Machado grateful to Baltimore fans for support

BALTIMORE -- Manny Machado will get a second opinion on his left knee Monday, although the third baseman said he was confident in the encouraging initial diagnosis -- a medial patellofemoral ligament tear -- and looking forward to getting back to full-go by next spring.

"When it first happened, it was a terrifying moment for myself, all the fans and my teammates," said Machado, who fell to the ground in agony Monday night in Tampa, spurring speculation of an ACL or MCL injury. "Obviously, it wasn't fun, but I got the results yesterday and it was much better than what we expected it was."

Machado, who is on crutches with a knee brace, said surgery isn't something he's considering right now and the initial plan is for him to rest and rehab with a six-to-eight-week timetable. The 21-year-old, who missed his first game since his Aug. 9, 2012, debut, thanked the fan base several times Wednesday for its support and was on the bench Tuesday for the team's 3-2 loss, which eliminated the O's from the playoff race.

"I think I had a great season," Machado said of his first full year, in which he played Gold Glove-caliber defense and posted a .283/.314/.432 line. "It kind of [stinks] that it had to end like this. And then on top of that, us not being able to make the playoffs just makes it that [much] worse. It's unfortunate."

The young All-Star said he got goosebumps when Tuesday's crowd gave him an ovation on the JumboTron, and he tipped his cap in appreciation as all of Baltimore breathed a collective sigh of relief that the injury wasn't more serious.

"It's been tough," Machado said of the past 48 hours. "Obviously, it's something that not everybody wants to be a part of and wants to deal with -- something that's part of life, part of playing a game every day 100 percent, and giving 110 percent and trying to help your team win.

"Unfortunately, these types of things happen, but it's just something that I want to give thanks for to all the fans out there, my teammates, our coaching staff, all the players around the league and the Baltimore Orioles for all the support they've given me these last couple of days. We just want to look forward to it, and look forward to next season and getting healthy."