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If you've been unaware of the ongoing situation between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, let us fill you in. Amid taunts between Padres players and Dodgers fans that resulted in a delay during Game 2 of their NL Division Series, Padres third baseman and leader Manny Machado was involved in several interactions.
Machado and Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty had a heated exchange multiple times throughout the 10-2 Padres win, one of them standing out above the rest.
On the cusp of the bottom of the sixth inning, Machado tossed a baseball toward the Dodgers dugout. Multiple members of the Dodgers took exception to it with Flaherty and Dave Roberts both calling it intentional and questioning the velocity of the throw. Roberts said the video he watched was “unsettling” and “bothersome.”
However, a new video has surfaced showing Manny Machado's throw as nothing more than a quick flick of the arm from the two-time Gold Glove Award winner.
Here is an alternate camera angle of San Diego 3B Manny Machado throwing a ball toward the Los Angeles Dodgers' dugout during Game 2 of the NLDS, obtained by ESPN. The incident remains a point of contention with Game 3 tonight, as @Alden_Gonzalez reported: https://t.co/grEVYusdPY pic.twitter.com/Qo0CGqqeVz
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 8, 2024
Sure there was a little zip on it, but it's hard to justify as being intentional. Machado admitted he does that often, ridding the playing field of scuffed or used balls the pitcher doesn’t want anymore. He denied throwing directly at anyone, though he did mention Flaherty hit Fernando Tatis Jr. during a plate appearance earlier in the game, adding “We don’t go out there and try to hit Ohtani.”
Padres, Dodgers tensions rise ahead of Game 3
The rivalry and talent among the Padres and Dodgers is enough to tune in anytime they play. Add in a playoff atmosphere and the extracurriculars of Sunday night, and Tuesday's game becomes must-watch television for any baseball fan.
The San Diego crowd will undoubtedly be hostile toward the Dodgers, but hopefully, it won't lead to fans throwing baseballs and beer cans on the field as it did in LA. Padres players have already urged their fanbase to keep their cool.
Unfortunately, things outside of the game's action are consuming the storylines of this series. These are arguably the two most talented rosters in baseball with perhaps the best rivalry in MLB today. The discussions should involve which reliever the Padres should bring in to get Shohei Ohtani out late in a game, not whether Game 5 should be played in Los Angeles because of the Dodger Stadium crowd's antics Sunday.
Tension and drama come naturally in a series of this magnitude. Debating the safety of players and coaches after multiple incidents shouldn’t be part of it.
Hopefully, the rest of the series produces more fireworks from the bats and gloves of the players rather than the (weak) arms of fans.
