Manny Machado picked the worst time to wage war on Padres analytics

The easy joke writes itself. Who looked at the Padres’ offense and decided this was the perfect time to give Manny Machado a speaking role in the war on analytics? Because the timing is horrible. To be fair, Machado isn’t completely wrong. Baseball has become overstuffed with acronyms, expected stats, and numbers that can make a normal fan regret not paying attention in math class. There is a real conversation to be had about it. 

But when the Padres can’t hit, actually more to the point, when Machado himself hasn’t looked sharp, the “too many stats” complaint is going to land like a deflection from the real problems.

Machado recently vented about the amount of numbers in the sport, saying he wished baseball could “get the analytics out of the way.” He talked about there being too many stats, too many acronyms, too many numbers on the board, and too many created measurements that players and fans are expected to keep up with. He joked about not knowing what some of them even mean..

First, Machado has a point. Baseball can absolutely feel over-measured. Not every conversation needs to become expected weighted yada-yada. Not every fan wants to watch a guy smoke a line drive right at the shortstop and immediately get told that the process was great.

At some point, people just want hits and wins. That’s the good stuff.

So, Machado’s frustration is understandable. Analytics have made baseball smarter, but they have also made baseball feel less accessible at times. There is a balance, and the sport doesn’t always find it.

But the Padres are in no position to take on that battle.

The Padres cannot hide from the same numbers Machado wants gone

Analytics are not the reason San Diego’s offense looks like garbage. They’re just the mirror. And that mirror is not doing anyone in the Padres’ clubhouse any favors.

The numbers aren’t making the Padres chase. They don’t keep them off balance in the box. The numbers are not failing to cash in on scoring opportunities. They are just telling us what our eyes have already seen.

In this same interview, Machado had already mentioned how the clubhouse was, in some ways, grieving the exit of teammate Nick Castellanos (who was slashing .191/.221/.339 with 4 home runs, 20 RBI, and a 56 OPS+ by the way). Oh, wait almost forgot, a -4 FRV and a -5 BRV for those of you who hate analytics. So, part of this rant was fueled by his defense of a guy the clubhouse was close to. But it also just happens to enter while the Padres are searching for answers at the plate and fans are already tired of hearing about why things should be better than they actually are.

The Padres do not need fewer numbers. They need better swings. Better at-bats. And better production from the players who were supposed to carry this offense.

And honestly, maybe this is not the best time to ask for less information. Maybe the Padres should be paying closer attention to what the numbers are telling them. Maybe, just maybe, the teams beating them are not winning because they threw the spreadsheets into the ocean and just went off vibes.

Machado’s frustration is understandable, but it also starts to sound a little like grandpa blaming the remote control for the TV being too loud. “Back in my day, we just listened to the game on the radio. Now there’s some rectangle box with no antenna telling me about numbers I never heard of.”

Fine. Laugh at the acronyms. Roll your eyes at the jargon. But you still have to figure out why your team’s offense looks so easy to pitch to.

Machado also vented about this being a team-sport. And that point is actually one of the better things he said. He’s right that baseball is not won by one player. One stat cannot tell the whole story. And championships do require a village. No argument there.

But the Padres’ village looks like it’s stuck in a storm that has no end. The analytics didn’t create this mess. They are just making it harder to hide from it.

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