The chance of the San Diego Padres winning the NL West over their rival Los Angeles Dodgers? Pretty low as of now.
The chance of the San Diego Padres claiming a National League Wild Card spot? Much higher.
The pressure is high for the team as a whole, but especially for one player in particular, an MVP-caliber player.
Manny Machado Could Be Facing More Pressure Than Usual for Postseason
Third baseman Manny Machado has been an NL MVP candidate every year since he joined the Padres in 2019, even becoming the team's all-time home run leader during his tenure, and even though Machado has proven how effective of a player he is in the regular season (two Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards), his production in the postseason hasn't been a reflection of that through his career.
Averaging .215 with a .638 OPS in the playoffs, Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly also pointed out Machado's personal effort in the postseason... or lack thereof, specifically in the 2018 World Series when he was with the Dodgers, earning criticism for not running out a ground ball in the NLCS.
“Obviously I’m not going to change, I’m not the type of player that’s going to be ‘Johnny Hustle,’ and run down the line and slide to first base and you know, whatever can happen," Machado told reporters back in 2018.
In 2022, Machado had his postseason career high batting average of .271, hitting four home runs, which is more of what the Padre faithful expects from the seven-time All-Star.
And if the Padres want to finally bring a Commissioner's Trophy to their part of Southern California, an upgrade in hustle should definitely be in store for the Hot Corner player.