Manny Machado cost himself an extra-base hit with his lack of hustle during Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night.
Machado roped a liner off the left field wall at Dodger Stadium against Boston Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly in the bottom of the sixth. Machado thought he had smacked a home run, so he didn’t run hard out of the box and instead admired his big hit. When the ball hit off the wall instead of leaving the park, all he ended up with was a long single.
Manny Machado thought he had a home run on this swing…
It ended up only being a single. pic.twitter.com/ZF0ijtHdsa
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 27, 2018
Machado’s home to first time was 7.17 seconds, which is around double the usual time.
Manny Machado home to first…. 7.17 seconds
— Daren Willman (@darenw) October 27, 2018
Machado got some criticism for his actions.
There were some boos as Manny Machado pimped a single.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) October 27, 2018
Rick Monday on #Dodgers radio broadcast: "Machado hit the ball and didn't run. He became a spectator. And this is the World Series."
— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) October 27, 2018
As frustrating as the behavior is, it’s nothing new for Machado, who has already admitted that hustling is not his thing. Some think that his behavior still won’t impact his free agency.
