Dating back to his days with the Baltimore Orioles and a take-out slide he made on Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, there’s no love lost between Manny Machado and Boston.
And, because of what Machado has done in the playoffs after joining the Dodgers during a mid-season trade, the rest of MLB isn’t exactly a huge fan of the Los Angeles third baseman.
Entering the World Series against the Sox, Machado finished a contentious NLCS vs the Brewers that included a questionable slide in Game 3, and then cause benches to clear when by kicking Milwaukee’s Jesus Aguilar’s leg running through first base in Game 4.
The controversy caused by those plays led to Machado being booed as a villain by the fans at Miller Park, a role he embraced by egging the crowd on (and delivering at the plate.)
“My goodness,” said infield coach Chris Woodward after Game 7, “I’ve never heard a crowd that loud and that constant getting on a player. They were all over him. And it … never … stopped. Usually a crowd gets on a guy at first and it wears down. Not here. They never let up.”
It’s likely Machado — who was thrown at by Boston pitchers Matt Barnes, Chris Sale, and Eduardo Rodriguez following the incident with Pedroia — will face a similar reception when he plays in Boston.
He may not care because, as he showed back in his Baltimore days, Machado is no fan of the BoSox, either.
Game 1 of the World Series is Tuesday night in Boston at Fenway Park.
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