When you hit your 350th career home run in Major League Baseball and literally forget you did it until your teammate reminds you in the dugout, that’s next-level. But that’s exactly where Manny Machado is right now—quietly carving out a Hall of Fame résumé while the rest of us are just trying to keep up.
Machado is Pumping Out Serious Stats
Here’s the thing: milestones like 350 homers aren’t handed out. Only 102 players in over a century have reached that number. Do it before your 33rd birthday? That club shrinks to 33. And if Machado keeps going the way he’s going—batting .317 with a .880 OPS, both career highs—we’re not just talking Cooperstown potential.
Legendary players that he compares statistically to are just Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays… you know, the Mount Rushmore of baseball greatness. When Machado says, “Shoot, give me half of that,” he’s being humble. But the numbers are saying, “You’re already halfway there.”
It’s His Mentality and Approach to Baseball
And that’s what makes this moment kind of wild. Machado’s not chasing stats. He’s not padding a résumé, he’s in the grind—ripping two-run homers off the reigning Pitcher of the Month, clutch-hitting off closers, and leading a team that’s fighting in the middle of a pressure-cooker schedule. He’s evolving, too—more patient at the plate, walking more, striking out less. It’s growth you can feel in the box score.
The guy who broke the Padres’ home run record last year is now sitting on 175 bombs in a San Diego uniform—and he’s not slowing down. Not even close.
So yeah, maybe Manny “forgot” he hit number 350. But baseball won’t. And years from now, when the plaques are polished and the legacies are laid out, we’ll remember this moment. The calm before the full-on storm of greatness. And hey—he’s only 29 hits away from 2,000.
