Padres' Third Baseman Was Influenced by the Newest Baseball Hall of Famer

Sam Garcia | Jul 23, 2024

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

As a 19-year-old prospect playing for Double-A Bowie Baysox, the Orioles proposed a position change to Manny Machado. He was the third overall draft pick in the 2010 MLB draft as a shortstop, but the Orioles saw his potential as a third baseman.

Machado immediately started researching legendary third basemen — including the newest Baseball Hall of Famer, Adrian Beltré, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

"When I got moved over to third base, that's when I started really watching," Machado told Cassavell. "I was watching his YouTube videos, watching his highlights, learning how he plays the game, how he prepares, trying to read articles about how he got better at third base defensively."

When Cassavell asked Machado why he chose to study Beltré, his answer was simple.

"Because he was the best," Machado said. "He was the best at the time, and he's our generation, so you can watch all his highlights. I don't think you could watch as much Brooks Robinson or George Brett. Just watching him helped me out tremendously."

Watching Beltré did help out Machado, who went on to become a six-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, and a Platinum Glove winner.

"He was an inspiration," said Machado, a Dominican-American. "A Dominican player, he was obviously a guy I looked up to as a role model."

Five years after changing positions, Machado got the chance to play on the same stage as his idol. He and Beltré joined forces as they became teammates for the Dominican Republic at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

"All I wanted to do was pick his brain on how he prepared every day," Machado said to Cassavall. "Seeing it firsthand, it was impressive."

More than a decade after studying Beltré, Machado has the potential to join his idol in the Baseball Hall of Fame one day. Beltre was inducted in his first year on the ballot.