That is Padres pitcher Adam Warren with quite a goofy grin on his face in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks on Friday. Why is he smiling from ear to ear? Because his teammate Manny Machado had just done this:
That’s a sidearm throw from way past third base made while he’s on the run that lands perfectly in the glove of first baseman Eric Hosmer, who doesn’t even have to stretch or anything to try and grab it. Even more impressive is the fact that the throw done so quickly that the broadcast cameras could barely keep up with it live. This is how it charted:
Reporters asked Machado after the game about how he made such a wild play look like a routine throw to first. He tried to downplay how amazing the play actually was and said it was “nothing new.”
“That’s what I practice for,” he’d add.
While it’d be easy to discount these comments as an obnoxious humble-brag—especially given the preconceived notions some people have about Machado—the replays seem to show that he might have thrown the ball even more casually than the first look initially indicated.
As the reactions would indicate, Warren was still buzzing about the play after the game.
“I don’t know if you’d see anybody else make that play,” said Adam Warren, who was on the mound at the time.
[...]
“The way he threw it, it’s right on the money,” Warren said. “I’m just kind of awestruck, kind of speechless.”
Unless he wants his face to feel sore from smiling too much, Warren might have to try and get used to his teammate’s talents.