Sweet San Diego
I imagine that everyone on every team feels some sense or relief and comfort when they deplane back home. But I don’t think anyone feels as good as we do when we step onto the tarmac at our home airport.
There’s something about the San Diego air that just immediately soothes the soul. We’re very lucky.
Of course, last night was a bit atypical. After leaving sunny and 77-degree New York, we arrived at SAN and it was…raining. And 55. But that’s OK, still better than the rest.
The Pads are home for a week: four games with the Brewers beginning this evening and then three with those Braves we just saw.
Soto bobblehead tonight, Jackie Robinson Day on Saturday, Hoffman jersey giveaway on Tuesday and on Monday, something really special.
The Padres will don their old PCL uniforms that night as they recognize and celebrate the 75th anniversary of (native San Diegan) Johnny Ritchey breaking the PCL color barrier with the Padres (on what would have been his 100th birthday). His story is being told much better by the organization these days and I am thrilled we’ll have this day dedicated to his accomplishment.
And speaking of dates to remember, we are now just a week away from Fernando Tatis Jr.’s scheduled return to action (4/20 at AZ). That would make his first home game of the year Monday, 5/1. Guessing I’ll see a few of you at the ballpark that night.
Tony Gwynn, Vin Scully & Ronald Reagan
Interesting collection of names, right? Some of you may have immediately put them together and solved the puzzle, though. At the 1989 All-Star Game in Anaheim, former President Ronald Reagan—who was a baseball broadcaster for a time in the ‘30’s—joined Scully in the booth and got to talking about Mr. Padre in the top of the first inning.
Video of the full game is below. Head to about the 41:15 mark for the start of Tony’s first AB. It’s a wonderful bit of time travel, as Scully discusses Gwynn’s hitting prowess and he and the former President go on to converse about Tony’s basketball skills as well as his use of video to break down his swing.
The fun thing, though, is the back story, which Tony, Jr. and I learned for the first time on Monday night.
The brilliant MLB Network researcher, stat guru, all around great guy (and surprisingly to me, subscriber to our little newsletter), Elliott Kalb stopped by our booth at Citi Field before game one against the Mets. He was in Anaheim working with Scully on this night (see picture below), as he did many times in his career. Elliot was the one responsible for collecting some of the background info for Vin (and in this case, Reagan) to share with the audience.
And what Elliott shared with us was all at once incredible but not even a little bit surprising: In preparation for the broadcast, he had called and left messages with a bunch of players to try and ask about any neat stories or anecdotes that would work for the air.
Just one man called him back: Tony.
And so Mr. Padre became the focal point of the first inning of the 60th All-Star Game. Too cool.
Darvish Wisdom
I don’t try and hide my fascination with Yu Darvish. I think he’s one of the most interesting people I’ve ever been lucky enough to be around—in baseball or out—and after that Monday night game in New York…and those two absurd rollers that stayed fair up the third base line, Darvish had this to say:
Darvish was apparently smiling/laughing while he said this, but there’s still some wisdom in there. Getting through 162 games, like life, can be a little nutty. Sometimes you just need to shift your perspective, I guess.
HR Update
Remember last time when we discussed the 2023 Padres’ potential to set the franchise home run record? Well, through the first 10 games this year, they hit more than any Padre team ever had. Away we go (and we’ll keep ya posted).
Speaking of Updates
How are those new rules working out?
Pretty remarkable. The SB attempts and the time of game are the things that certainly jump out at me.
What the Padres saw against the D-backs on the last homestand is not something every team is going to be capable of this year, but I can’t tell you how excited I am as a fan and broadcaster to—for the first time in a very long time—be able to have conversations about different teams trying to win in different ways.
The Bronx Bombers wouldn’t have earned that nickname if every team was swatting dingers the way they were back in the day. The Running Redbirds would have just been the Cardinals in the ‘80’s if the other NL teams were swiping bags the way they were. And so on.
With the analytical revolution pretty much over (in that every team uses the info now), it will be fun to see teams potentially start to roster build in different ways again.
When many/most of us were growing up, many teams had many approaches to trying to win. That hasn’t been the case much in the last 10/15 years, when it seemed like all the good teams were just some slightly altered version of the others.
The D-backs and Orioles and maybe Brewers and whoever else deciding to run wild is going to be very entertaining and very good for baseball. Some teams will still try and mash their way to the crown. Others will try and stack up pitching. The Astros will somehow do all of that. But the neat thing is that we can all have conversations at the start of a series about how the other team is built and likes to play. Hooray for baseball.
More New Things
Year two of PitchCom has been interesting, in that it seems to have been almost universally adopted. That has and will come with some growing pains, of course. But it’s really fascinating technology.
Alas, though, for the second straight year, my campaign to be the Padres’ voice of PitchCom has gone unfulfilled.
Austin Nola recorded all the messages for all of the pitchers. And yes, that means that even when Luis Campusano is behind the dish, the pitcher is hearing Nola’s voice.
Well, almost all of the pitchers. Josh Hader hears a different voice than anyone else when he’s on the mound. He hears the voice of…Josh Hader.
Not sure if any other pitchers have the desire (or gravitas) to pull that off, but I love it.
And speaking of PitchCom, a question from subscriber Paul:
Q: With the advent of PitchCom, which Padres infielder is typically equipped with ear device to know what pitch is coming? Always the SS? Always the 2B? And is he susceptible to getting his signs to other infielders stolen?
A: Good question and interesting answer. Teams are permitted to have five receivers on the field at once this year. So, generally, from what I understand, it has been the pitcher, the catcher, the two middle infielders and the 3b. I am 92% sure about this and will try and remember to check at some point soon.
Thanks to Paul for sending that in and remember you can submit your questions here.
Enjoy the homestand!