The San Diego Padres have existed since 1969.
Many incredible players have worn their uniform since those days: Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield, Nate Colbert, Phil Nevin, Chase Headley, Ken Caminiti, Brian Giles, Ryan Klesko, Adrian Gonzalez, and Fernando Tatis Jr., just to name a few.
We have to include Manny Machado on that list, too, even ahead of some of those names, in relevance to the team’s history.
He has been around since 2019, when he signed a mammoth free-agent deal with the Friars.
He hasn’t stopped hitting and producing since then, and is now very close to establishing a cool franchise record.
“Manny Machado needs 26 home runs this season to become the Padres all-time leader,” Baseball Reference tweeted.
Manny Machado needs 26 home runs this season to become the Padres all-time leader.#MLB | #Padres pic.twitter.com/yP4ue7htcr
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) March 5, 2024
The last time Machado didn’t hit at least 26 round-trippers in a full 162-game season was in 2014, back when he was with the Baltimore Orioles.
With that as evidence, we would say his chances of becoming the Padres’ all-time leader in home runs in 2024 are quite high.
138 of his 313 career home runs have come with the Padres.
He has needed only five seasons to reach that number, and one of those campaigns lasted 60 games.
Only Winfield (154), Nevin (156), Gonzalez (161), and Colbert (163) are higher than Machado on San Diego’s all-time list.
All he needs is health, and he will get there.
Last year wasn’t quite his best showing, yet he still managed to hit 30 balls out of the park with a .782 OPS.
Since he is still 31, he is well on his way to the record and, if he keeps this up for a few more years, to the Hall of Fame.
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