Padres star Manny Machado named All-MLB First Team
Mandatory Credit: John Leyba-USA TODAY Sports
Major League Baseball released their All-MLB list on Monday. Manny Machado was rightfully named All-MLB First Team third baseman.
Despite some rampant disrespect around the league regarding Manny Machado, some respect was finally put on his name Monday night. The All-MLB teams are decided by 50 percent fan voting and fifty percent from a baseball media panel vote. The fans, and the panel, have spoken.
Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres was the best overall third baseman in baseball for 2022.
Typical Manny things.
For the 2nd time in 3 seasons, Manny Machado is your #AllMLB First Team 3B! pic.twitter.com/TUPJlFF28z
— MLB (@MLB) December 6, 2022
Machado inexplicably was left off the finalists for Gold Glove among NL third basemen. He was passed over for Nolan Arenado both for Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. Machado finally gets some credit for his amazing 2022 season.
After leading the National League in fWAR (7.4), while ranking third in wRC+ and OPS, Machado finished as the NL MVP runner-up. He also hit .298 with 32 homers. He was one of the better overall hitters in the entire game. When the Padres needed him most, he put the team on his back and carried them. This included the postseason, where he hit .357 with a 1.113 OPS in the NLDS against the Dodgers.
Couple that with his other-worldly defense, and Machado is a no-brainer All-MLB First Team choice for third base.
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All-MLB also compares Machado to his American League counterparts. Along with the other fine NL third basemen, Machado beat out the likes of Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman for the honor.
Overall, the Padres star is worth every penny the Padres paid. With another offseason of several players getting several hundred million, it makes Padres fans more and more grateful that Machado is in brown and gold for the foreseeable future (assuming he opts in after the 2023 season).
As of now, the best overall third baseman in baseball resides in San Diego.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.