During Tuesday night’s game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, Manny Machado raised eyebrows with yet another highly questionable maneuver.
He was at the plate in the bottom of the sixth when he hit a popup to the right side of the infield, close to home plate. Catcher John Ryan Murphy moved to get under it when Machado dropped his bat suspiciously close to him. A second or two later, Murphy dropped what appeared to be a routine fly.
As the local Diamondbacks broadcasters (on Fox Sports) watched the replay unfold, one of them ripped into Machado, saying, “Look at this. This is bush league right here. That’s bush league.”
It’s worth pointing out that home plate umpire Bill Welke called Machado out, saying he interfered with the catcher. That outcome wasn’t received well by Machado, or his manager, Andy Green. Both argued against the call, with Green ultimately getting ejected from the game.
This isn’t the first time Machado in recent memory that Machado has done something that seemed to have the appearance of dirty play. His reputation will only continue to grow if he continues to make these questionable decisions.