Padres' Manny Machado Declined to Speak to Media After Being Swept By Dodgers

"Optics" were a concern for politicians long before they migrated to professional sports. Often seen as a respite from political discourse, sports figures rarely elicit the same scrutiny — more specifically, the same kind of scrutiny — as political figures.

When Manny Machado signed an 11-year, $350 million contract extension with the Padres in February 2023, he invited a degree of responsibility that few professional athletes share. If much is expected from those to whom much is given, the Padres are expecting a lot from Manny Machado.

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On the field, the seven-time All-Star has delivered often. In the clubhouse, Machado is an unquestioned leader. Reports that have scrutinized Machado's ability to unite his teammates in the past — specifically, immediately after their disastrous 2023 season and after Juan Soto was traded to the New York Yankees months later — left some room for interpretation. Regardless, every report has made the optics around Machado's clubhouse stature crystal clear.

The Padres have named two captains in their history: Dave Winfield in 1978 and Garry Templeton in 1987. Machado might as well be the third.

Traditionally, the captain serves as a de facto spokesperson for the rest of the team when the words needed to describe a difficult moment might elude them. When the captain declines to talk — or outright disappears from reporters — in those moments, the optics are simply bad regardless of the reasons behind them.

So it was on Sunday, when Machado left the visitors' clubhouse at Dodger Stadium without speaking to reporters after the Padres lost their third consecutive game to their National League West rivals.

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"Machado had a car waiting for his return to San Diego and declined to speak on his way out of the clubhouse," Kevin Acee wrote in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The reasons Machado declined to speak are unclear. They might have been valid. But by declining to tell reporters why he wasn't taking questions Sunday, Machado left the reasons for his silence open for interpretation.

MLB.com quoted 22-year-old Jackson Merrill and 26-year-old Fernando Tatis Jr. instead of the 33-year-old Machado. The Union-Tribune quoted Tatis, 32-year-old Xander Bogaerts and 30-year-old Freddy Fermin, who was acquired from the Kansas City Royals in a July 31 trade.

Perhaps that was a conscious choice on the part of Machado, who went 1 for 12 with a walk and four strikeouts in the series. But it's at best unusual for a team captain (in title or in spirit), and at worst unfair to teammates from whom much less is expected.

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