Watch: Controversial Manny Machado Play Sparks Rant from Announcers - 'Bush League!'
The baseball season is just about a week old and there’s already some controversy surrounding Manny Machado.
The new San Diego Padres third baseman, who signed a 10-year, $300 million contract in the offseason, got called out for interference on a foul pop-up during the sixth inning of the Padres’ 8-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday at Petco Park.
Machado popped it up in foul territory near the first base line. Arizona catcher John Ryan Murphy got under the ball but dropped it. However, the umpire ruled that Machado interfered with Murphy, and he was called out.
You be the judge.
Here’s another angle. Does this change anything? ? (via @Chris_Gunnoe) pic.twitter.com/3OZLgBrihv
— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) April 3, 2019
It doesn’t look like Machado touched him, but he ran very close to him and did drop that bat near Murphy’s feet in his peripheral vision.
Umpire Tim Welke explained his call after the game.
“A batter has certain protections when he’s in the batters’ box when he’s the batter,” Welke said, reported MLB.com. “The minute the batter makes contact with the ball, he’s no longer the batter, he’s the batter-runner. The batter-runner has to give way to a fielder making a play on a batted ball. …
“It doesn’t matter if it’s intentional or not. A runner always has to give way to a fielder making a play on a batted ball.”
Padres manager Andy Green charged on to the field to argue the call and was ejected.
Padres manager Andy Green ejected during game against the Diamondbacks. Padres l… https://t.co/FdwZOy9Zba pic.twitter.com/tWssQuxBNM
— San Diego Informer (@sandiegoinforme) April 3, 2019
Diamondbacks announcer Bob Brenly called the play by Machado “bush league.”
“He’s done some questionable things throughout the course of his career. Look at this. This is bush league right here. That’s bush league,” Brenly said on the broadcast.
Is Manny Machado bush league? pic.twitter.com/SV21i9qomp
— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) April 3, 2019
Machado denied that he was trying to interfere with Murphy.
“I hit the fly ball, looked up, saw it, put my head down and went to go run,” he said, according to NBC Sports’ Hardball Talk. “I don’t even think I touched him. (Murphy) even said, ‘No.'”
Machado is no stranger to controversial plays. Last year in the playoffs while he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Machado was fined for kicking the leg of Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar as he ran out a grounder.
Reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich called Machado at the time a “dirty player.”
“He’s a player that has a history of those types of incidents,” Yelich said. “One time is an accident. Repeated over and over and over again, you’re just a dirty player. It’s a dirty play by a dirty player.”
Of the Murphy play, Brenly later added: “Machado, one day, is gonna pull one of his hijinks on the wrong guy and he’s gonna get dropped in his tracks, and he’s gonna deserve it.”
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