NOTE: This was set to be published on 1/27, but we were a little delayed with the launch. So it might seem a bit out of date…just pretend it’s still late January and you’ll be fine. New stuff soon!
Hello!
First of all, thanks to everyone who encouraged me to do this. It’s getting off the ground a little later than I anticipated, but such is life. I’m still not entirely sure what it’s going to look like—I have some rough ideas in mind—but just hang with me as I sort of feel it all out and let this thing turn into whatever it’s going to be.
Ideally, I would love to get something out on a semi-regular, but still irregular basis. I suppose what that means is at least once or twice a week during the season, but sometimes more. Perhaps occasionally less. But again, we’ll see.
In terms of what to expect: I have such a good time putting together fun notes, stats and stories for the broadcast, but of course they don’t all always get used. Further, they can be easy to miss if you’re not listening at a given moment. So I think this could be a fun space for some of my favorites to live.
Beyond that, I figure there are some fun stories to tell that don’t really work on the air (travel, road, restaurants, etc), that could fit nicely here. For a little taste, here’s a piece I wrote in The Athletic a couple of years ago about that. Please know, though, that life on the road is far less interesting than you probably think it is. Also know that only about 15% of my Mark Grant stories are for public consumption. Kidding. Love you, Mudcat.
I figure I’ll also try and link to stuff I’m currently reading about the team, or at least articles from around baseball I find interesting and you may, as well.
Expect some Q&A type stuff, too. From readers to me as well as from me to some of the cool people I get to interact with on a regular basis.
I’ll probably also shamelessly promote our broadcasts and post some highlights and stuff, too.
What this won’t be is standard Padres and MLB news and analysis. You guys are more than covered in those departments by CassAceeLin & co. locally and the usual suspects nationally. I’m sure I’ll sometimes end up writing something that feels redundant to what they do, but that’s not at all the goal of this thing.
As far as a comment section goes, I’m kind of torn. The pros and cons are pretty obvious to anyone who pays any attention to social media these days, and I don’t know that I’ll be able to spend much time in there to respond or moderate. So we’ll see. Consider it an open question.
Another thing not to expect is much polish. I’m doing this on my own, haha. No editing, very lax proofreading and so, yes, there will be many a typo. Also, I hope to keep things pretty informal and funn (see, a typo!).
So with that, let’s see where this thing goes.
Welcome, Boomstick!
Couple of things I love about the Nelson Cruz signing that went official this week aside from the obvious (leadership, experience, the seemingly universal respect of every player in baseball, etc.). One is the nickname. About as good as we have these days. A true, modern classic. It feels like an updated version of the quintessential nicknames of yesteryear. Like if Babe Ruth played today, he wouldn’t be The Bambino. He would be The Boomstick. Or something. You catch my drift. I hope.
Like a lot of great baseball nicknames, the origin story is a little murky (a tremendous exception: Carlos Carrasco was eating cookies in the clubhouse one day in 2011; Chris Perez saw him, called him “Cookie,” and, well, here we are a dozen years later). I’ll talk to Cruz about it in Spring Training, but my understanding is that during his torrid 2010 postseason with the Rangers, he began referring to his bat as his Boomstick, and at some point that morphed into people calling HIM Boomstick, and that’s a beautiful example of how baseball seems to work. But like I said, I’ll ask for his version of it at some time and probably also check in with one of my broadcaster friends in Texas.
The other thing (remember, I said I had two other things I really liked) is that he’s going to be 43 this summer. As in years old. This one is selfish, but as a person who is turning 41 in April, it makes me feel nice that there are still active big leaguers older than I am…and to have one of them in house…all the better. Welcome, Nelson.
…my math was confirmed, btw.
What Else is Happening…
Not too much (aside from the pretty bonkers Correa yo-yo). In baseball, we often talk about the Dog Days of Summer, but this is the tail end of what I think I’ll call the Dog Days of Winter.
The postseason feels like forever ago, the excitement of the Winter Meetings and all the moves that were made kind of faded into the holidays. And now…we wait.
This isn’t to say there haven’t been any transactions or that there aren’t any moves in the pipeline or that some blockbuster trade won’t go down between the time I’m typing this and the time you’re reading it; but generally it’s a slower time of year.
Like the Dog Days of Summer, though, there are thrills just around the corner. FanFest is on 2/4; in mid-February, pitchers and catchers will report to Spring Training. On the 24th, the Padres will open Cactus League play with the first of five (!) games against the Mariners1. The World Baseball Classic will fire up and before we know it, it’ll be 1:10pm on March 30th, and picture perfect Petco Park will be the site of Opening Day (Pads/Rox).
Can’t wait for it all!
Question(s) of the Week
We’ll give this a whirl, too…a space reserved for you guys. Ask away on whatever topic interests you and I’ll pick one or two (or more?) each newsletter. I’m probably leaning more towards picking questions that aren’t the kind that Dennis or AJ or Kevin would answer in a mailbag (roster stuff, playing time stuff, payroll stuff), so get creative. I have yet to figure out how to put a little box here for you to submit a question, so just go ahead and e-mail them in for now.
Season Tickets to be Capped
The Padres announced this week that season ticket purchases will be capped on 2/4. Basically, so many people are buying them that the team wants to make sure they have enough ticket inventory to hold back for single-game sales (not everyone can afford a season ticket package, of course) and group sales. This is…remarkable. 2023 will be my tenth (!!) season with the Padres and when I walked into Petco for the first time in 2014…let’s just say…things were a little different. Hats off to ownership for committing the way it has and to all of you for closing the “virtuous loop2” that exists between the club and the fans. It seems the Padres could very well end up shattering their single-season attendance record this year--even with just 79 games at Petco on the calendar (the two games in Mexico City vs the Giants are technically home games). What a time.
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Thanks to everyone who has signed up and yes, please feel free to share with friends and family. I have no intention of ever charging for this thing, so I hope it’s something accessible that all can enjoy. A reminder, too, that if you prefer to read this in your e-mail, that’s great. Or you can come to the site and consume it like a blog. Whatever floats your boat. Much love and talk soon…
I actually don’t hate this. We are so spoiled in the Cactus League—like the WORST “road trip” from Peoria imaginable is to Mesa on a weekday—which means it could take OMG 75 MINUTES to get back after the game. That said, having a few freebies at home against the M’s cuts down on some rush hour aggravation and they’re a cool team to talk about these days <insert Natural Rivalry comment>. I may sing a different tune by the third or fourth game, but for now, I’m not annoyed by the saturation of Mariner games on the Spring schedule. Also I know footnotes can be aggravating, so I’ll really try and limit them. No promises, though.
I said no promises. This term was coined by team CEO Erik Greupner and I have stolen it on many occasions. It is artful and perfectly describes the symbiotic relationship that now exists between this organization and its fans/community. Is part of me annoyed that I didn’t think of it first? Perhaps. But credit where it’s due.