Yahoo Sports Yankees owner says Manny Machado's excuses for not hustling won't fly in New York
The New York Yankees and free agent Manny Machado look like a very possible match on our favorite winter game show, The Hot Stove Connection. There’s just one problem and it’s surely trailing Machado as he entertains a long list of suitors — his “hustle” comments during the postseason.
Now, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is saying he finds the comments “troubling” and that idea wouldn’t fly in New York, though he’s not ruling out Machado in pinstripes next year and beyond.
If you missed the incident in question, Machado caught flak for not running out a ground to shortstop in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t punish Machado for it and he tried to explain himself in an interview with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that ended up doing more harm than good:
“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,” Machado told The Athletic. “That’s just not my personality, that’s not my cup of tea, that’s not who I am.”
That raised plenty of eyebrows around MLB and sports in general, with people saying it would come back to bite Machado as he now vies for a $300-million-plus payday on the open market. And while it doesn’t sound like it would prevent the Yankees from signing him, they’re certainly making it a point to talk to Machado about his “Johnny Hustle” comments.
“If it’s a $300 million guy or a $10 million guy,’’ Steinbrenner told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, “clearly those comments are troubling. That’s really [GM Brian Cashman’s] job, if we’re interested in any player, to sit down with them face-to-face and ask them, ‘Where did this come from? What was the context around the entire interview? Was there a point? How do you justify it?
“Because that ain’t going to sell where we play baseball.”
Steinbrenner has a point, but there’s a bigger one too: Selling fans on a $300 million player is never going to be easy just because of all them zeroes attached. Selling fans on a $300 million player with bad optics, well that’s just harder.
Still, it sounds like the Yankees are talking to Machado’s camp and getting his side of things. Alex Rodriguez still works as an adviser in the Yankees front office and he’s friends with Machado, so that’s an easy link. And, of course, the Yankees full-time front office people will proceed with their due diligence too.
As any team should, really, before handing out $300 million to a single player.
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Mike Oz is a writer at Yahoo Sports. Contact him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
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