Padres' Manny Machado Rips Analytics in Video, 'That's the Problem With Baseball Right Now'

As the San Diego Padres look to break out of their funk after losing six straight games, Manny Machado wants to see MLB focus on fewer numbers amid the increased availability of advanced metrics.

Speaking to reporters prior to Friday's game against the New York Mets, Machado brought up analytics to say "that's the problem with baseball right now" is there are too many stats available.

The irony of Machado's complaint is that he was one of the biggest beneficiaries of advanced numbers for many years of his career.

From 2013 to '22, Machado ranked seventh in all of MLB with 45.4 fWAR. He was a good offensive player during that span with a .282/.343/.494 slash line, but the biggest reason he was a top-10 MVP candidate five times in 10 season was because of how much value he was producing in the field.

The advanced defensive metrics credit Machado as having the third-most defensive runs saved during that 10-season span, behind only Andrelton Simmons and Nolan Arenado.

There aren't many analytics that do Machado or the Padres a lot of favors right now. They rank last in MLB in traditional stats like runs scored (235) and all three triple-slash categories (.215/.289/.356).

Machado is part of those struggles at the plate for San Diego. His .175 batting average ranks last among all qualified NL hitters entering play on Saturday. He also has the second-lowest on-base percentage in the NL (.262).

The Padres have lost six straight and 10 of their last 11 games, falling eight games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West.

Machado's main point that MLB is a team sport and it requires everyone to win games is absolutely true, but many of the numbers being used are designed to provide a picture of how each individual player is impacting that success.