The San Diego Padres are within striking distance of the NL West division leaders, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
At 17-9, the Padres are just half a game behind the Dodgers in the standings, and they have managed to do that without their best player, Fernando Tatis Jr.
The team has been surprisingly good, but the absolute star of the 2022 Padres so far has been Manny Machado.
The third baseman is hitting an amazing .374/.447/.657 as of Friday afternoon, with seven home runs, five stolen bases, 25 runs, and 20 RBI.
On Thursday night, Machado hit two dingers to lead the Padres’ win against the Miami Marlins.
The score was 2-1, so Machado literally won the game by himself.
A Knack For Multi-Homer Games
He has a knack for having multi-home run games over his career.
In fact, he is on a good pace in comparison to some of our current era greats.
“Manny Machado’s 31 career games with multiple home runs ranks fifth among active players, behind Albert Pujols (61), Miguel Cabrera (43), Nelson Cruz (40) and Giancarlo Stanton (34). Machado said in March that he hopes to play for as long as Cruz, 41, has played,” The Athletic’s Dennis Lin tweeted.
Manny Machado's 31 career games with multiple home runs ranks fifth among active players, behind Albert Pujols (61), Miguel Cabrera (43), Nelson Cruz (40) and Giancarlo Stanton (34). Machado said in March that he hopes to play for as long as Cruz, 41, has played.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) May 6, 2022
It sure seems like he has been around forever, but Machado is just 29 years old.
He will turn 30 in a couple of months, but is very young for some of the things and numbers he has achieved.
He remains one of the few active players with at least an outside shot at 3,000 hits – other than Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera, of course, who have already reached the mark – at some point in the future.
Machado has 1,462, and seems like a lock to eventually reach 2,000 knocks.
3,000 may be harder, but are not entirely out of the question.
He is still young, but is quietly building a Hall of Fame resume as a two-way star.
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