Now before I fully open this can of worms, I want to go on the record saying that I LOVE Manny Machado the baseball player. Amazing fielder at third base, an always improving bat at the plate, and the man is a GIF machine in more ways than one.
Manny Machado the person? I’m becoming less of a fan. Sure he works with charities and such, but so do Jose Conseco and John Rocker. Not saying I’m not appreciative for what they’ve done, but doing charity work doesn’t automatically make you a good person. The biggest infraction on Machado’s character is obviously the stunts he pulled against the Oakland Athletics last season, which I believe was a little blown out of proportion.
Most recently, his attitude got him tossed in a close game against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon. Machado checked his swing, the home plate Umpire didn’t appeal and said he struck out swinging. Mad that the umpire didn’t get help, Machado threw his bat on the ground, whether it be frustration or anger, and was promptly tossed from the game. The bat throwing isn’t new for Machado this season, any regular watcher of the Orioles will tell you whenever he strikes out, his bat normally hits the ground like it’s the redheaded step-child.
There is absolutely no excuse for that. Period. End of discussion. The defenders used his “But he’s only 20-21-22-23!” mulligan after those stunts against the A’s. You would think a suspension would be enough of a learning experience for him to learn how to cool his jets. Apparently not.
I will give my opposition this, the brain isn’t fully developed until the mid-20s. According to this study, the Prefrontal Cortex is still growing until the age of 25, which means people under that age will continue to have problems with impulse control. But here’s my response to that.
I’m going to speak from a personally for a minute. I’m 19, three years younger than Machado, and I work in a hospital cafeteria. I have to deal with many people on a daily basis whether it be coworkers, customers, or patients. Whenever I get frustrated with someone, I don’t yell or throw things while I’m on the clock (I encourage you to that on your own time for your own mental health), I suck it up because not only would I get fired if I didn’t but because it’s not professional and I hold myself to a higher standard.
That’s exactly what Machado needs to do, be professional and hold himself to a higher standard because people will only put up with his antics for so long.
Hot headed Latin temper, that’s all.