Machado fine with reputation: 'I always will be the villain'

Manny Machado has earned a reputation he can't seem to escape.

Following a successful, and controversial, half-season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018, the San Diego Padres' new third baseman recently admitted he's still considered an antihero. And it doesn't bug him one bit.

"I always will be the villain, no matter what," Machado told Joel Sherman of the New York Post. "I don't know why. That is just stuff I have to deal with and I have been okay dealing with that situation. That doesn't bother me."

Machado garnered criticism during his short stint with the Dodgers after his occasionally reckless and dirty play generated friction with opponents and fans.

The 26-year-old didn't do himself any favors in October when he made troubling admissions about his hustle, which had the potential to hurt him during free agency.

His comments and antics didn't stop the Padres from handing him a 10-year, $300-million contract. At the time of the signing, it was the richest free-agent contract ever given to a player.

Machado admitted to Sherman that San Diego wasn't his first choice, but explained he was pleased with where he ended up. The four-time All-Star also said that despite what people may think of him, he's not going to change his approach to life or the game of baseball.

"I'm going to play my game and I am going to go down as the player I am," Machado said. "I can't control what people think of me. I can't control any of that. I can only control what I do on the field. I can control how good of a teammate I am. How good of a baseball player I am. I am not going to say that I don't regret some of the things I have done.

"I have done some pretty dumb things. I am not going to lie. I see the things I have done. And I have done some dumb things. At the same time, I have done things that get blown out of the water and suddenly I am that guy. At the end of the day, I play baseball and I don't let anything else get in my head."