For Harper and Machado, money doesn’t buy happiness or All-Star nods.
The two most glaring omissions from the 2019 All-Star game selections are Bryce Harper and Manny Machado the $300 million dollar men that broke the bank in the offseason as free agents.
Is it too early to call @bryceharper3 and Manny Machado busts after @MLB All-Star Game snubs? https://t.co/1TIM7PGpPR
— Deseret News (@Deseret) July 1, 2019
Harper’s 13-year, $330-million contract was the richest in the sport’s history at the time before Mike Trout broke the record weeks later). So far, he’s the Phillies’ investment by hitting in the .250’s and failing to make the All-Star team for the second time in his eight-year career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfiM55UOkBs
Machado (10 years, $300 million), was also left off the All-Star squad. The San Diego Padres third baseman shocked the world when he chose to play in baseball obscurity rather than a popular media market.
While Machado has out-hit Harper in terms of batting average and home runs (20-15), his arch-rival, Colorado Rockies Nolan Arenado’s numbers are a bit better and people just flat out like Anthony Rendon and Chicago’s Kris Bryant more.
At least Harper has the Phillies battling for a Wild Card in the NL East. The Padres are battling the Giants for the cellar in the NL West. You would think their reputations and exorbitant salaries would be enough to get them a nod, or at least voted in by their peers and coaches.
So far, paying these particular players a boatload of money hasn’t amounted to much for either franchise. Sure, they were big media splashes at the time, but now these underproducing stars look like nothing more than potential albatrosses around the necks of the teams that are contracted to pay them.
