Manny Machado’s temper has landed him in trouble with the umpires. Once again. The San Diego Padres’ star failed to put a hold on his frustrations during their 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. After Machado was declared out on what he thought was a check swing, he responded with a helmet slam. Following his gesture, the verdict is in for the Padres’ third baseman.

“Manny Machado will be fined after the umpire gave him an unsportsmanlike equipment violation,” Jomboy Media posted on X, alongside the incident, capturing Machado’s frustration.

The MLB allows home plate umpires to issue an unsportsmanlike equipment violation if a player throws equipment in frustration. Lentz did just that, and now Machado will have to pay an undisclosed amount. The amount is determined on a case-by-case basis and can range from a few thousand dollars to larger amounts.

However, Machado escaped a graver punishment with the violation ruling. As the broadcasters pointed out, Lentz could have ejected him from the game for his gesture. But what exactly happened that day?

At the top of the sixth on Tuesday, the Padres trailed 2-3 when Machado faced an 88 mph borderline pitch from Andre Pallante. He checked his swing, but home plate umpire Nic Lentz ruled it a strike and ended the inning. Machado didn’t realize Lentz had made the call until he saw Cardinals players leave the field. He thought he’d drawn a walk and was already removing his gear. When he realized the truth, frustration kicked in, and he slammed his helmet on the ground, drawing an equipment violation.

After a turbulent game for Machado, the Padres’ 3B explained how his sixth-inning at-bat was an important part of the game.

“It’s a momentum swing,” Machado told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We had a rally there going. ‘Tati’ gets on base, Jackson with the double. I’m working the count there, get it to 3-2, check the swing, and the home plate umpire obviously makes the call where he should have just checked. Obviously, that changed the whole momentum of the game.”

Machado’s walk had the potential to turn the trajectory of the game. The Padres could have loaded the bases with Xander Bogaerts up next. The Padres could have the chance to tie the score. With his pitch count going up, Pallante would have also faced some pressure. That day, the Cardinals’ pitcher went 7 innings deep, recording six strikeouts, allowing only 2 runs on 4 hits.

In the midst of a difficult season, hitting only .175, Machado went hitless against the Cardinals while drawing a walk. In 291 plate appearances, he has recorded 22 extra-base hits, including 12 homers this season.

In the minor leagues, a swing is ruled a strike if the bat crosses the 45-degree angle compared to the handle. It allows the players to challenge an umpire’s decision. However, the MLB does not have any such rule, leaving the decision entirely up to the umpire’s discretion.

MLB’s lack of a definitive rule has created multiple controversies.

Moments like Machado’s have happened before. Home plate umpire CB Bucknor called strike three against Trevor Story without consulting the first base umpire. Alex Cora, the Boston Red Sox manager at the time, argued with Bucknor and got ejected from the game. That ejection marked the first of the season.

The Giants faced a similar Heartbreak in 2021. A controversial check swing call ended their postseason run when Wilmer Flores got called out in Game 5 of the NLDS. The Giants lost 2-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on that play.

As for Machado, this is not the first time he has gotten in trouble due to his temperament.

Manny Machado and his temper tantrums

Over his 15-year career, Manny Machado has carved out a reputation for clashing with umpires, and his temper has never been hidden. In Game 2 of the 2024 NLDS between the Padres and Dodgers, Machado threw a baseball toward the Dodgers’ dugout. The ball struck the protective netting right in front of manager Dave Roberts. Dodgers players protested the gesture, but Machado said he had no ill intent and actually aimed for the bat boys in the dugout. He faced no punishment for the act, though the incident left Roberts calling it “unsettling.”

Machado’s fiery personality also made headlines when baseball introduced its new pitch clock. In 2023, he became the first MLB player to get ejected for arguing a regular-season pitch-clock violation. That ejection marked a historic moment in the league’s most controversial new rule, and it set the tone for a tense season ahead.

His worst on-field outburst came in June 2019 against the Colorado Rockies. Machado argued with the umpire, aggressively threw his helmet, and made contact with the home plate umpire. The league suspended him for one game, and the MLB Umpires Association called the punishment “a disgrace to the game.” That suspension still stands as one of the most heated moments in his career.