Orioles third baseman Manny Machado apologized Monday afternoon for his actions in a benches-clearing incident on Sunday in a game against the A's.
Manny Machado apologizes for incident against A’s
The Orioles third baseman will now wait to hear about any potential suspension heading his way.
Greg Fiume
“I want to apologize to all my teammates, my coaching staff, the entire Orioles organization, and Oakland and to my fans for the way I acted,” Machado told MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli. “That’s not the way we play baseball around here.”
The 21-year-old Machado is now waiting for news regarding a potential suspension that will reportedly be announced sometime on Tuesday.
Friction between Machado and Oakland’s Josh Donaldson began last Friday when the Baltimore third baseman got angry with a hard tag made by Donaldson.
Later in the series on Sunday, A's reliever Fernando Abad threw two pitches inside on Machado before the Orioles youngster flung his bat past defensive replacement Alberto Callaspo at third base. Both benches cleared and there was some pushing and shoving between the two teams before Abad and Machado were both ejected.
Machado also sparked controversy after hitting Oakland catcher Derek Norris with his backswing on two occasions, which Machado claimed was unintentional on Monday. Regardless, the A's removed Norris from the game after he was struck by one of the backswings, and the Oakland backstop criticized Machado following the game.
Unwritten Rules
"It was a frustrating weekend," Machado said while admitting he overreacted. Prior to their Monday matchup against the Red Sox, the Orioles held a team meeting in which Machado apologized to his teammates for his role in the incident.
Machado is batting .235/.291/.346 with four home runs and seven extra-base hits in 34 games this season after missing the first month while recovering from knee surgery. For now, Machado will wait to hear how severe the punishment is from the league’s office.
Oakland and Baltimore will meet again on July 18, directly after the All-Star Break.
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