Manny Machado chastises reporter after Padres’ loss to Cubs

You don’t even have to ask Manny Machado the question to know how he assesses the season after getting knocked out of the MLB Playoffs.

The San Diego Padres’ season came to an end Thursday afternoon, losing Game 3 of their Wild Card Series to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It’s the second consecutive year the Padres’ season ended on the road in a winner-take-all game, falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLDS last October.

After the loss, San Diego’s leader and de facto captain, Manny Machado spoke to reporters about the game. But when one reporter asked Machado to assess the season, the Padres’ third baseman let his frustration boil over.

“What type of question is that dude? Machado asked. “My guy. How do I assess the season? We just lost. How do you think I assess it?”

“What’s a loss? We lost, how do you assess it? It’s a loss,” Machado continued. “We lost. Come on dude, I mean, you can ask better questions than that. Let’s go. Come on.”

It was the last question Machado took from reporters. And as the media scrum dispersed from his locker, Machado could be heard continuing to express frustration over the question.

“You’re gonna wait til the last second to ask that question?” Machado asked. “Come on, bro. You know better than that.”

Machado’s response, while chippy, is also understandable. He just saw a brutally long season come to an end in disappointment with a loss to the Chicago Cubs, and he’s upset about it. Fans would prefer to see this type of emotion from a player than someone who attempts to downplay the loss by saying they’re not devastated.

But Machado also proved why it’s a question that needs to be asked. Just as Giannis Antetokounmpo did two years ago when he explained why the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks losing in the first round wasn’t a failure. One player can assess the season by claiming they’re not devastated, another can say it wasn’t a failure, and then there’s Machado who displaced his anger from the loss onto the reporter.

Machado can hate the question, he can take his frustrations out on the reporter, but he should also understand why it’s a question that needs to be asked.