SEATTLE _ The player unlike any the Padres have ever had wants to be what only a couple Padres players have ever been.
"When we made the commitment, I'm 26 years old, you want a 10-year contract or more," Manny Machado said. "I wanted to be in one place with my family for a very long time. We wanted to make our home. We would have loved to be in Baltimore for 20 years. That's always special to be with one organization for a long time. Now, hey look, I could be here for a very long time. I could go down as one of the best Padres ever _ next to Hoff and Tony. Those guys made a lot of impact on people in the city. That's what is the most important part about it. You want to be settled in and create your legacy in one spot."
Machado spoke Tuesday morning before dressing in the visitors' clubhouse at T-Mobile Park, before his final exhibition game of his first spring in a Padres uniform, before the team flight to San Diego, where on Thursday he will play his first home game at Petco Park.
Never has a free agent who signed with the Padres made such an anticipated start, because never had the Padres signed such a free agent.
Not one in the prime of his career and already with four All-Star appearances. Not one who will be paid $30 million a year for the next decade. Not one who is so widely known, so revered and so hated.
The chorus of boos from opposing fans all spring long was among the biggest indications the Padres had added a player who exists in a different galaxy _ right up there with, if not as tangibly important as, those plays he made at third base and the easy swings that sent balls flying all over the outfield.
The Padres in their 50 seasons haven't had an abundance of really good players. And the stars that have shone in San Diego were part of teams that weren't really worth booing. (Plus, Tony Gywnn and Trevor Hoffman never did anything that had some opponents and virtually every fan base convinced they were dirty.)
Machado is here to change that kind of thing. Or, in listening to him, to be a big part of change.
He talks about sharing leadership responsibilities with Eric Hosmer, Ian Kinsler and Craig Stammen. He often answers questions about himself by at first talking about others. He plays up the role of others in a lineup he knows he made better.
He has taken what he acknowledges is a bigger role in being a teacher. He is enamored with Fernando Tatis Jr., a player in whom he sees a reflection. But Machado has also several times this spring spent time with and talked about other young players in a clubhouse that makes him feel old.
"Oh yeah," he said. "Lot of young kids in here. It feels a little weird. It feels good because they look up to you. You can mentor them, and you can interact with them because we're pretty close to the same age."
Machado clearly knows his place, relishes it. He wants the biggest responsibility. He want the cheers. He wants the boos.
"You know you're doing something right," he said. "The best always do (get booed). It happens. You've got to soak it in and keep playing. It feels great. ... It has happened to me since I was a rookie. All the greats have said it _ they're only going to boo the best. And I'm going to be the best player on that ballfield. I don't care. I'm confident I'm the best if I'm the one they're going to boo. You just go out there and try to play the game to win. And I think your teammates feed off it too, they want to have your back, which is the most important part."
There is no doubt Machado will be hearing something different Thursday _ almost certainly an ovation the likes of which very few Padres have received when their name was announced on Opening Day.
"Opening day overall is just amazing," Machado said. "To be on a new team, to be the new face of the organization, to be with this great group of guys, to start off a year that is going to be special for us, to start off the nice legacy we're going to start here, there is going to be a lot of emotion running through my veins.
"Those things you can never really explain. As much as you can do is just soak it up. I know it's going to be special for me and my family. ... I know the city is excited for us and excited for what's coming. To go out there and see a packed house _ everything we've worked hard for, everything we've done this spring, everything I've done this offseason _ that's what makes it all worth it."
He has heard about the excitement in San Diego. People in the organization have passed along snippets of information. His wife has been in town choosing and readying a home not far from the ballpark.
One thing he said he wasn't aware of was the group of fans on Twitter who during the Padres' pursuit of him changed their names on the social media platform to include some form of "chado."
After taking a moment to grasp what was being told to him, he laughed heartily.
"No way," he said. "That's awesome. That's crazy. It just tells you everything about the city. Bringing me in changed a lot of sights for the fans and the city of San Diego. We're starting something pretty special. People are starting to see it. I think they saw it before, I think it's a little more now that I came in here.
"I think we're going to be really good for a very long time. We're going to compete this year. We're going to leave it on the field as a group. Fans are going to appreciate that. They're going to start seeing we're the real deal and we're going to do a lot of special things. They're starting to see that. I guess that's why they're changing their names or whatever it is. They're actually really seeing it and believing in it."
