Baltimore Orioles: 2014 Season Grades – Infielders
Aug 11, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado (13) doubles in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
B. . 3rd Base. Baltimore Orioles. MANNY MACHADO
This is the man with the ugliest knees in baseball. In the old 1611 King James Version of the Bible, there is a phrase occasionally used to describe a king who quivered in great fear in some situation. And it would say that “his knees smote one against the other.”
Manny ain’t scared of much, but his biomechanics have him with smitten knees. Hopefully they have both been fixed and this issue is in the past, but he is an awkward runner.
He is also an amazing fielder with an arm that is in the top percentile of players in the game. The Baltimore Orioles need this guy to be healthy. When he is, he is a great asset.
Machado was able to play in 82 games and bat .278, which is his career average. He also hit 12 home runs.
Not surprisingly, Machado had a slow start when he began playing on the 1st of May, hitting to an average of only .220 for that month. But in the subsequent games from June 1st until the time of his season-ending injury on August 11th (55 games), Manny batted .307 with 10 home runs.
So all in all, it is a rather incomplete season for Machado, but these knee injuries do nothing to take away from his eye-hand skills, and hopefully the repairs will make him a player with greater endurance for a long career.
We’ll give him a grade of “B” for his 82-game season.