"Bryce Harper brings that energy, he's one of the best" - When Manny Machado was hyped up to go against Phillies superstar in the NLCS
During the 2022 season, Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres were a force to be reckoned with. They finished the regular season with an 89-73 record, making the postseason.
They took down the New York Mets in the Wild Card round and then ended the Los Angeles Dodgers season in the NLDS. Now, the team was set to face Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Machado was more than happy to play against Harper, somebody he knows quite well. The two have been linked together ever since they were both selected in the top five in the 2010 MLB Draft.
"Leading up to free agency, we were the two top free agents and he went to a city that wanted to bring a championship back and I went to a city that's never won a championship, so here we are a couple of years later," said Machado.
The two were also linked when they hit free agency at the same time. Now, they were going to line up against each other with one team going to the World Series and the other heading home for the year.
"It's going to be fun. He brings that energy, he's one of the best players in the game and I think honestly we have the two best teams going up against each other and it's going to be a fun week" said Machado.
Manny Machado and the Padres were no match for Bryce Harper and the Phillies
Going into the 2022 NLCS, fans were excited to see two exciting teams square off against each other. The Phillies got the early edge beating the Padres in Game 1 by a score of 2-0.
However, Manny Machado and the Padres would battle back in Game 2. They won the game 8-5, tying up the series at one game apiece. Unfortunately, that would be the only game San Diego would win in this series. They went on to lose Games 3,4, and 5 putting their season to an end.
Philadelphia would then go on to face the Houston Astros in the World Series. They gave it their best but could not put Houston away. They lost the series 4-2, giving Houston their second World Series title.
San Diego comes into the 2025 season with a great group of players. While they play in a tough division, they are going to be one team fans will want to pay close attention to.