CARLSBAD, Calif. — Manny Machado made waves during the postseason with something that haunts public-relations professionals’ nightmares.
After catching heat for not running out a ground ball during the NLCS, Machado, then the Los Angeles Dodgers’ shortstop and now one of the most coveted players on the free-agent market, told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that he’s not “Johnny Hustle” and that busting it down the line on routine ground balls just “isn’t my cup of tea.”
Maybe those comments made you wince, maybe they didn’t. It seems rather unlikely it’s going to cost him that much money, with Machado still expected to receive one of the biggest contracts in baseball history for what he can do with a bat and a glove.