Macko was an
All-American at
Baylor University and was a key part of the team that made it to the
College World Series in 1977. The
Chicago Cubs selected Macko in the fifth round of the
1977 Major League Baseball draft. He played in the minors and was called up from Triple-A in 1979 and 1980. In his 25 games with the Cubs, he hit .250 with fifteen hits (three of them doubles), four walks, and eleven strikeouts. Playing second base, third base, and shortstop, he made 32 putouts, 47 assists, and no errors. With the Cubs, Macko wore the number 12. In 1980, Macko's promising career stalled when he incurred a bad bruise in a collision with
Bill Madlock in the first game of a doubleheader against the
Pittsburgh Pirates on August 5, 1980. Madlock slid hard into Macko attempting to break up a double play in the top of the sixth inning. In the bottom of the inning, a hurting Macko drove in a run with a double and was pinch-run for by
Rick Reuschel. Macko never played another game in the majors, as doctors discovered he had
testicular cancer. ==Legacy==