For 55 years, Nate Colbert has remained the San Diego Padres all-time leader in home runs. That record is soon to be going to someone else. Slugger Manny Machado is on the verge of etching his name into the franchise’s record books. With his recent power surge, the Padres’ start third baseman is closing on the team’s all-time home run record. This achievement will cement his status as one of the greatest players in franchise history.
Manny Machado Closing in on Padres Home Run Record
Currently sitting at 158 home runs with San Diego, Machado is third in franchise history in home runs behind Colbert (163) and Adrián González (161). The six-time All-Star is six shy of surpassing Colbert who set the mark on September 18, 1974 against the Cincinnati Reds. Machado had his 41st multi-home run game on July 30 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s the third most in MLB history for third basemen as Eddie Mathews (49) and Mike Schmidt (44) have more.
Manny Machado has now homered 1️⃣5️⃣8️⃣ times for the Padres.
He now needs 6️⃣ more home runs to break the franchise’s all-time record.pic.twitter.com/pvCuGEcdPY
— Darnay Tripp (@DarnayTripp) August 21, 2024
Machado, who signed with San Diego in 2019, has 351 career home runs. He has been a driving force behind the Padres’ recent success while the maintain the top spot in a tight National League Wild Card race. He’s hitting a robust .269/.319/.450 batting line with 20 home runs and 73 RBI, striking out at 19.4 percent rate compared to a 6.8 percent walk rate. Macahdo has now reached 20 home runs for a ninth consecutive season (not including the shortened pandemic season).
For the Padres, they have won 22 of 27 of their last games. They remain one game up on the Arizona Diamondbacks for the top Wild Card spot, but trail the Dodgers by three games for the NL West division lead.
Main Photo: © Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
