Will Padres' Manny Machado Make the Baseball Hall of Fame?

The San Diego Padres seem to be back on track after a six-game losing skid last month, and a large part of the recent success has been rightfully credited to Manny Machado.

The Friars are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and Machado has four home runs, seven RBIs, and a .991 OPS during this time. As he continues to slug and further his MLB superstardom, the idea of Cooperstown becomes more of an eventual reality for Machado.

Machado spoke this offseason about what the Hall of Fame would mean to him, and what the honor of even being considered at this point in his career is like.

“We all play for that,” said Machado this past March. “We play to win, but I’m also putting myself in a good spot to be mentioned to possibly be a Hall of Famer. I mean, it’s an honor to even get in that conversation. Putting up those numbers, seeing those numbers, they just keep creeping up.”

At this point in the season, the numbers are continuing to creep up, to say the least.

Machado hit the 349th home run of his career on Sunday, which was also the 1,965th hit of his MLB life. The kind of territory that the superstar is approaching — 350 home runs and 2,000 hits — has only been achieved by 78 players in The Show before him.

Machado is also just 32 years old. He would be the 12th youngest in MLB history to attain those batting achievements.

Of those 12 players, eight are in the Hall of Fame, two aren't yet eligible, and one — Alex Rodriguez — has Hall of Fame level stats, but his prior PED usage has kept him out of Cooperstown.

Those two marks alone won't guarantee a spot in the Hall of Fame for Machado, but meeting those checkpoints at 32 is extremely promising. As the third baseman continues to help his team win ball games, he will help his case for Cooperstown.

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