There\u2019s seemingly no love lost between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres when they go head-to-head, and that\u2019s been on full display this season.<\/p>\n
Manny Machado can often be found at the center of events whenever tensions rise between the two sides. But as a three-time National League All-Star since joining the Padres in 2019, Machado has played alongside Dodgers players for one game out of the year. <\/p>\n
Machado and two of his Padres teammates were together with Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to defeat the American League in the 2025 All-Star Game.<\/p>\n
The Padres\u2019 third baseman is hostile toward the Dodgers as a competitor, but has a deep respect for players like Kershaw and Freeman as a fellow member of the MLB fraternity. <\/p>\n
As the crowd at Truist Park showered Freeman and Kershaw with applause after their respective exits from the game, Machado recognized the significance of the moment. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re talking about legends of the game. I think the game is above competition,\u201d Machado said. \u201cLook at these guys, what they\u2019ve done, 3,000 Ks. You had two future Hall-of-Famers right there coming off that field. <\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially Freddie. This was his home for a very long time. I thought it was pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Machado was Dodgers teammates with Kershaw for half a season in 2018 after being acquired from the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline. <\/p>\n
Following the Dodgers\u2019 loss to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series that season, Machado went on to sign a 10-year, $300 million contract with the Padres in free agency. <\/p>\n
It was the largest free-agent contract in American sports history until Bryce Harper\u2019s 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies two weeks later.<\/p>\n
Manny Machado wants to dethrone Dodgers <\/p>\n
Machado has been very open about his desire to overtake the Dodgers this season<\/a> after falling short in the NL Division Series in 2024. <\/p>\n The Dodgers have won five of their seven matchups so far in 2025. The Padres won the season series last year. <\/p>\n Machado has also praised the level of completion in the NL West this season, declaring the Dodgers and Padres part of a \u201cfour-headed monster\u201d<\/a> in the division. <\/p>\n