After the Orioles’ 3-0 win Saturday night, Manny Machado said it was just a number – and that’s what he should say.
Twenty home runs doesn’t necessarily have as much significance as it once did.
“Obviously it’s my first 20-homer season,” Machado said. “But it’s just a number out there.”
But it is still 20 homers. And it was achieved by a guy who just turned 23 this month. A guy who had never hit more than 14 long balls in one major league season. And, perhaps more important, a guy who is coming off consecutive campaigns that were cut short by serious knee injuries.