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The San Diego Padres entered the All-Star break one game above .500, seven games back of first place in the NL West, and sat outside the MLB playoff picture. Fast forward to today, a day after the Padres clinched a playoff berth and kept their hopes of a miracle division title alive, you may ask yourself; how did San Diego get here?
Well, it wasn’t letting the days go by that led the Padres to a return to October baseball. It was, however, a group of talented individuals who finally found their sense of direction back after a disastrous 2023 season.
Much of a baseball game depends on dozens of individual matchups, but being able to click and play together as a team is what separates the good teams from the great ones. Players stripping away individual mindsets to form a collective bond around a goal makes baseball more enjoyable.
The Padres have that and it's a major reason they've won 41 of their last 58 games.
“Both sides of the ball understand what we’re going to do: We’re going to do whatever it takes to win,” Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove said, per The Athletic. “If that means giving up an at-bat late in the game or not getting the quality start because the reliever coming in behind you is the better option, then so be it. We’ll do whatever we got to do to win games.”
“We’ve played like this all year,” infielder Jake Cronenworth said.
On paper the Padres arguably have the best roster in baseball, so it's not surprising to the players themselves that they got here. Still, it's remarkable to see where San Diego is now compared to two months ago.
Padres bringing good vibes back to the postseason
The Padres have some of the same core that led them to the 2022 NLCS. That group has added and subtracted over the past two years. It's led to San Diego potentially finishing with the second-best record in franchise history.
Who's first on that list? The 1998 Padres, aka the last San Diego team to win a pennant.
The Padres had plenty of new faces come into the fold this year which could make for a clubhouse of crowded personalities. The new players have fit in well and embraced the team aspect and next man up mentality San Diego tried to instill from Opening Day.
“It’s a good ballclub, man,” third baseman Manny Machado said. “We enjoy playing every single day. It’s been a long season — ups and downs. And coming to the ballpark has been fun every single day. We were down some key guys on our team, and guys stepped up big time. You know, Peralta, Solano, our pitching staff, our bullpen. Estrada. I mean, it’s taken a whole effort as a whole organization to be where we’re at today.”
The Padres hope all of the downs of this season are kept in the first half. A .707 winning percentage over the course of 58 games is unbelievable. The Padres have bigger goals in mind with a playoff berth locked up. MLB might not be ready for what's about to come.
