Padres' Manny Machado Says He 'Loves Being Tortured' Amid Career-Worst Season

It has been a long 2026 season for San Diego Padres star Manny Machado at the plate, with the veteran putting together the worst year of his storied career.

Machado just hasn't been able to get himself going at the plate whatsoever, and it's drastically hurt the Padres' level of success on the field. Overall, the veteran has hit .175 with 12 home runs and 35 runs batted in, while posting an OPS of .613.

His power numbers have been there this season, but everything else has been in a major decline. Machado has pushed back against his struggles this season, calling them "just baseball", but he recently opened up more about his offensive issues, calling himself a "masochist."

“This is why we love baseball. Us baseball players are masochists. We love being tortured,” Machado said to USA Today. “It’s a failing game. We obviously don’t want to be in this position. But that’s the beauty of playing the game — the rollercoaster. It’s a lot of ups and downs."

Machado has been trying to break out of this massive slump all year, but nothing has worked for him. His performance has been far from the normal All-Star-caliber player that the league has grown to know over the years.

However, even with the offensive problems, Machado hasn't let it get him down. The Padres star has remained positive amid adversity, hoping to turn his season around.

“I think it’s why I love the game," he said. "Because once you come out of it, once you get going, you remember all those bad times and remember all the good times and get to enjoy the full season of it.”

The Padres are hoping that Machado's struggles this year are an outlier since he still has seven more years left on his contract. San Diego owes the veteran $39 million each season following 2026, combining to a total of $270 million across his late 30s.

This team isn't likely to make a deep playoff run — or have any playoff run at all, for the matter — if Machado can't get his bat going. The Padres have built the roster around both Machado and co-star Fernando Tatis Jr., but both stars have heavily struggled this season (although Tatis is finally coming out of his).

“You kind of gotta ride that wave and really enjoy every moment of it. The bad, the good, the ugly that comes with it," Machado said.

The Padres will keep hoping for the best, but the decline of Machado this season has been alarming. Players do tend to start to show signs as they age, but this has been a rapid drop for the seven-time All-Star.

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