Manny Machado pulled off a Padres feat in 2025 nobody saw coming

If you asked San Diego Padres fans in April who was most likely to hit the team’s single longest home run of 2025, most of the guesses would’ve sounded the same: Fernando Tatis Jr. (because of course), Jackson Merrill (because the kid’s swing looks like it was built in a lab), or maybe Gavin Sheets (because when Sheets barrels one, it tends to come with a “hold on… how far was that?” pause).

And yet, the answer ended up being Manny Machado, which feels both surprising and perfectly on-brand for baseball’s sense of humor. 

Manny Machado pulled off a Padres flex in 2025 nobody saw coming

On September 7, Machado hit a 452-foot Statcast-projected shot, while leading his team to an 8-1 win over the Rockies at Coors Field. The shot was not only the Padres' longest homer this season but also their longest since September 24, 2023. As MLB.com reported, it was also more than three years since Machado had hit a ball that far.

The funniest part is that he barely holds the title. Machado wasn't just the best at distance for the Padres — he just about made it. In fact, three innings after Machado's bomb off Tanner Gordon, in the same game, off the same pitcher (Gordon) Gavin Sheets hit a 451-foot home run.

One foot. That is what separates the Padres' longest blast of 2025. The kind of thin edge that makes this feel more like a prank the baseball gods played on San Diego than an official "power rankings."

And yes, it also happened at Coors, where baseballs go to become folklore. But that’s not an asterisk, and that’s the point. The Padres’ biggest shot of the year arrived in the most Coors-y way possible, and it still counts the same in the ledger: 452 > 451, sorry to everyone who had “Tatis” penciled in. 

Machado’s 2025 season was also full of the “quietly historic” stuff. He hit his 350th career homer, later collected his 2,000th hit, and went on to win another Silver Slugger, the kind of milestones that separate “star” from “franchise pillar.” 

But this one? This one is pure Padres vibe: the longest bomb comes from the veteran you respect, not the names you’d expect to headline the highlight reel — and he only keeps the title because his teammate fell short by one lonely foot.

This one is pure Padres vibe: The long ball was from the guy you have a lot of respect for as a player. He isn't the name you'd always see in the highlight show so much, and he got to keep the title only because his teammate came up just shy by a foot.

Baseball doesn't usually hand you exactly what you think will happen. Sometimes baseball hands you Machado, and you take it for what it is, and be done with it.