Hi!
First, sorry for the delay. Our editors (me) took a little time to go over this one. But better late than never.
Inside this issue: calendar confusion, an update on the effectiveness of the new rules, some great reads, a little breaking uniform news, very high praise for Nick Martinez, an interview with Manny Machado and a couple of your questions. Not bad!
What Day is It?
For me, one of the main ways I know it’s baseball season…and I mean really baseball season, is that I have no idea what day of the week it is. One recent morning in the clubhouse, one of the guys was signing something that needed to be dated and I happened to be standing nearby. He asked if it was March 4th. I looked at my watch and said yes it was. And then I said, “and apparently it’s Saturday, too.” We both kind of went “hmm,” like how interesting. That’s baseball season. Especially Spring Training.
It’s an amazing thing the way you can lose track of all time and space, but it just illustrates the beautiful relentlessness of the sport’s calendar. Unlike anything else we have.
Once the regular season hits, it’ll be actually a little less extreme: we won’t be in the same place every day and you’ll know Sundays because, most of the time at least, it’ll be a day game. But it can be weird on the mind.
New Rules Numbers
Noted Elmo-impersonator Jeff Passan of ESPN had some numbers to share on Twitter this week:
Those are obviously early returns and just for exhibitions, but nonetheless, it’s hard to look at that and not think this has all been an incredible success so far. MLB wanted more base hits, more stolen bases and quicker-paced games and boy has that been the case.
The way I’ve been putting it to people: We’re getting less of the nothing and more of the something in games. Viva La Pitch Clock.
Padres in Peoria
The second episode of our little web series dropped this week and it includes a stellar chat with Manny Machado as he and I walk and talk around the batting cages here at the complex. Don’t mind my three layers of clothes, it was 37 degrees out when we taped this and I am a wimp. Hope you enjoy!
WBC
The World Baseball Classic got underway this week and obviously there’s quite a lot of relevance from a Padre perspective, considering the sheer number (10) of guys from big league camp who are participating.
One of those guys is RHP Nick Martinez who is scheduled to start the big USA-Mexico game at Chase Field next week.
As for Nick’s being asked to join the team, he apparently had his future battery-mate, J.T. Realmuto, pushing for him.
From Ken Rosenthal in The Athletic:
“Last year was my first time facing him,” said Realmuto said of Martinez, who spent the previous four seasons pitching in Japan. “To be honest, I hadn’t heard a lot about him. The first time I faced him, I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’
“His stuff was incredible. He commanded the strike zone well, pitched to both sides of the plate. He was getting swing and miss inside the strike zone. I was impressed by his stuff in the regular season. Then the way he threw against us in the postseason, he was dominant on the biggest stage of his career.
“When DeRo called me and asked, I said, ‘You’ve got to get that guy. He’s an absolute stud. He’s got the right demeanor. He commands the mound, just has a great presence out there. I think he’s a perfect fit for what we need.”
That’s some rather high praise from one of the best catchers of his generation. Cool stuff.
Big Uni Guy
If you’ve spent much time listening to Padres radio the last many seasons, you probably know I’m a big uniform guy. Logos, too. All that.
An interesting twist this year, as MLB and Nike have instituted what is being called the “4+1 rule,” where a team can only have four uniforms in their rotation plus their City Connect threads.
For two teams (that we know of), this has led to the elimination of the traditional gray road uniform top. The Mariners and Rays have both opted to keep other options instead and will wear colored tops on the road all season.
My buddy Chris Creamer, who runs the indispensable SportsLogos.net site, has a great breakdown of all that here if it interests you.
Meanwhile, if you’re good at counting, you may be wondering about the Padres. Home pinstripes, road sand, road brown, green camo, tan camo…that’s five. Well, MLB has grandfathered the Pads in and the team will not have to eliminate any uniform tops.
Note: I had earlier written blue camo instead of green camo, which has since been corrected. Apologies.
Couple Quickies…
A trio of articles from the last few days I want to highlight…
AJ Cassavel of MLB.com with a really fun read on Jake Cronenworth as it relates to his “dragon-slaying” hit against the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS last October. As electric a moment as I’ve ever seen in person, and AJ and Jake do a great job reminiscing about it.
Kevin Acee talked to Manny Machado, Juan Soto and others about some early-Spring adjustments to the pitch clock, etc. Just really good perspective from those guys, who mention stuff most of us probably won’t think about.
Last but definitely not least, a must-read from Britt Ghiroli in The Athletic, who has known Manny since his Baltimore days, on the new contract, what it means for him and his family, and much more. Great stuff.
Questions!
I neglected question time in the last newsletter, so let’s make up for it today with two. As a reminder, you can send yours in via e-mail or by clicking the fancy gold button down below.
Q: Thoughts on the brown and gold when it first came out? Were you a fan or did you think it was ugly? City Connect jerseys?? -John F.
A: BIG brown guy. Was not a fan of the blue and white from the previous era and from the time I arrived here I was very vocal about my love of the brown. That said, I was equally vocal about what I felt was the importance of having a modernized/updated brown and gold look, as opposed to just cycling back to something from the 70’s or 80’s. And that’s obviously what the Padres did.
As for City Connect, I won’t lie, when I first heard rumors about the colors I had a hard time with it in my head, but once I saw the whole thing together, I got really excited. But way beyond that, the way the whole thing has been embraced by the fan base takes it up like a hundred more levels. In less than a year, the whole look has truly become iconic. An amazing thing to get to see unfold. And a lot of fun. And for anyone wondering, the plan is to wear them again this year for Friday night home games (though I’m sure they may pop up a few other times, as well).
Q: What happened to Matt Stairs' glove that got used any time someone subbed in at first? I think we also all appreciated that you almost always threw a mini celebration for that glove getting used again each time it came out. Did forever-fan-favorite Wil Myers ABSCOND with the glove to Cincinatti? -Mason J
A: Mason’s gut feeling is correct: Wil Myers took the Matt Stairs glove to Cincinnati. Jake has a brand new Wilson first baseman’s mitt that he’s been breaking in this Spring.
For those unaware, former Padre hitting coach (and former Padre) Matt Stairs left behind his old first baseman’s mitt behind for Myers to use when he worked at that position. As often happens in baseball, the glove ended up taking on mythical status in the clubhouse and soon other guys were using it, as well.
End of an era, but all good things, including this newsletter, must come to an end.
Thanks again for reading and please remember to share with your friends and family. We’ll do it again next week!