PHOENIX — The San Diego Padres look around, make sure no one’s eavesdropping, and talk in hushed tones.
They don’t mention names of the individual players, they don’t belittle their former manager, and they stop themselves before fully expressing their deepest sentiments.
Instead, they drop subtle hints, roll their eyes and let you interpret their feelings any way you want.
They say it still hurts to talk about – but it’s also cathartic, reminding them how far they’ve come.
A year ago, they were easily baseball’s most underachieving team.
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This year, the Padres may be MLB’s most complete team with an honest-to-goodness chance to win their first World Series championship.
“There was a lot of selfishness and a lot of division amongst the group last year,’ Padres starter Joe Musgrove confided to USA TODAY Sports. “I don’t think you can point a finger at one specific person, but we didn’t really play to the demands of the game. There’s plenty of times we had a simple job to do – maybe not simple because nothing is simple at this level – but a very clear job that big-league hitters should be able to do.
“We just didn’t have the approach. Nobody was happy doing the little things, so we weren’t even looking to do that.’
The Padres, with the third-largest payroll in baseball, and loaded with more stars than anyone, were an epic failure, going 82-80 and missing the playoffs.
The Padres, after more than $100 million in losses, and owner Peter Seidler passing away in November, the ownership group decided to shed about $90 million from their player payroll.
Padres GM A.J. Preller had no choice but to trade one of the game’s most talented players in outfielder Juan Soto. They let Cy Young pitcher Blake Snell and All-Star closer Josh Hader walk away in free agency. They didn’t have enough money to bring back veterans Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Nick Martinez.
“I don’t think any of us knew quite what to expect,’ Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. said. “I know the expectations weren’t as high, but we still had talent here.’
Six months later, they have become player agents’ worst nightmare:
They are winning after cutting their payroll by nearly 40%, with owners taking notice and reminding their own GMs of the Padres’ success.
“I hear that a lot,’ Padres GM A.J. Preller said. “I’m not sure we’re making too many people happy. It’s just something we had to do.’
They now are entering the postseason as the NL’s top wild-card team (93-69) and will face the Braves or Mets starting Tuesday, believing they have the team to win the first World Series title in the franchise’s 56-year history.
“We’re learning from experiences, sharing experiences with each other,’ Musgrove said. “It’s just a really fun group, man. A lot of the fun is because of the confidence we have.
“There’s not really any holes in our game. We feel like we have all the tools to beat anybody.’
This was the kind of success team the Padres envisioned a year ago. They had an abundance of riches, entering the season widely acclaimed as perhaps the team to beat.
They instead became an embarrassment, a team that didn’t spend a day over .500 from May 10 until the last weekend of the season, going 9-23 in one-run games and 2-12 in extra-inning games.
It wasn’t a case of just bad luck.
It was rotten chemistry.
There was more back-stabbing, finger-pointing and name-calling than a presidential debate. There were whispers of the friction between stars Manny Machado and Soto, and the different clubhouse factions, coupled with the open hostilities between Preller and manager Bob Melvin.
“To me, personally, [Soto] was definitely never the problem,’ Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. “We just never played up to the abilities that we had. I don’t want to point fingers on what the problem was, honestly. Some people might want to point out specific people, but that wasn’t the case.
“We just didn’t play the way we know we could, and this year we are. A year can make a big difference. Like in Boston, we won the World Series in 2013. The next year, we were in last place. This stuff that happens in baseball.’
Still, it was unfathomable how ordinary they were.
‘Guys were disappointed and frustrated, two words that were very, very high up on our daily list,’ Bogaerts said. ‘Not being able to win in extra innings, or comeback wins. When we needed a win, we couldn’t.
“I mean, it was tough. Real tough.’
‘Our offense is a machine’
This team, with 19 new players from a year ago, is a living, breathing example of playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played. They put the ball in play more than any other team. They strike out less than any team. They lead the major leagues in extra bases taken on singles and doubles.
Instead of swinging for the fences and worrying about their personal stats, they routinely move runners over, laying down the second-most bunts in the league.
This selflessness is reflected in the difference in comeback victories, going 10-2 in extra innings and 22-19 in one-run games this season. A year ago, they were an MLB-worst 25-42 in games decided by two or fewer runs. This year, they’re an MLB-best 40-25.
“Guys are willing to do what it takes and hit the ball the other way,’’ Musgrove said. “We’ve got plenty of guys who can slug here, but you’ll see those same guys who can slug, hitting the ball the other way and moving runners over. It may not be pretty for you, but that’s your job. So those things get celebrated. Last year, it didn’t seem like anybody was happy about getting the job done because it didn’t provide them a lot of praise.
“Not to say it was all on the hitting side, because there was plenty of that [stuff] on the pitching side, too. But that’s the biggest difference I’ve noticed. Now our offense is a machine, man.’
A year ago, this was a team that would get down, and have no chance of coming back. They were just 8-33 in games they lost a lead last year, compare to 31-22 this year. They’ve won 33 games in which they were tied or trailed in the eighth inning or later, compared to just 18 victories a year ago.
The Padres led all of baseball with a .263 batting average. They also swing and miss less than any team in baseball, with the fewest strikeouts.
“We’re playing the game the right way,’ Tatis said. “We’re stringing hits together now instead of everybody going up there trying to hit a 450-foot homer. We know we have the lineup that we can put together four, five six hits in a row, and can create havoc on the bases.’
Said Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth: “We had more talent a year ago, but we’re a better team this year. We don’t try to do too much. We just keep the line moving, trusting each other.’
Rivals have raved all season about the Padres’ new style of baseball, rarely beating themselves and doing the little things necessary to win.
“They’re very, very connected and understand what their roles are,’ Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “They’re putting bunts down to get guys in scoring position. They’re winning a lot of close games. And that tells me they’re prepared.’
The biggest reason for the turnaround, the Padres’ players say, is new manager Mike Shildt. He still carries around a manual from legendary St. Louis Cardinals player development instructor George Kissell, and has preached fundamentals and attention to detail since he was hired in November.
“Shildty runs as tight a ship as I’ve been around,’ Musgrove said. “But it’s fun, though. I don’t mean to say that in like a strict, and a tight-ass kind of way, he just runs a really good team.’’
Shildt, 56, who managed the Cardinals for four years, credits his players, and lauds the efforts of Preller, who traded away 15 minor leagues to acquire the reinforcements they needed. They grabbed Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease just before their season opener in Korea, traded for three-time batting champion Luis Arraez on May 4, and then cleaned up at the deadline by grabbing three relievers in Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Bryan Hoeing.
“It’s amazing what our GM did,’ Tatis said. “Everything we needed, we got. Look at the guys who helped us in the Juan Soto trade, too.’
The Padres acquired Soto at the trade deadline in 2022 with dreams of grandeur, but he could never lead them to where they wanted to go. When they decided to move him during the winter to the Yankees, they were given a five-player package of pitcher Michael King, prospects Drew Thorpe, Jhonny Brito and Randy Vasquez, along with veteran catcher Kyle Higashioka.
King, made a full-time starter for the first time in his career, became an instrumental member of the rotation, going 3-9 with a 2.95 ERA, striking out 201 in a career-high 173⅔ innings. Higashioka had a career-high 17 homers and told everyone on the bench Saturday night in the ninth inning that he’d hit the game-winning homer. He delivered with a two-run shot – “Hey, who wants to play extra innings this time of year?’
There was Cease, who could in the top three in Cy Young voting, going 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA, striking out 224 batters in 189.1 innings.
Arraez, who had a four-hit game in his Padres’ debut, never stopped hitting after his arrival, and won his third consecutive batting title with three different teams, hitting .314.
Veteran Jurickson Profar, 31, who signed a one-year, $1 million contract after the start of spring training in February, was supposed to be just an insurance policy. He instead became the team’s MVP in the first half and finished the season hitting .280 a career-high 24 homers and 85 RBI.
And maybe the biggest surprise of all was the emergence of rookie sensation Jackson Merrill. Merrill, who two years ago was playing 15-game seasons in high school in Baltimore, hit .294 with 24 homers, 90 RBI and an .826 OPS.
“Nothing against Paul Skenes,’ Shildt said, “but we’re not here without Jackson. He’s meant everything to us. He was just a joy to watch.’
Now, here they are, ready to embark on a deep October run, and perhaps even reunite with the Yankees for a rematch of the 1998 World Series.
“We obviously have a smaller payroll than we did last year,’ Preller said, “but we still have star power. We’re just very well balanced. The pitching the last month has been exceptional. And we got guys in the bullpen that can shut down a game every night.’
And yes, he also has a manager that he gets along with.
“Mike and his group have preached a consistent message and getting guys to play together,’ Preller said. “That’s why this team has played well. We’re a really smart baseball IQ group, and I think that’s been a focus from Day 1. Mike wanted to bring that out.
“Playing solid, fundamental baseball may be boring, but, hey, it helps you win games.’’
The style certainly has earned the affection of Padres’ fans. Boring or not, the Padres drew a franchise-record 3.314 million fans, selling out 54 times.
“I’ve always been on the East Coast,’ King said, “so I certainly wasn’t expecting anything like this. I was coming to a “small market’ and thought they might have some nice little crowds, but, oh, man. You go out to play against a bad opponent on a random Tuesday, and the place is sold out.
“So, I can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like in the playoffs.’
Considering the way the Padres have been playing since July 20, going 43-19 with a 19-8 home record the second half, Petco Park could be busy for another month.
“These guys are playing to win, they’re playing it right,’ Shildt said, “and they’re having fun.’
The combination may seem simple, but as the Padres discovered last year, it can get awfully complicated.
“We’re a real team now,’ Musgrove said. “Everybody’s bought in. We have that togetherness. We have that energy and momentum now.
“That can take you a long way.’
Seidler, in the final year of his life, used to love to say, “One year soon, the baseball gods will smile on the San Diego Padres and we will have a parade.
“The celebration will be both on land and on sea and also in the heavens above.’
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