Peoria, Arizona.
AJ Preller was in his office last February when he learned, through Twitter, that Manny Machado had chosen to sign with San Diego. The general manager of the Fathers smiled and began to dance briefly.
Fernando Tatis Jr. was in the batting cage when he received that message. The rookie shortstop pressed pause in his punching exercise for a moment and began to dream of playing alongside his role model on the left side of the Padres box.
The owners, Ron Fowler and Peter Seidler, were preparing to talk to journalists at their annual press session prior to Spring Training. They had not yet had direct news of the Machado camp, so they decided not to address the report. Instead, they spent most of the interview trying their best to contain their emotion.
A full year has passed since that fateful morning at the Peoria Sports Complex. Machado’s decision changed many things for the Fathers, especially their expectations. So far, you still have to change the results in the field.
Machado’s first season in San Diego started strong. The Padres were in dispute over a place in the playoffs in July, and Machado was widely regarded as an All-Star snub. But the year ended with disappointment. The Padres dropped 22 games below .500 and Machado finished with a cut line of .209 / .305 / .348 during the last two months of the season.
However, Machado is clearly not one to stop in past struggles. When asked if he feels he needs to prove anything after the disappointing end of last year, he quickly responded negatively.
Machado, this is our decade
We don’t need to show anyone, “Machado said.” They know who I am. They are still afraid of me when I enter that box. “
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