SAN DIEGO — They were the scrawny weaklings from Southern California, teased at school, having sand kicked in their face on the beaches, and told they would never live up to those big, bad bullies up north on the I-5 Freeway.
Well, a funny thing has happened.
The San Diego Padres don’t have a $700 million player, they don’t have a $325 million pitcher or a single World Series banner flying at their ballpark, but look who’s got all of that swagger and the intimidation now?
The Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers might be tied at one game apiece in the National League Division Series, but the way the Padres are feeling these days, they fully intend to send the Dodgers home for the winter this week while they’re having a World Series parade in November.
The Padres, with Game 3 of their series scheduled for Tuesday night (9:08 p.m. ET on FS1) at Petco Park, say they don’t plan to return to Los Angeles until June 2025 when they’re scheduled to play a four-game series at Dodger Stadium.
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Matter of fact, even if this series is tied at two games apiece, they don’t believe they should be forced to play again at Dodger Stadium after Sunday’s game was interrupted for 10 minutes with fans throwing objects onto the field.
“If I was the commissioner of baseball, I wouldn’t even allow a Game 5 at their place,’’ said Padres reliever Jeremiah Estrada, who spoke for 20 minutes, describing the beer cans, bottles and baseballs thrown onto the field and in the bullpen. “I mean, why? Why would you want to test that to happen again?
“That’s hard to control people. Something’s going to happen.’’
Estrada grew up in the Inland Empire of California, and was a huge Dodgers fan, vividly recalling all of the great moments. He hated to see that great tradition sullied by unruly fan behavior.
“That’s sad, it’s just a baseball game,’’ Estrada said. “I grew up the same way as probably 90% of those fans there, but clearly there are those who don’t know how to mature. Part of me kind of kicked in too as part of the immaturity part, screaming at them.
“I get the whole rivalry stuff, but there’s no rivalry that should be taken that seriously. When it comes to health hazards of throwing objects at us, that’s not good. At the end of the day, it’s just freaking baseball. You guys are ruining the legacy of Dodger Stadium by throwing beer cans at us. You don’t want us throwing something at you. We wouldn’t miss.
“We know we couldn’t do anything, but we retaliated by taking it out on them the field. That’s the way we handled it. Ok, you want to show us, we’ll show you.’’
The Dodgers hardly are advocating their fans’ behavior, with a bottle just missing Padres pitcher Martin Perez in the bullpen, but they insist the Padres fueled the hostilities. Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. teased the Dodgers’ crowd by dancing in the outfield and later mocking them by pretending to wipe away tears. Third baseman Manny Machado, after exchanging obscenities with Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty, fired a baseball toward the Dodgers’ dugout that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believed was intended for him.
“I didn’t notice at the time,’’ Roberts said. “I did see the video. And it was unsettling. … There was intent behind it. … It didn’t almost hit me because there was a net. And that was very bothersome. If it was intended at me, I would be very … it’s pretty disrespectful.
“So, I don’t know his intent. I don’t want to speak for him. But I did see the video. And the ball was directed at me with something behind it.’’
Machado said he was merely throwing the ball into the dugout for the batboy to give to fans, saying, “I’ve already turned the page. I’m just looking forward to playing in front of our fans.’’
Still the explanation was tough for Roberts to believe, wondering whether Machado should have been ejected.
“I don’t think they should have had a little arm-around-each-other conversation,’’ Roberts said of the umpiring crew. “If players can throw balls at opposing managers, you know …’’
Well, it’s better than the ducking from bottles thrown from the stands, the Padres will tell you.
“I was really pleased with how our guys responded,’’ Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “There was a sense of satisfaction. I like the way we competed, the way we stayed together, the way we played baseball and executed …
“We don’t need 50,000 people yelling and throwing stuff at us to prove anything, but it does prove this group is going to be together and is not going to back down.”
You think you’re going to intimidate the Padres?
Sorry, the Padres will tell you, it ain’t happening.
“The San Diego Padres [are] not the same team as they are now,’’ said Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler, who starts Tuesday. “We’ve seen that develop. …Not from a rivalry side, but just in terms of the talent that they’ve started acquiring, has definitely been significant.’’
But while the Dodgers dropped $1.3 billion in the free-agent market last winter, the Padres actually unloaded about $90 million in talented players during the winter. They traded Juan Soto. They let Cy Young winner Blake Snell and All-Star closer Josh Hader walk away. Free-agent pitchers Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Nick Martinez departed, too.
Yet, this year’s version of the Padres has more swagger, more confidence, and more braggadocio.
The more you boo them on the road, the more you taunt them, the more you swear at them, the more delight the Padres take in shutting everyone up.
“I think it’s something that as a player,’’ said pitcher Michael King, who starts Tuesday for the Padres, “you’ve got to feed off. You’ve got to add it to your game and make the pressure become an added privilege.
“You know that you’re out there playing a kids’ game, but when you have thousands of fans rooting against you, and cussing at you, it’s a lot more fun.’’
The Padres, who played in front of 56 sellout crowds at Petco Park this year, drawing a franchise-record 3.3 million fans, are expecting a rather high-spirited crowd. They don’t anticipate any retaliation from their own fans. There might be beach balls that land on the field, but not beer bottles.
It will be a raucous environment, only this time, with the Dodgers feeling the heat.
“Clearly, that team over there,’’ Roberts said, “they like the villain-type kind of role and they feed off of that. So, whatever gets us going …
“It’s going to be hostile. It’s going to be noisy and rowdy. And it’s up to us to stay focused and compete and fight.’’
If not, it could be the Dodgers’ third consecutive year of being one-and-done in the postseason, and another long winter in Los Angeles trying to figure out why they’re a beast in the regular season but can’t win in October.
“I think there’s pressure on both teams,’’ Roberts said. “It’s a very important game. It’s a very pivotal game. …
“I know the players just want to play baseball, and the fans want to cheer for their team.’’
