As the San Diego Padres prepares for the 2025 MLB season, All-Star slugger Manny Machado treated his teammates to a MLS game between San Diego FC and Columbus Crew on Saturday.
Fernando Tatis Jr., who shares a strong bond with Machado, was one of the Padres players at the Snapdragon Stadium for San Diego's second home game of the season.
Following the game, Tatis Jr. shared his feelings about being invited to the game by Machado, who is part of San Diego FC's ownership group.
"Shoutout @mannymachado @sandiegofc for showing us a great time and lots of love," Tatis Jr. wrote in his Instagram post on Monday.
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The Instagram post had pictures of Fernando Tatis Jr. cheering from the stands and his Padres teammates, Jackson Merrill and Luis Arraez among others in a San Diego FC jersey. The Padres players also met with San Diego FC players and received a huge reception from the fans at the stadium.
Although San Diego fell behind the game after Maximilian Arfsten's opening goal of the game for Columbus in the 12th minute, they maintained their unbeaten start to the season after Onni Valakari's equalizer in the 68th minute as the game finished 1-1.
Manny Machado is one of the most recognizable faces in baseball and he shared his insight on what drew him towards soccer and San Diego FC.
“Soccer is going to continue to grow and for the city of San Diego, this is huge, bringing an MLS team here to a city that’s been thriving over the past couple of years,” Machado said in October. “Now, to bring an MLS team here, it’s just going to grow more.”
Manny Machado on track for major career milestone in 2025 season
Despite his injury concerns over the last few seasons, Manny Machado has continued his offensive output for San Diego. However, the six-time All-Star is hoping to take the next step in the upcoming season after feeling healthy for the first time in a while.
“We all play for that,” said Machado. “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.”
The Padres superstar will be a pivotal figure in the hitting lineup in the 2025 season as the team chases another postseason run this year. On the personal front, Manny Machado is 100 hits away from reaching the 2000 mark and just eight home runs shy of reaching 350 career homers.
