Dodgers: Old clip of ‘dirty’ Justin Turner slide sparks Manny Machado debate

Los Angeles Dodgers fans quickly found themselves in the pickle of all pickles on Monday night.

About 24 hours after Dodgers Twitter eviscerated San Diego Padres slugger Manny Machado for his slide that took out St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman’s legs, a clip of Justin Turner doing the exact same thing (but more violently) a few years ago surfaced.

Dodgers fans love to hate on Machado.

Perhaps many aren’t willing to admit he occupies a modest piece of real estate in their brains.

Even after a number of major leaguers, both current and former, stepped in to tell us that Machado’s move was not dirty, Dodgers fans didn’t care.

Well, now what after seeing this?

Justin Turner committed a slide similar to Manny Machado’s, Dodgers fans.

Well, Turner’s was probably the right move too! There’s not much else the runner can do there. That one looked way more aggressive than Machado’s, however.

Then again, Machado has done himself no favors, especially during his time in Los Angeles that featured stepping on Jesus Aguilar and Steve Pearce back in 2018 when trying to beat out grounders to first base. And don’t forget about his slide that many Red Sox fans will say ended the career of Boston legend Dustin Pedroia. Not good.

Though Machado has been apologetic for those previous transgressions, that hasn’t changed what many fans think of him — especially those in LA who are bitter that he choked in the World Series back in 2018.

Unfortunately, however, Dodgers fans might have to take a seat here. While it’s always fun to go after a rival and/or former player who didn’t live up to expectations, the greater baseball community sees no wrongdoing with Machado’s recent move. And on top of that, we have a previous Turner clip showing us the exact same thing.

The only difference? Machado is way more brash and unlikeable, which makes him more of a target. It’s easy for us to forget about a soft-spoken guy like Turner diving at a player’s legs to induce a dangerous cartwheel in the base paths. And it’s even easier to remember every wrong thing Machado’s ever done.

Unfortunately, this isn’t one of those incidents. And perhaps it’s best for Dodgers fans to focus their attention elsewhere … because the Padres are ahead of them in the standings.

Dodgers fans up in arms over Manny Machado ‘dirty play’ debate

Was Manny Machado's slide against the St. Louis Cardinals dirty, or do Dodgers fans just really hate the San Diego Padres?