For the Padres this postseason, it’s win the World Series or bust.
That ultimately has been the goal since A.J. Preller was hired as general manager in August of 2014. Through six full-time managers and three interim managers. Through two ownership groups and three control persons.
Yet, they haven’t been back to the big dance in 28 years and have never won it all, although the quest began anew on Tuesday night with a bang at Petco Park. The team orchestrated a resounding 8-0 win over the Cubs to start a best-of-three National League Wild Card series.
The Padres can quickly wrap it up on Wednesday night in Game 2 with Nick Pivetta on the mound against Kevin Gausman for the Cubs. It’s just the first step. They would then move on to Milwaukee for a NL Division Series against the 103-win Brewers. The Padres need 13 victories total to capture the World Series.
“I think it’s motivating,” Preller told Times of San Diego in the hours prior to the game. “We’ve been in this spot before. It’s always exciting to play in the postseason. The idea that we haven’t finished it off and been to the World Series, that’s the ultimate goal. We’ve tried to learn from those experiences before.
“It’s definitely motivating for everyone in the building to try and win that World Series and see what that looks like. Hopefully we’ve learned from some of the successes and failures. We’ll use that and hopefully it will show up positively this October.”
Game 1 turned out to be everything the Padres could have hoped. Michael King started and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Nico Hoerner broke it up when he punched a slow grounder to third base that Manny Machado couldn’t handle. King struck out the next two batters to end his 97-pitch stint with seven strikeouts. He walked three and efficiently recorded his ninth quality start in his last 10 dating back to Aug. 8 to earn the win.
Fernando Tatis and Machado opened the first inning with homers on the first four Matthew Boyd pitches. Xander Bogaerts added another long bolt in the fourth and that was all the run support King needed.
The game ended with the re-emergence of fan-favorite Joe Musgrove, who was a surprise addition to the Wild Card roster earlier in the day. Musgrove came on to pitch the ninth to a raucous reception of the 47,084 in the ballpark, striking out two Cubs and pitching out of a bases-loaded situation of his own making. It was his first appearance in almost exactly two years and his voyage through Tommy John surgery and an endless recovery.
He called his first relief appearance since 2021 an out-of-body experience.
“I still can’t really put it together,” he said afterwards. “Managing the nerves, the energy, the stadium. It was different for me. I was just so excited to get back on the mound.”
The Padres under Preller have had their chances, but this may be their best yet. They’ve been to the playoffs four times since 2020 under four different managers: Jayce Tingler, Bob Melvin, Mike Shildt and Craig Stammen.
Under Melvin in 2022 they defeated the Dodgers in a four-game National League Division Series, but bowed to the Phillies in a five-game NL Championship Series. It was the first time they ventured that far since 1998 when, under Bruce Bochy, they beat the Braves in the NLCS, but were swept by the Yankees in the World Series.
In 2024, under Shildt they again defeated the Braves at Petco winning the first two games of the best-of-three Wild Card Series. Leading the Dodgers 2-1 in a best-of-five NLDS, they wound up losing the series in five games going scoreless in the final 24 innings.
The Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series and the Padres went home, as usual.
“I thought they had their best team in 2024,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer, who once was a baseball executive with the Padres, said on the field before Tuesday night’s game. “But then they stopped hitting.”
Last year under Shildt, they went three and out against the Cubs at Wrigley Field in the Wild Card round. Shortly thereafter, Shildt was gone just like Tingler and Melvin before him.
Frustrating?
“I know for all of us it’s about winning the World Series and setting that goal,” Preller said. “You feel good about the fact we’ve played in the playoffs and that’s not easy to do. But I wouldn’t say frustrating as much as we know we still have work to do. We haven’t accomplished what we set out to do. But we have another chance to do it now.”
And then there’s ownership. The Padres went to the World Series and lost to the Tigers in 1984 under the guidance of Joan Kroc and her husband, Ray, the McDonald’s founder, who died earlier that year. The Krocs in 1974 saved the franchise from moving to Washington with a $12 million purchase.
Under John Moores the Padres had their most overall success winning their division four times and the 1998 NL pennant. The Padres haven’t won the NL West since 2006.
Moores sold the team to the Seidler and O’Malley families in 2012 for $800 million. When Peter Seidler took over control of the team he began spending money turning the Padres into a perennial playoff contender. He passed away in 2023. By the grace of the 10-to-12 team Wild Card format, the Padres have had opportunities, but the Dodgers have won the division 13 of the last 14 years.
Little more than a month ago, Jose E. Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones bought the team at a valuation of $3.9 billion. The Dodgers won the division again for the fifth season in a row and the Padres finished nine games behind them. Only a 17-3 finish salvaged a Wild Card berth.
Has anything changed under the new owners?
“I mean everybody is different. I’ve worked under different structures over the years,” Preller said. “Everybody has their own personalities and leadership styles. With Kwanza and Jose they’re starting to get settled in. They’re starting to talk more and more on the baseball side.
“What everyone’s had in common I’ve had the fortune to work for is that they want to win. It’s very clear from Kwanza and Jose that they’re going to win. They’ve made that clear to me and everybody. We’re hoping to deliver.”
This year, if not sooner.
