As the euphoria of another Opening Day awaits us, unfortunately this year’s is a bit tempered due to the knowledge, throughout Birdland, that this could be Manny Machado‘s final season as a Baltimore Oriole. Manny, a generational-level talent, has been a pleasure to watch since he burst onto the scene as a fresh-faced 19-year-old back during the magical run of 2012.
Dazzling us both in the field and at the dish, Manny has been a one-man highlight reel. We all remember when he elicited the now famous “don’t throw it away…don’t throw it at all!” call from Gary Thorne. We remember his ranging darn near into the dugout on the other side of the third base line to nail Luis Cruz of the Yankees at first. More recently, his three homers in Chicago in the first three innings, and his walk-off grand slam against the Angels.
Even when the O’s have been slumping, Manny has been all the reason we’ve needed to tune in and watch every night.
Baltimore is Manny’s home, and we still like to hold on to just a bit of hope that perhaps he’ll stay here and continue dazzling us as a friend – not as a foe – for years to come.
It’s with that in mind that our friends over at BreakingT came up with this great new t-shirt.
Pick one up HERE.
BreakingT is in good with the MLB Players’ Association, so these shirts are officially licensed. It actually says “Machado” on his jersey there, not something shady to just look the part from afar. They look and feel great – we’ve worked with BreakingT in the past on shirts like Dealin’ Bundy and Great Britton, and as an owner of one of each, I can tell you that they’re quite soft and comfortable.
Most recently, BreakingT helped us commemorate the UMBC Retrievers’ historic upset!
Who knows? Maybe if Manny and the decision-makers in the Warehouse see enough of these floating around the Yard this summer, it’ll tip the scales in our favor when it comes to keeping Machado at HOME after the 2018 season.
It can’t hurt, right? Nobody thought they’d sign Alex Cobb either!
