a part of that won more games than any AL club from 2012 to 2016, a stretch that features the Orioles’ only three playoff berths in the past 25 years.
“It takes me back to when I played there, winning baseball, and obviously, they brought back that culture,” Machado said Monday. “It’s been a big sports city for a long time, so to see them go and clean house and rebuild that in a short period of time to be where they’re at today, it’s pretty impressive.
“It’s happened fast. I’ve never seen a team rebuild that quickly. … This year, they’ve shown that they could take the East. It’s impressive to see that, in such a short period of time, what they’re doing over there.”
Machado, who turned 31 last month, was a pending free agent when the Orioles dealt him to Los Angeles for five prospects, only one of whom is still in the organization. Right-hander Dean Kremer is scheduled to start Wednesday’s series finale, which could present his first matchup with Machado.
But this week doesn’t represent Machado’s first reunion with his former team, with the Orioles hosting and visiting the Padres in 2019, Machado’s first season in San Diego after signing there following a run to the World Series with the Dodgers. His goal remains to make it back and win it, but this season, the Orioles are positioned to do so than the Padres, who entered the series 56-62 and 5 1/2 games back of a playoff spot. After finishing in the top three of National League Most Valuable Player voting two of the past three years, Machado is having a relatively down season but still considered an above-average performer with a .256 average, .778 OPS and 21 home runs through Sunday.
There are few members of this Orioles roster who played alongside Machado in Baltimore. Outfielders Austin Hays and Anthony Santander began their careers with as Machado’s teammates. They are now both part of an established core representing one of the three key portions of the Orioles’ clubhouse: those who weathered the rebuilding years after the Machado trade, the young talent acquired during them and the veterans brought in to complement those groups.
It’s another way this team reminds Machado of those he played on. He recalled Monday a play he made at third base during that 2012 call-up against the Tampa Bay Rays, charging a slow roller and faking a throw to first before throwing to third to catch the lead runner going too far around the bag, crediting not only his “natural ability,” but also shortstop JJ Hardy.
“Not many shortstops back up the third baseman, or they’re a little bit late, but he was one guy that was always there no matter what,” Machado said. “That’s what made me start thinking later that year, like, hey, it’s all about the little details that matter. I learned a lot from that.”
He’s carried those lessons to San Diego, now in a similar position as a veteran infielder on a team with playoff aspirations. He’s grateful he collected them in Baltimore.
“At the end of the day, you never forget where you come from,” Machado said. “I grew up in Miami, and Baltimore gave me an opportunity to live my dream, and now, I’m here, living in one of the best cities in the world, playing in a great organization, trying to compete for a World Series. It’s crazy how baseball turns out, and it’s a beautiful thing.”
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