By almost every measure, Manny Machado is a player the Phillies should absolutely target this offseason. You know the setup. They have the need and the cash. Machado has the big name and the bat. It makes too much sense.

A .297/.367/.538 slash line?

Home runs? 37 of them.

And this:

I, for one, wish I could liquefy all of this, or perhaps transform it into a matter, a gel-like substance, and bathe in it. Its springtime fresh scent of life anew would wash over me, cleansing me the of the smegma accumulated during the years of watching subpar infielders waste space at Citizens Bank Park.

I want, nay—I need him. But do you? I mean, after all, Machado didn’t run out a ground ball–a cardinal sin in these parts—during Game 2 of the NLCS. Machado then explained to Ken Rosenthal why he didn’t:

“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. That’s just not my personality, that’s not my cup of tea, that’s not who I am.”

Perhaps looking to make amends for his comments, he hustled down the line during the 10th inning of last night’s game and then appeared to intentionally stomp on the back of Brewers 1B Jesus Aguilar’s leg as he crossed the bag:

Benches and bullpens cleared, words were exchanged, and hot takes were written:

“Machado is a supremely talented player who openly admits he will not hustle and will not change. How does that benefit a team? Manny Machado is not worth the money or the headache.”

After the game, Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich called Machado a “dirty player” and reportedly said of Machado, “Fuck that motherfucker.”

So here’s how this is going to go now:

Machado will be vilified and his worth will be questioned by the take artists ahead of a winter in which he’s about to score a potential $300 million contract, and people in this city will fret over lunch pails, blue collars, and grit. People like Angelo Cataldi:


An opinion so predictable that I had my phone out and ready to record as soon as he said Machado’s name.

They’ll question if he is a Philly kind of guy, when they could, you know, instead note that he later scored the game-winning run and pounded the plate with emotion as he did so, or understand that he’s a generational talent who can drastically alter the trajectory of this franchise.

I didn’t care when Jimmy Rollins jogged out a pop-up and I’m sure as hell not going to care if Machado does the same, particularly if it happens to come in between one of his 180-plus hits or 37 homers. Nor should you.

It’s time to put the archaic and lazy “Philly fans love a hustler” bullshit in the past. You know what they really love? Teams that win, and Machado would unequivocally help them do that. When that happens, all of this buyer beware stuff will be just a bunch of noise.