Padres' Machado is on the verge of 2,000 hits. Could he be the last player to reach 3,000?
One night in April, after another line drive moved him closer to a rare milestone, Manny Machado heard a fellow member of the San Diego Padres raise a theory. Machado, the team's franchise third baseman, professes to have forgotten who said it. But the idea has stuck in his head.
Maybe it was the fact that the club had just faced the Houston Astros and Jose Altuve, who reached 2,300 career hits Wednesday. Maybe it was Machado's proximity to hit No. 2,000. Maybe, more than anything, it was the audacity of it all.
If Machado were to eventually reach 3,000 hits, could he be the last to ever do it?
'It does sound crazy,' Machado said, 'but at the same time, you kind of see how the game is going right now.'
Machado, who turns 33 next month, finds himself on the doorstep of an increasingly exclusive club. There are four active players -- Freddie Freeman, Altuve, Andrew McCutchen and Paul Goldschmidt -- with at least 2,000 hits. Machado, with only 19 more hits, will make it five. Yet as recently as two decades ago, there were 27 such players.
This downward trend might only be accelerating. Pitchers are pairing unparalleled velocity with a greater understanding of how to manipulate spin and ball flight. The contact hitter is not extinct, but home runs and uppercut swings still drive team success and nine-figure contracts. While extreme shifts are now outlawed, defenses continue to pursue optimal positioning.
'It's hard to hit the ball,' said Luis Arraez, the Padres' first baseman and a three-time batting champion.
In 2025, the leaguewide batting average remains under .250 for a sixth consecutive year. If the season were to end today, the average on balls in play would mark a 33-year low. Arraez, 28, who has 915 career hits, secured the National League batting title last year with a mere .314 average. As players in their late 30s, McCutchen and Goldschmidt are long shots to even come close to 3,000 hits. Altuve was once considered a leading candidate, but he is showing signs of decline. Freeman is hitting as well as ever, but, like Altuve, is racing against time.
Machado, meanwhile, has a chance to achieve something none of those decorated veterans did: become the 55th player to record 2,000 hits before age 33. He also has a $350 million contract that runs through 2033 and came with the understanding that he would provide the bulk of his production on the front end.
So far, Machado, a six-time All-Star, has delivered few indications of offensive slippage. He spent much of the last three years playing through tennis elbow and then the lingering effects of reparative surgery. He still completed 2024 as the only active big leaguer to have hit at least 28 home runs in nine consecutive full seasons.
Now, he is batting .320 with a seemingly healthy elbow and some of the best underlying numbers of his career. In a recent 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants, he lined an opposite-field single and pulled a two-run drive to become the 33rd player with 350 home runs by age 32. He was 3 for 5 with five runs batted in an 11-1 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.
'It feels good to just be somewhat normal and be able to get some good swings out and not really be on the training room table every single day,' Machado said.
Mike Shildt, the Padres' second-year manager, said he was seeing more 'consistency and clarity' from Machado.
'I just see a guy that's really comfortable where he's at, trusting the guys around him and not making the situation bigger than it is,' Shildt said. 'Just putting a good stroke on it, which is one of the best right-handed swings I've seen.'
The team's hitting coach, Victor Rodriguez, added: 'He's healthy. He's not searching. He's not trying to feel how he can be comfortable. He's comfortable. And you see Manny sometimes get out of it, but the next day he's really focusing on getting back to the big part of the field and being himself.'
Machado has been that guy from the beginning. On Aug. 9, 2012, when he was 20, he skipped over Triple-A and landed in a playoff chase with the Baltimore Orioles. In his second at-bat, he tripled into the right-center gap for his first career hit.
In time, Machado turned consistent doubles power into 30-homer seasons. He won a Platinum Glove in 2013, given to the best overall defensive player in each league, and settled in as one of the finest defenders of his generation. After two knee operations cost him time early in his career, he demonstrated what would become another defining quality.
Since 2015, Machado has started more major league games than anyone else. His only trip to the injured list over the last decade came in 2023, when a fractured hand forced him to miss two weeks. His durability reminds Los Angeles Angels Manager Ron Washington of Adrián Beltré, the third-base contemporary Machado most admired until Beltré retired in 2018.
'Injuries never stopped Adrián Beltré from playing,' said Washington, who managed Beltré for four seasons with the Texas Rangers. 'Adrián Beltré made other people want to be everyday players. There's a lot of guys that couldn't play every day, but because they were around Adrián Beltré, they'd think they could play every day.
'That's the kind of player that Manny Machado is. He makes everybody else want to come on the field and play.'
As the games have piled up, so have the hits. Machado reached 1,500 hits in 2022, becoming the sixth third baseman to cross that threshold by age 29 -- and the first since Beltré in 2008. He has batted at least .275 in every season since his rookie campaign, and his gap-to-gap approach holds up in offense-suppressing venues.
Given their continuing performances, Machado and Freeman, the Dodgers' metronome of a first baseman, appear to be the safest current picks to eclipse 3,000 hits. Both have supplied all-fields production in eerily similar fashion. Since the Statcast era began in 2015, Machado's batted-ball profile breaks down as follows: 37% to the pull side, 37% up the middle and 25% to the opposite field. The same goes for Freeman, who at 35 is leading the NL in batting average.
'Manny and Freddie, they came from a different era with a different philosophy and a different skill set on how to approach hitting, and they've been able to survive,' Shildt said. 'And yeah, their talent's extraordinary, but it's not so extraordinary that other people can't follow it. But the industry, including the amateur level, is tripled up where you're just devaluing the hit. It's not valued as highly.'
A little more than three years have passed since Miguel Cabrera, an all-fields slugger Machado studied closely, became the 33rd and most recent player to enter the 3,000-hit club. Freeman and Altuve, with perhaps a handful more seasons, could approach elite territory around their 40th birthdays.
Even Machado is far from a guarantee. Of the 10 players this century to reach 2,000 hits by age 32, five -- Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Beltré, Albert Pujols and Cabrera -- went on to attain 3,000.
Victor Rodriguez, who worked as Cleveland's assistant hitting coach before the Padres hired him, suggested that 2,500 hits would be enough to earn Guardians third baseman José Ramírez entry into the Hall of Fame. (Ramírez, 32, has 1,581.) Washington, whose career in professional baseball began in 1970, said he could envision a world in which Machado winds up being the final player to amass 3,000 hits.
'It's not the pitching, it's the players,' Washington said, adding, 'You need pure hitters to reach that.'
Future applicants will also need the kind of longevity Machado is tracking toward. Twenty-eight of the 33 members of the 3,000-hit club played in at least 20 big league seasons. Only one, Ichiro Suzuki, arrived in the majors after his 23rd birthday. Twenty-six made their debuts before turning 22.
Sitting at his locker on a recent afternoon, Machado pointed out that the number of players who have ever reached the major leagues -- now almost 23,500 -- would not quite fill half of Petco Park. He marveled at that fact, as well as his proximity to 297 players who have crossed a lofty threshold.
'It's going to be pretty cool, man,' Machado said. 'Obviously, it always takes you back to that first hit. You kind of reflect on how that was your childhood dream, to get a hit in the big leagues. And now you're pushing 2,000, which is crazy.'
He also considered a certain theory. Maybe one day the likes of Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. will have the opportunity to disprove it. Maybe future legislation will help swing the game back in favor of hitters. Maybe, if Machado does not do it, someone else will.
Actually, he sounded certain of it.
'I'm pretty sure it will continue,' Machado said. 'We're going to be seeing a lot of great players come through the minor leagues and be really good baseball players and break a lot of records.'
Still, as Machado marches toward his 2,000th hit and an even greater milestone, his career already puts him in rare territory. He could end up among the last -- if not the very last -- of his kind.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Copyright 2025
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Angels Make Unfortunate Jorge Soler Announcement Before Yankees Game
Angels Make Unfortunate Jorge Soler Announcement Before Yankees Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Los Angeles Angels beat the New York Yankees on Monday and Tuesday, but it was no thanks to outfielder Jorge Soler. The 33-year-old is just 1-for-9 in the series and is slashing .119/.196/.119 with three RBI over 13 games in June. Advertisement Los Angeles acquired the former All-Star from the Atlanta Braves on October 31 in exchange for right-handed pitcher Griffin Canning. The two-time World Series champion has had a successful career, as his next homer will be his 200th since entering the big leagues. However, he hasn't been close to the player he was in 2019, when he tallied 48 homers and 117 RBI for the Kansas City Royals. The Angels revealed an unfortunate Soler update before Wednesday night's bout with the Yankees, via The Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher. Los Angeles Angels right fielder Jorge Soler (12)© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images "Jorge Soler is out today with a stiff back. He's day to day," he reported. Advertisement Los Angeles is starting Luis Rengifo in right field while Mike Trout will serve as the designated hitter. The Angels won Monday and Tuesday's games by a combined score of 5-0, and they're 6-4 in their last 10. They're now a half-game behind the Texas Rangers for third place in the AL West and two games out of a Wild Card spot. Los Angeles will play New York again on Thursday before hosting the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and Washington Nationals. After that, it will hit the road to face the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays before hosting the Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks. Related: Aaron Boone Sends Aaron Judge Message After Yankees' Loss to Angels Related: Angels Make Historic Announcement After Win Over Yankees This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
11 minutes ago
- New York Times
Padres' Mike Shildt on bench-clearing confrontation with Dodgers: ‘I have no regrets'
SAN DIEGO — A day after San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts were ejected from a heated series finale, the two men received one-game suspensions they will simultaneously serve Friday night. Major League Baseball announced in a relief that it had handed down the brief bans 'for unsportsmanlike conduct and for contributing to inciting the benches-clearing incident.' Advertisement Shildt, for his part, said he understood the discipline. He also said he did not regret that he played a central part in Thursday's benches-clearing confrontation at Dodger Stadium, where tempers erupted after Padres star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a Dodgers pitcher for the third time in 10 days. 'You always review, and the one thing that I am responsible (for) is making sure we have a clean game,' Shildt said at Petco Park before the Padres' series opener against the Kansas City Royals. 'The circumstances were really challenging this past series. And at the end of the day, I don't regret standing up for a guy that I love in Tati and a team that I love and a city that I love and an organization that I love. So, in that regard, I have no regrets. … As far as my actions, it's not something that you want to do every night or needs to be done hopefully ever again. But appropriate actions for the circumstances were taken, and I don't regret it at all.' In Thursday's ninth inning and his major-league debut, Dodgers pitcher Jack Little struck Tatis in the right wrist with a 93 mph fastball, sending the outfielder to the ground. Shildt stormed out of the visiting dugout and, after briefly tending to Tatis, continued toward the Dodgers' side of the field, appearing to direct his ire at Roberts. That drew the Dodgers' manager out of his dugout, and the pair soon met on the field. Roberts used his forearm to make contact with Shildt. They were quickly separated, with both dugouts and bullpens pouring into the area near home plate. The scrum came three days after a series opener in which Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages was plunked and yelled at Padres pitcher Dylan Cease. Pages later said he felt he was hit intentionally. Shildt, in the heat of the moment, was captured on television cameras appearing to yell a pointed message — 'Who the f—k do you think you are?' — at Pages. Advertisement The next night, Dodgers pitcher Lou Trivino — who had hit Tatis early in a June 10 game at Petco Park — again plunked the outfielder. In the subsequent half-inning, Padres pitcher Randy Vásquez plunked Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, and the umpiring crew issued warnings. Later in the game, Dodgers pitcher Matt Sauer was not ejected after hitting Jose Iglesias in the left wrist. The resulting tensions carried over into the series finale. Trivino struck outfielder Bryce Johnson in the knee. He came close to hitting Tatis again, prompting Shildt to scream in the pitcher's direction. Then, Little plunked Tatis in the ninth. Chaos ensued and spilled into the bottom of the inning. Padres closer Robert Suarez hit Ohtani with a 100 mph fastball. As he walked to first base, Ohtani waved off his teammates, seemingly preventing a potential brawl. Friday, MLB announced a three-game suspension for Suarez, who, like Shildt and Roberts, also received an undisclosed fine. Suarez has elected to appeal the suspension. 'I was just coming in to close out that game,' Suarez said through interpreter Pedro Gutiérrez. 'I was never trying to run into trouble or hit anybody. Unfortunately, it happened.' Meanwhile, further imaging on Tatis' wrist had come back negative. Tatis is in Friday night's lineup, batting leadoff and playing right field. 'The candle worked, man,' Shildt said. (The previous night, Padres third baseman Manny Machado declared that the Dodgers 'gotta pray' that Tatis had avoided serious injury, suggesting that the Padres' chief rivals 'set up a little candle.') Shildt supported Suarez's assertion that he did not intend to hit Ohtani. 'There's a strong appeal to lessen' Suarez's suspension, Shildt said. He added he had a 'healthy respect' for the Dodgers, naming such players as Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández, who sought Shildt out on the field Thursday and defused the anger between the teams. Advertisement Shildt was asked about the fact that Roberts received the same suspension length, despite the latter being the manager who initiated physical contact the previous night. 'The league does their deal. They do a good job,' Shildt said. 'They take all the factors into it. I accept my game (suspension). What they do to anybody else is none of my business, quite honestly.' Roberts, to Shildt and the Padres, is not just anybody else. During the 2024 National League Division Series, Roberts said it was 'unsettling' that Machado threw a baseball in his vicinity. Later, after the Dodgers rallied from the brink of elimination and went on to win the World Series, Roberts acknowledged that he had used the rhetoric as a diversionary tactic. GO DEEPER Dodgers' Dave Roberts says Manny Machado threw at him Friday, Shildt was asked if things had become 'personal' between him and Roberts. 'There's some history that's very public with what happened last year with Manny that I took exception to,' Shildt said. 'I handled that very privately. This got to be more public. And it's ultimately about the defense of our team. And anybody that is going to take the steps that I feel are inappropriate against our team, then I will take action. But I'm not a personal guy. I'm not a grudge guy. But I am a foxhole guy.' (Top photo of Mike Shildt yelling at the Dodgers' dugout after Fernando Tatis was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of Thursday's game: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Indiana Fever Make Caitlin Clark Request After Sixth Loss
Indiana Fever Make Caitlin Clark Request After Sixth Loss originally appeared on Athlon Sports. After winning two straight games, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever fell back to .500 to begin the 2025 WNBA season, losing to the Golden State Valkyries 88-77 on Thursday night. Advertisement While the Fever haven't had the best start to the season, Clark has continued to prove her superstardom, averaging 19.9 points on 41.7% shooting, 5.7 rebounds and a league-leading 8.7 assists per game. Last season, the former Iowa star led fan voting with her first All‑Star appearance, amassing about 700,000 votes. Indiana is looking to get Clark back to the All-Star game, taking place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. On Friday, one of three 'double vote' days when fan votes count twice, the Fever called on Indiana fans to support their All-WNBA point guard. Included in the social media post was a video of Clark and her teammates with the caption "Caitlin Clark core." "Caitlin Clark core 😅," the Indiana Fever wrote on X, "your vote counts DOUBLE today, send CC to #WNBAAllStar2025." However, it looks like the Fever's request has come true, as Friday also marked the release of the early fan voting results. Clark, once again, leads the WNBA with 515,993 votes, with Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier right behind her with 484,757. Advertisement Three fellow Indiana stars are also in the top ten, including Aliyah Boston at No. 3 (446,961 votes), Kelsey Mitchell at No. 7 (277,644) and Lexie Hull at No. 9 (217,438). Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22)Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Clark did not have her best outing against the Valkyries, finishing with 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds, nine assists and six turnovers. She also hit zero 3-pointers for just the second time in her two-year WNBA career. Up next, the Fever will battle the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET. The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will be on July 19. Related: Caitlin Clark Apologizes After Meeting With Kate Martin This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
