Excitement and optimism abound at Petco Park
The San Diego Padres played host to thousands of Padres fans at the annual Padres FanFest at Petco Park. The usual large crowd waited in long lines outside the gates before the start of the event and those same thousands poured into the park to head for the Padres Foundation garage sale, playing around on the field, touring around the ballpark, waiting for autographs and generally having a great time.
Pitchers Q&A
The mood seemed jubilant as the first fan forum of the day got underway with a group of Padres pitchers answering questions from Padres broadcasters Don Orsillo and Mark Grant. Raucous cheers broke out as Joe Musgrove, Michael King, Nick Pivetta and Mason Miller took the stage.
Musgrove expressed his happiness at finally being fully healthy and able to contribute to the team again. He said he had some hard moments during his rehab but feels great now and is really anxious to get started at Spring Training. King admitted that returning to San Diego on a new contract was not a hard choice. Great fans, a great ballpark and beautiful weather were all added to his closeness with his teammates and trust in A.J. Preller as strong motivation. Pivetta, when asked about his offseason activities, said he worked out and played golf. His sole focus was to get better so that the team could win a World Series.
Miller, the lone reliever of the group, voiced an eagerness to play a whole season with the Padres and get back to contributing to a winning culture. He spoke about how welcomed and comfortable he felt after being traded to San Diego.
Leadership Q&A
Manager Craig Stammen, CEO Erik Greupner and President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller joined radio broadcasters Jesse Agler and Tony Gwynn Jr. for a chat about the upcoming season. Stammen will lean on the team around him for support and focus on communication with his players. He seemed very comfortable with his new responsibilities and is anxious to get Spring Training started.
Greupner gave the fans all the credit for making the organization as successful as it is. When asked about the management of the organization during an ownership change, Greupner said everything is the same and the current owners are supporting the team as before. He also said that the selling of the team is a work in progress and going well. Any potential owner will continue the investment in the success of the team and share the desire to win.
Preller said what everyone had been waiting to hear. He is not done yet. Work will continue right into Spring Training with an eye toward adding both pitching and a couple bats. He mentioned the late signing of Pivetta last spring as an example.
Position player Q&A
Orsillo and Grant returned for the last forum of the day, with Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. Both entered to cheers and loud applause. Merrill said he went home (to the east coast) for a week during the offseason, and it snowed, so he came back to San Diego and stayed here. Other than getting ready for the new season, he got to know his new adopted city. Tatis Jr. spent his offseason at his farm in the Dominican Republic. He has a plantation and 300 head of cattle to take care of but finds time to also fit in the mountains, the beach and all the beauty the island presents. He said he wished he could share it with all the fans. His goal for the new year is to win an MVP and show Padres fans what he is capable of.
A fun day
Everything I saw during my almost seven hours at Petco Park showed an enthusiastic fanbase enjoying seeing their ballpark and team again after a long offseason. The autograph sessions were booked in advance this year and that seemed to go much smoother for all involved. The garage sale was well attended, as usual, with long lines of people waiting to go shop. The kids had a blast on the field and in Gallagher Square and the food and beer stands looked to be well attended.
No big news came from the events of the day, but I think the players and leadership set a tone of optimism and the words ‘World Series’ kept coming out of many of the speakers. One point Preller made during one of his answers was that he has a goal of home playoff games for the fans and that means winning the division. It seems he is not intimidated by big brother to the north.
Category: General Sports
