I was surprised as anyone by Mike Shildt’s retirement. I wasn’t a big fan of his stubbornness and how he constructed the lineup (Arraez batting 2nd all season) and his use of the bullpen (sticking with Suarez as the closer after acquiring Mason Miller and the way he used Wandy Peralta in high leverage situations) but considering the Padres won 90+ games in back to back seasons for the first time and made the playoffs in back to back years, it was expected for him to be back another year.
But once he retired and word came out about some of the coaching staff and support staff issues, you can see why he would be burnt out trying to do a tough job and working with everyone in the org. Being a sports manager/coach at the professional or college level isn’t an easy job with all the committments you have with players, coaches, the org and media. Maybe it was better for everyone if he left at this time.
What’s interesting is reading about how Ryan Flaherty was AJ Preller’s preferred choice for manager two years ago but he may have been overruled by Eric Kutsenda and Erik Greupner. When the decision was announced then that Mike Shildt would be the new manager, I liked the decision as you were going with someone who had been inside the team for the past two years to understand the team dynamics and organizational structure and was an experienced winning manager. You figured he would keep going what had been built, better handle some of the issues (like the strife between AJ Preller and Bob Melvin) and could keep it running for several years.
And Shildt did exactly that with how they won in 2024 but 2025 you started to see maybe why he left St. Louis because of “philosophical differences”. It was with the way he managed the team as there’s no way the analytics team wasn’t telling him that Arraez shouldn’t be batting second with how much he struggled throughout the season not should he have continued playing first base over Ryan O’Hearn who is a much better defender by the metrics at 1B.
As the search turns to the new manager, my ideal scenario would be to bring back Bruce Bochy for two years and promise Ruben Niebla to be the next manager. Bochy being 70 isn’t going to manage much longer (if he does manage again) so why not bring him home to take it over the finish line like what he did with the Texas Rangers.
He knows how to win and push the right buttons in the playoffs and someone like him would be respected in the clubhouse to make the tough decisions. It feels like part of the reason Mike Shildt didn’t want to make changes was the relationships he built with players that he didn’t want to upset even though it was in the best interests of the club and that’s where I can see Bochy doing this and getting the players onboard. And it would be great to have Boch finish out his managerial career with his first team and get us the elusive first World Series title.
But realistically it doesn’t seem this will happen from what I’ve read (doesn’t seem the Padres want to bring him back and not sure Bochy wants to come back into this) so will be interesting to see who the next manager is.
With the Padres being eliminated by the Cubs in the Wild Card Series 2 games to 1, some musings with the season now over:
The Padres played this playoff series pretty much like they have in the regular season with the offense not able to score too many runs and the pitching doing pretty well. I would have taken giving up only 6 runs in a three-game series against a team at their ballpark that slugs (Cubs were third in the NL in home runs during the regular season) going into the series. The Padres only scoring 5 runs total isn’t that surprising considering how the offense has played. They did score 3 of the 5 runs on home runs (60% of their runs) which is substantially higher than what they did in the regular season (about 33% of their runs were on home runs).
The top of the order with Tatis (1-12 with 2 runs and 1 walk), Arraez (2-11) and Machado (1-10 with 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 run and 2 walks) really hampered the offense. Manny did have the big home run in the game 2 win in which Tatis scored two of the three runs, which actually shows that the Padres are dependent on the top of the lineup. This put a damper on how well Fermin, Merill and Bogaerts were able to hit in the series, with all three getting on base all three games.
You have to wonder if this team ever gets over the hump. 4 postseason trips in 6 years is the best period in Padres baseball. One way to look at it, is if you keep giving yourself chances to be in the playoffs, that eventually the team breaks through. You can look at how many times the Dodgers have made the playoffs and how many times they’ve won the World Series, with the same for the Astros and the Braves, with the Braves both recently and when they were making the playoffs in the 90s. The other way to look at it is this team’s already at the ceiling and won’t get over the hump so it’s time to break it up a bit and try something different.
I do wonder if Manny is the person to really lead this team to the promise land considering his current postseason stats of .209/.259/.423 in 51 postseason games. Not saying he isn’t a part of a championship team but more being the leader of the team as he currently is with the Padres. The team seems to go as he goes and he’s not consistent enough. He’s right when he says he ends up with his baseball card numbers each year but it’s usually because he has hot stretches along with cold stretches. This season is a great example of this where he struggled in April, carried the team in May through July and then ended the season ice cold in August and September. In the playoffs, we need someone who can consistently deliver throughout the month and thus far in Manny’s career he hasn’t done this in multiple playoff runs, including his time before the Padres.
The Padres can’t really completely revamp or rebuild their team (and they really shouldn’t) so here are my first thoughts on the 2026 lineup: C – Fermin and another catcher 1B – ? 2B – Cronenworth SS – Bogaerts 3B – Machado LF – Laureano CF – Merrill RF – Tatis DH – Sheets and a righty Utility IF – Veteran Utility OF – Johnson O’Hearn could be an option at 1B depending on what his market is, though I feel he may get offers more than what the Padres are looking to pay for a 1B. I wouldn’t be opposed to Diaz coming back to be the catcher behind Fermin and I don’t believe Salas is ready considering his injury-plagued 2025 and with how long it takes catchers to develop. Having a righty to complement Sheets would be a good mix since Sheets can also complement Laureano in LF as needed.
SP – Pivetta SP – Musgrove SP – Vasquez SP – Sears SP – ? Will need at least two considering how injuries happen in a season, so Waldron could be an option here (and I believe he will still have a minor league option in 2026) in addition to a free agent signing if not multiple signings. Hard to see King or Cease coming back with how the pitching market usually is but will be interesting to see what King’s market looks like after the injury.
RP – Miller RP – Morejon RP – Adam (may come back after the season starts) RP – Estrada RP – Matsui (Padres can’t send him down) RP – Morgan RP – Rodriguez RP – Hoeing RP – Reynolds RP – Marinaccio I listed a large amount of relievers as the Padres have pretty good relievers and like the starters, will need additional relievers throughout the course of a season due to injuries or as other things come up. Some of these guys like Rodriguez and Marinaccio will still have minor league options to send up and time as needed to juggle the roster throughout the season.
With that said, all we can do is look forward to 2026 and hope that sometime soon the team can win that elusive first World Series. As it has been in this decide, I expect it will be another interesting offseason with the Padres. I’ll see everyone at Opening Day on March 26, 2026.
With the regular season now over, some musings before the playoffs start tomorrow:
Finishing with 90 wins so that it was the first time in franchise history to have back-to-back 90+ win seasons and make the playoffs back-to-back for the second time in franchise history is pretty good. I wasn’t expecting the team to win 90 games at the beginning of the season but with the trades made, you expected them to be good (60-49 at the trade deadline so 30-23 after) so finishing with 90 wins feels about right. They ended at a season 18 games above .500 (which they also achieved earlier in the season when they were 74-56).
Still disappointing that they had the poor stretch in late August and early September (losing 11 out of 16 games). Even playing a little better at .500 (8-8) would have given them a legitimate shot to win the division or at least finish as the 4 seed to host the wild card round at Petco.
The lost of Ramon Laureano and Jason Adam are both big and it’s unfortunate that they happened to freak injuries. Considering how many left handed batters the team has, Laureano provided a good right handed complement. With Adam, you could be less dependent on your starters (and outside of Nick Pivetta, they’re all pretty inconsistent and shaky) as well as have multiple high leverage relievers available every day to keep guys fresh. I get it with the playoffs there are more off days but still it was the reason they got Mason Miller to build the super bullpen.
I see the Wild Card series as being pretty even with the Chicago Cubs and going either way. Cubs losing Cade Horton is a big blow and Kyle Tucker is just back from injury. Cubs have the better starting pitching still and more slug while the Padres have the better bullpen and you hope the hitters can hit like they’ve been doing the past week, albeit this was hitting at home where the Padres are much better (52-29 at home versus 38-43 on the road).
Looking forward to the playoffs and hopefully the Padres can make a long run. It is true that anything can happen in the playoffs as there’s so much randomness there and role players can get on a run like Trent Grisham did for the Padres in 2022.
With the current Southwest Companion Pass promotional period in effect, we decided to make a quick trip to New York to see the Padres play the Mets and revisit Citi Field since I personally hadn’t been there in 14 years.
Back when I went back in 2011, I remember liking the design of the ballpark and overall the ballpark experience so was looking forward to seeing it again.
First thing is the ballpark is pretty easy to get to on the subway as the 7 train has a stop (Mets-Willets Point station) that literally is in front of Citi Field’s main entrance. This station is also where you would get off if you were going to the tennis US Open.
The US Open grounds are on one side, Citi Field is on the other side and construction is currently underway to build Etihad Park, the new home of New York FC of MLS, across the street from Citi Field. So this area is becoming a sports complex area, which kind of reminds me of Philadelphia where they have their two stadiums and arena in an area a little outside of Downtown with the downtown Philadelphia skyline off in the background.
In this case, you have the Manhattan skyline in the background but you do have Flushing Chinatown which is a 20-minute walk (or one subway stop away) from the ballpark and where we stayed at.
From our hotel in Flushing Chinatown, you can see Citi Field and Etihad Park being built (in the bottom left corner of the picture) and the Manhattan skyline in the background:
Arriving at the main entrance from the subway station, you’re greeted with the main entrance with the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, which was inspired by Ebbets Field. The building itself has a good mix of bricks and green coloring which makes it have a nice natural look and makes it belong in the area.
Once you enter the Rotunda, you have to go up stairs/escalator to get to the field level and other levels of the ballpark. The one thing of note is once you get to the field level you can walk around the entire ballpark without having to go up/down stairs again like some ballparks (i.e. Petco Park).
Walking around the field level, it does feel tight with the large crowds the Mets are drawing and considering that it’s enclosed on top by the upper level.
They do have a good amount of standing room only around the ballpark, though there are suites behind home plate so as you walk behind home plate, your view of the field is blocked and you instead see team store stands. For places where you have standing room, they don’t have rails to hold your food but they do have cup holders:
And as you walk in the outfield, the Shea Bridge as an ode to Shea Stadium is a nice touch.
As you continue on Shea Bridge (going from right field to center field), you see their humongous video screen that stands out anywhere you go in the ballpark.
The video screen is a plus for me as I’m big on having these technology advances at a ballpark and super big video screens are a part of it. It proved pretty useful in the two games we went to, as everyone in the ballpark could clearly see that two balls hit down the left field line by Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr were both foul.
What I thought was also pretty cool was behind the big video board is a social and kids area and even on the backside of the big video screen is a pretty big video screen for you to watch the game and stay up on the action as your kids are playing and/or you’re hanging out and socializing with family and friends.
Overall the ballpark has good sightlines from anywhere you sit. The upper deck can feel high and a little away from the game, especially when you’re in the upper level seats in left field.
Because of the seats in left field, the big video screen in center, there really isn’t much of a skyline for the ballpark beyond the outfield like you see with other ballparks. Right behind the ballpark in the outfield is an expressway and the Flushing Bay and then you have LaGuardia Airport to the northwest so planes are flying in the background, which probably limited what they could do here. So if you wanted to pick something that could be better compared to other ballparks, that would be one thing to nitpick at.
Foodwise, the Mets have a mixture of local NY institutions that include the big name food vendors like Shake Shack and Nathan’s Hot Dogs as well as other known NY places like Prince Street Pizza, Pat LaFrieda and Fuku. They also have food such as the Pastrami on Rye, Zeppole, lobster rolls, Goya nachos that are developed in house and pretty good in quality. Overall, they have a good selection of food with many different options that everyone should be able to find something good to eat.
Watching the game, it’s interesting that like Petco, they have a large screen (even bigger) but what’s normally on the screen when a batter is up is pretty static, maybe so as to not distract the hitters. Because they show the advanced pitching and hitting metrics (pitch horizontal break, pitch vertical break, etc) on the ribbon boards but temporarily i.e. they flash it after the pitch and then change it back to the regular information they show.
I find it interesting that ballparks like Citi Field and Petco Park don’t keep it on all the time like other ballparks (Rogers Centre comes to mind) since they have so many different LED boards they can show it on or display it on the main board itself. But obviously, the answer is they want to display ads instead.
The in-game entertainment is good, they do things to hype up the crowd like the “Make Noise” display and I like how they dim the lights during the game to get the crowd going, not strictly saving this for the closer’s entrance. In between innings, they usually do something like the cap shuffle, mascot race, different cams, karaoke, etc. to keep the fans engaged.
Overall, the Mets know that not all fans coming to games are going to be hardcore fans that watch every pitch intently. They make the game and the ballpark itself an attraction so it’s a fun place to watch a game and have a night out. I would definitely recommend checking out Citi Field as it is a nice ballpark to go to and watch a game at.
With travel lining up so I was in Minnesota while the Twins were home, I took the chance to check out Target Field. The ballpark is located in the northwest corner of downtown Minneapolis with the Metro Light Rail (Blue Line) making it super easy and cheap ($2 one way or $4 for an all-day pass) to get to the ballpark from the MSP airport. It takes about 30 minutes to get from the airport to the Target Field Light Rail station that is literally in front of Gate 6.
The first thing I noticed is the limestone exterior that’s like Petco Park, making it more modern looking versus the retro feel some of the other ballparks built in the past 30 years are going for.
I personally like this more modern look though incidentally it doesn’t blend into the surrounding buildings as much since most of the buildings around the ballpark have more of the dark red/brick look to them, including the nearby Target Center arena.
Walking on the outside of Target Field, I liked how they have statues of Twins legends along with banners and other indicators to celebrate their history which is a nice touch without having to go inside.
And I noticed that there were restrooms on the outside of the ballpark too. Besides porta potties you see in some parking lots outside ballparks and stadiums, I don’t recall seeing a restroom that’s part of the actual ballpark being accessible without going inside so that’s a nice fan-friendly touch.
The gates are numbered after Twins legends which is a nice homage but can be confusing if you’re not familar with the ballpark and trying to look for a specific gate, thinking the gates would go up sequentially as you walk around the ballpark.
Once you enter the main concourse, you can see the field as you walk around. Since there are no suites behind home plate on the main concourse level, it’s also easy to get to your seats behind home plate on this level and unlike some of the ballparks like Petco where you have to go up and down stairs/escalators/ramps to go around the main level, here once you enter a gate you’re able to easily walk around the entire park.
As well, there are standing room only areas throughout the ballpark on every level, including many places with drink rails, which is a great thing for fans to be able to watch on any level whether they just want to see different areas or don’t want to rush back to their seats. The escalators in the ballpark run in both directions so you can easily go up and down between levels throughout the game, another touch that really makes this ballpark fan-friendly.
The one thing is as you walk around the main concourse level, the side that’s opposite the field (i.e. the left side if you were walking clockwise around the ballpark with the field on the right), is where all the stands are and as a result, it makes the concourse feel a little closed and not as open air as other ballparks where both sides tend to be more open.
Because the ballpark has the smallest footprint of all current ballparks (8.5 acres), Target Field does have a large amount of seats in the outfield versus using the outfield space to be more open like Nationals Park though you still have views of the Downtown Minneapolis skyline in right field.
Really in right field is the only place that has an open space:
In right field is also where you’ll find Truly On Deck, a bar that has the Twins World Series memorabilia and also has reserved outdoor patio seating but also indoor seating that anyone can sit at.
This is one of a number of social areas throughout the ballpark. Even though I’m a fan who likes to sit down in a seat and really watch a game, the reality if there are many more casual fans and having these social areas is a way to get the non-diehard fans to go to the ballpark and have a great time. It’s really what many ballparks are doing to get the large crowds at the game which in turn creates more energy and a livelier atmosphere.
Watching the game, the seats have a pretty good view from various parts of the ballpark including the upper deck.
Speaking of the upper deck, this is where the Home Plate Tap Room is located (around sections 214 and 215) in what appears to be suites on the upper level at one time but are now a social area that anyone can go into.
In the Home Plate Tap Room is where Sue the Organist performs and she’s very friendly to go up and talk to her before the game and watch her do her work during the game.
In terms of concessions, the ballpark has a mixture of local restaurants like Kramarczuk’s, Pizza Luce and Union Hmong Kitchen along with stands that are inspired by the local food scene (Mill City Grill and North Shore Creamery). Though I’m spoiled by having a lot of local food options the way Petco does it so it’s really hard to find anywhere that offers the same variety, Target Field concessions are of good quality from the different food I sampled.
What really stood out is how they have Value Stands offering hot dogs, preztels, soda for under $5 and 612 Saturdays where they sell $1 snacks, $2 food and $6 beer. It really makes it affordable for families and friends to go to the ballpark and again goes with how fan-friendly this ballpark is.
As well, within a few blocks of the ballpark are many breweries, bars and restaurants to give you different food options. Walking to the ballpark I saw many of these places pretty crowded before the game.
Watching the game, they upgraded the video screen and LED boards prior to the 2023 season and they really make good use of all these boards. All the pitching and batting information is shown (pitch type, break, exit velocity, distance a ball was hit on contact, etc) as well as a constant out-of-town scoreboard. Basically all the information stat geeks like myself are looking for all the time while watching the game.
The in-game entertainment had things like celebrity look-a-like, a mascot-like race, the hat shuffle and prize contests involving fans. It wasn’t consistently every half inning (other innings they just played music) so wasn’t always keeping the fans engaged but when they did, fans seemed to get into them.
Overall I liked Target Field and would definitely recommend checking it out. It has a nice look and feel to it, it’s fan-friendly, has good views from the seats and it’s set up so you can be into the game or be there for more of a social outing. Being in downtown also allows you to check out other notable things in Minneapolis (like the Stone Arch Bridge, Guthrie Theater and Mill City Museum) or catch other games at US Bank Stadium or Target Center if the seasons overlap.
Now that the 13 straight games against the Giants and Dodgers have ended, some musings:
As mentioned in my last post, I was expecting 3-3 for the first week. Now that the second week and all 13 games are done, going into this week I was thinking 7-6 would be good (2-2 against the Giants and 2-1 against the Dodgers or some combination of 4-3 this week) so to end up 8-5 after these 13 games is great and I would have signed up for that easily if you told me that two weeks ago before these 13 games started.
Starting pitching held up really well against the Dodgers with Nick Pivetta closing out the series with 6 innings and two runs. What was a red flag last weekend in LA (starting with Michael King going on the IL again and the early inning struggles by Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish against the Dodgers) was a bright spot this weekend and is the cyclical nature of baseball and its long season. What Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes did the first two games of 6 innings of one hit each was impressive, especially when I saw this:
Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes both pitched six innings of one-hit ball vs. the Dodgers. It's the first time opposing starters have pitched six or more innings with one or no hits allowed vs. the Dodgers in back-to-back games at least since the team moved to LA in 1958.
As I also mentioned in the last post, we need to do something about Arraez considering how much better Ryan O’Hearn and Gavin Sheets are playing, especially with both playing all the time the past week while Jackson Merrill was out. This weekend didn’t help matters with Arraez hitting into more double plays (2) than he had hits (1). If he can’t be a bench guy like what’s happened to Elias Diaz and how Freddy Fermin is playing 4-5 times a week (versus before with Diaz and Martin Maldonado where it was more of a 50% split), then at least move him down in the lineup as I mentioned in my last post. He’s killing the lineup between Tatis and Machado right now when we could have a much better hitter like O’Hearn there.
The decision to go to Jeremiah Estrada today in the 7th inning of a tied game with all his struggles against the Dodgers was another move by Mike Shildt that didn’t make sense except for his continued stubbornness on sticking with guys regardless of what’s happened (just like Luis Arraez in the two hole). Estrada gave up a home run last night when it was 3-0 and Kevin Acee wrote before the game today about his major struggles against the Dodgers. So considering these stats, that Estrada had pitched the night before and struggled, not sure why the move wasn’t to go to David Morgan (who hadn’t pitched either of the past two games) and then go to Mason Miller and Robert Suarez who both didn’t pitch last night either. It doesn’t help when Shildt gives the defiant response as shown in the below audio that doesn’t really give any good rationale to why he put Estrada in other than the 7th inning is his lane, which doesn’t make sense considering how he’s mixed and matched the bullpen and when guys appear in games all year.
Mike Shildt discussed his decision to use Jeremiah Estrada in the 7th, being tied atop the NL West this late in the season and another strong outing from Nick Pivetta: pic.twitter.com/mmVYoRXnO0
I do get why Shildt left Estrada in there to face the left hitting Dalton Rushing after two of the first three guys got on base versus going to Adrian Morejon since the Dodgers would have pinch hit with the righty Will Smith against the lefty Morejon. Even though I would have preferred that matchup because of how well Morejon has pitched this year and considering Estrada’s struggles, sticking with Estrada there is understandable. What isn’t, was going to Estrada in the first place.
Now it’s time for the conclusion of the Vedder Cup with the Seattle Mariners. The Marines have played the Padres tough recently (3-1 against the Padres in 2022, 2023, 2024 and swept the Padres in a three game series at Petco earlier this year) so even though the Mariners have struggled recently (3-7), I’m hoping the Padres can play well and win one or two up there in Seattle.
After this weekend’s sweep by the Dodgers, some musings on the Padres’ recent play:
Going into this 13-game stretch against the Giants and Dodgers, I was expecting 3-3 for the first 6 games so they ended where I figured (I was thinking 2-1 versus the Giants and 1-2 versus the Dodgers). Of course, after sweeping the Giants and leading the division by 1 game as the Dodgers got swept by the Angels, expectations were higher to at least win one if not two games against the Dodgers. So a big letdown with how it played out.
When Robert Suarez started warming up to possibly pitch in the bottom of the 8th inning today, I actually thought that Mike Shildt was starting to turn a new leaf and have Mason Miller close but then I realized the 2-3-4 hitters were coming up and he wanted his “best” reliever to face them. Shildt to his credit does have relievers come in different non-standard times (like Jason Adam coming in the 5th or 6th inning when the opposing team’s best hitters are coming up and that could change the game right there) but his insistence on Suarez as the “best” reliever and the closer doesn’t make sense after acquiring Miller. How many other teams do you know have a setup guy who throws harder and has a better “secondary” pitch (Miller considers his slider his best pitch) than their closer? Even though Suarez currently leads MLB with 33 saves, we’ve seen Suarez’s fastball get hit often by power hitters. So of course, Mookie Betts hits a home run today to give the Dodgers the lead right after the Padres had fought back to tie it up and it ends up being the game-winning hit to close out the sweep.
I do get the Padres go as the top of the order goes and the top of order (Tatis, Arraez and Machado) has been struggling for some time now and this series against the Dodgers showed it even more. I like the lineup of alternating righties and lefties so if we’re not going to move Manny or Tatis now, then we have to do something about Arraez who’s not providing value at the 2 hole especially if the other two guys are struggling too.
I like having Tatis first even though his slug has pretty much disappeared, he’s still getting on base at a high clip (since the All Star Break his OBP is .392), has the speed potential on the bases and will drive in the bottom of the lineup more often than other guys. As well, if we’re not going to move Manny down since he was carrying the team before, prefers hitting in the 3 spot and it would cause some friction, then Arraez is the best option to change, especially when you consider:
The Padres have gotten the 26th ranked overall offensive contribution from the 2nd spot in the batting order in the MLB.
Look at the teams at the top, and check to see how many are a top offense or in the playoffs.
And then you have a player newly acquired who was an all star this year, has an OPS of .819, can play 1st (his defensive runs saved is 4 and outs above average is 6 at 1B compared to Arraez’s DRS of 1 and OAA of -6) and whose overall numbers are just better: https://stathead.com/tiny/CLUbp
So it really doesn’t make any sense why O’Hearn isn’t playing every day and instead joins Sheets on the bench as the odd men out when a lefty is the starting pitcher. With the current team, this instead would be a better lineup:
Tatis RF (R)
O’Hearn 1B (L)
Machado 3B (R)
Sheets DH (L)
Laureano LF (R)
Merrill CF (L)
Bogaerts SS (R)
Cronenworth 2B (L)
Fermin C (R) or
Tatis RF (R)
O’Hearn 1B (L)
Machado 3B (R)
Merrill CF (L)
Laureano LF (R)
Arraez DH (L)
Bogaerts SS (R)
Cronenworth 2B (L)
Fermin C (R)
In either lineup, as we seen with Cronenworth being moved down to 8th, moving guys like Bogaerts, Merrill or Arraez lengthens the lineup and takes some of the pressure off of them so they don’t have to be in such high leverage situations so often. Whether or not Shildt actually does this is another thing as it wouldn’t be surprising for him to continue to roll out the same lineup as he’s been doing for most of the season despite the lineup’s struggles.
Continuing on from Washington DC, we followed the Padres on their road trip to catch a game in Miami and loanDepot park (which is named with both words starting with a lower case letter).
loanDepot park is located about 3 miles away from downtown Miami where we stayed and it’s on the way from Miami International Airport into downtown such that I thought it was the Miami Heat’s arena (Kaseya Center) when we were driving into the hotel.
After getting settled at the hotel and buying some tickets online, I received the Gameday email and I thought it was pretty cool how they encourage instruments and flags like you see at soccer matches:
It makes sense considering the large Latin influence in Miami and it would be great to see baseball games have more energy like you see at the World Baseball Classic games, including the ones that have been played at loanDepot Park in the past.
The ballpark itself is in an area that is mostly businesses and residential so there really isn’t much to do there and there isn’t really public transportation to get there so by car is the best option which means you can get stuck in traffic going to and leaving the ballpark.
Once we got to the ballpark, I noticed that the home run sculpture had been moved in front of one of the entrance gates:
The sculpture does look a little worn being in the sun all day now so I’m surprised they actually kept it versus just removing it completely.
As you walk around the ballpark, you notice the concourse area is a standard size (not small or super large) but having so many stands on both sides of the concourse along with the ropes for their lines make the concourse even smaller:
Right now, overcrowding on the concourse doesn’t seem to be an issue since the crowds aren’t large (the game I went to on Monday night only had a paid attendance of 11,128) but I do wonder if you feel like packed sardines when there’s a packed house like the World Baseball Classic.
As well, some of the food stands they set up now block some of the standing room only (SRO) areas as you can see here where they put stands right in front of the SRO rails:
So it does take away some of the standing room only areas but there are still some areas left and the field is still visible as you walk around the ballpark on the Promenade Level. And unlike other ballparks, there aren’t any suites on this main concourse level so you can pretty much see the field the whole except for the parts where food stands are partially blocking your view.
As you walk around the ballpark (and I went up the third base line going clockwise around the ballpark), the outfield area is more narrow since you’re right up against the glass panels that give the ballpark some outside light when the roof is closed.
Right when you get to the outfield coming from the left field foul pole, around section 28/29, they have The Lineup Food Hall section with some different food stands and there’s a patio area you can walk out to and get a great view of the downtown Miami skyline which I really like.
As you walk around the outfield towards the right field foul pole, you do see their well-known bobblehead museum as well as a small kids area:
In terms of food, they offer a variety of different options besides the standard ballpark fare including locally inspired food but they don’t have actual local restaurants. It seems to be all their concessionaire’s own creations but with a local flavor, similar to what ballparks first started when branching out to more than peanuts, nachos and hot dogs. So while the food is decent, it doesn’t have the high quality being many unique great testing local foods as you see at other ballparks.
For the in-game entertainment, the Rooster Race is their equivalent of the Brewers’ Sausage Race or the Nationals’ President Race where they have four people in different rooster costumes racing on the dirt track around the ballpark.
They also do try to do things in between the innings like the Simba Cam and other skits to keep fans engaged but it seemed to end pretty early, fading into music before the next half inning started. Maybe it was because of the small crowd too but the energy of the in-game entertainment was lacking a bit.
Overall views from the seat are good and what you expect from the modern ballparks with good sightlines from the respective sections. There weren’t any sections where I felt too far/high.
The one interesting spot was in right field around section 137 as there’s a standing room area with a drink rail and high top tables but the SRO area is angled so you’re facing centerfield instead of home plate. I found this odd, as though this area was left as a gap so they just made it SRO:
So overall, loanDepot Park feels very modern but like other ballparks (Chase Field and now Daikin Park in Houston come to mine), when the roof is closed, it does feel more have that warehouse feel to it with the roof so high and it being enclosed.
Also with the lack of people there, the location being by itself and not much to do in area, it’s hard to put this ballpark that high on the list. The thing is if you’re looking for a way to catch a game for cheap and be able to move around pretty easily in the ballpark (both navigating the park and moving around in your seats), then that’s one thing you can do here. Talking to some locals, they like going here when it’s a good matchup, like if the Yankees or Dodgers are in town or the Marlins are playing Pittburgh and Paul Skenes is pitching.
It’s been over 15 years since I last went to Washington DC so figured now was a good time to go to the U.S. capital and see Nationals Park as I try to see all 30 ballparks.
Nationals Park is located in the Navy Yard neighborhood of DC, right next to the Anacostia River. It’s an area that has been redeveloped with Nationals Park playing a big part in it. There are many condos and apartments in the areas along with restaurants and bars.
I actually think because of all the development in the area, the ballpark was built so that the Center Field Gate is the corridor out to the neighborhood and vice versa into the ballpark.
This gate has a really wide open concourse once you enter the ballpark:
And when you exit out the ballpark it’s wide open to exit out to the restaurants and bars:
This is also notable since as you walk around the ballpark on the outside, it looks like indescript office buildings. From far away, you might not even notice that it’s a ballpark if you were walking around going south on 1st St SE until you saw the Right Field Gate, First Base Gate or Home Plate Gate.
Which also leads to another thing that stuck out to me, which where the parking garages behind both left and right field that are part of the ballpark’s skyline. The garages are noticeable for those like me who look at the backdrop in the outfield of a ballpark (and why PNC Park in Pittsburgh is so highly rated). The Nationals have tried covering them up with banners and Garage C in right field is partially blocked by the big scoreboard but you can see the garages:
And whether on purpose or that’s how it came to be, the buildings in the skyline aren’t that tall so the parking garages block some of the view into the ballpark. We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Washington DC Navy Yard across the street (it’s right across from the aforementioned Center Field Gate) that has a rooftop bar and Garage C with its solar panels blocks a good portion of the ballpark view:
With the Anacostia River being blocked by the right field seats, which is the only section in the outfield with a second level, along with the parking garages and buildings that aren’t that tall, the skyline doesn’t have that great of a view when compared to other ballparks and could have been so much better.
Once in the ballpark, the wide open concourse in center field does narrow to a typical concourse size once you get to the foul pole on either first base or third base side and start going towards home plate. The concourse doesn’t feel tight or anything but when its crowded (such as after the game when everyone’s leaving), it does take awhile to maneuver through them, similar to the problems you see at Petco Park.
It’s like other ballparks where you can see the field walking around the ballpark and on Level 1, pretty much every section has standing room only with the drink rail to stand and watch the game. The only exception, like other ballparks, is when you get behind home plate, as in this case the view is blocked both by the PNC Diamond Club and the Washington Suites.
However, because the sections behind home plate are primarily for either the Terra Club (which is their premium underground club for the lower seats right behind home plate) or the PNC Diamond Club (which are the premium seats in the sections right behind the Terra Club seats, see this map where only the back parts of 119, 120 and 126 are non-premium seats to see what I mean), it’s not as big of a deal to have to walk around to access your seats behind home plate since most of these seats are premium seating with access to these clubs. In other ballparks where they have regular seating in front of the home plate suites, you end up having to walk around several sections to access your seat.
I do like the displays they’ve done around the ballpark since being a newer franchise, you can’t just rely on all historical milestones like other ballparks, so mixing it with some history and fun is a good way to give some character:
In general when you walk around the ballpark, the view is good to see game action. I didn’t really feel any seats had a bad view and the views from each area would be what I would expect from them i.e. being in the top level has that elevated view but it didn’t feel like you were super far away.
Like Petco Park, the third base side is the shade side for day games so those who like to sit on the home side (first base) where the 100 sections are will be in the sun pretty much the whole time except for the last couple of rows.
In terms of food, they have been adding more local food options spread throughout the ballpark along with some national chains (Shake Shack and Rita’s Italian Ice & Custard) and the standard ballpark fare. I found the ballpark to have a good variety of different options and among the better food options of the ballparks that are spread out to give you a reason to go around the ballpark.
What I found interesting is they replaced the big scoreboard screen with a higher clarity screen before the 2024 season but they didn’t make it bigger.
It’s a decent size but considering how much the screen plays a part in the in-game entertainment, I’m surprised they didn’t make it larger and take up the whole area in right field (replacing the permanent ads) even if they wanted the screen to have constant ads (similar to what the Giants did where they replaced the entire area and have ads on the side of the video screen when not showing replays or hype the crowd up videos)
They have in-game entertainment during each half-inning break and most involved fan interactions, such as karaoke battle, putting challenge and seat upgrades. Of course you can’t forget the Presidents Race, doing a good amount of in-game entertainment to keep the fans engaged. I bring this up because there are some ballparks where they don’t have as much in-game entertainment and spend many innings just playing background music.
Overall Nationals Park is a solid ballpark that I would put in the middle tier. It doesn’t stand out in one area to make it super great like the top tier ballparks but at the same time doesn’t do anything bad either, making it firmly in that middle range. The standard ticket prices are pretty expensive but if you can find a deal on SeatGeek or StubHub, it’s a solid place to have a good time watching a ballgame.
With the All Star Break now and the unofficial “first” half over (since really they play more than 81 games by the time they get to the All Star Break), some musings on the current state of the Padres:
With Robert Suarez and Adrian Morejon being added as All Stars to replace other players who aren’t playing, the Padres became the first team to have three relievers make the All Star team in the same season. Pretty impressive and glad that MLB continues to value relievers not just based on saves. Adam and Morejon actually deserve it more based on their advanced pitching stats as shown below though I get that people still see saves as the “sexy” stat. Suarez does have three more saves than any other pitcher (28 saves to Carlos Estevez of KC and Josh Hader of Houston with 25 each) and seven more than the next NL pitcher (Trevor Megill with Milwaukee):
Still need a better hitting catcher and a right-handed batter who can play DH or LF. It’s becoming glaringly obvious how weak the bottom of the lineup is and getting this will really lengthen the lineup. There just isn’t much available on the trade market and I’m hoping AJ doesn’t go too crazy and trade one of our top picks. At some point we need to start replenishing the farm starting with the 2025 MLB Draft these past two days.
Nice way to end the first half with a 6-4 homestand. Going into the homestand, I was hoping for 6-4 and thought 5-5 was more realistic. Figured the Padres would win 2 out of 3 versus Texas, split 2-2 with Arizona and then win 1 out of 3 against Philadelphia considering Arizona and Philly have played the Padres tough the past few years regardless of how they were playing (Arizona had lost 8 out of 11 going into the series with the Padres and Philly lost 2 out of 3 to the Giants).
Once we got to the last series against Philly and how they had their three best pitchers lined up, I was thinking even 1 out of 3 was going to be tough. So nice way to finish winning 2 out of 3 and really could have won the last game as you can’t really ask for more from your pitching when you only give up two runs including a run in the 1st inning due to two errors and then having multiple scoring opportunities including Luis Campusano grounding into a double play with runners on 1st and 2nd.
Hopefully, the Padres can start the second half with some momentum. Would be crazy to ask them to repeat their second half last year (43-20) but if they can be something like 36-30 to end up with 88 wins, I can see that being enough to get into the playoffs where it becomes a crapshoot.
