The San Diego Padres have potential. They just have yet to live up to it. A team with many stars and talent has yet to win a World Series.
In 2025, the Padres took on the Chicago Cubs for the NL Wild Card in a best-of-three series. The Cubs won Game 1 and the Padres took Game 2. For Game 3, the Padres hardly showed up. They trailed the entire game, and then in the ninth inning, the Cubs' bullpen slipped up a little, giving San Diego one last chance to tie the game and keep their season alive.
Jackson Merrill smashed a home run to put the Padres on the board for the first time. They still trailed 3-1. Up next was Xander Bogaerts, and as you may recall, Bogaerts was called out on strikes on a ball that was a few inches below the bottom of the strike zone. The call was wrong, but until next season, nobody has ever been able to do anything about it. After the loss, Bogaerts said he can't wait for the ABS Challenge to come into effect.
That ball would have been ball four, and it would have put Bogaerts on first base. Ryan O'Hearn was hit by a pitch the following at-bat, and then Bryce Johnson reached base after also being hit by a pitch. If Bogaerts walked, the Padres would have had bases loaded with zero out. We don't know what would have happened, but the game outcome could have been different, and the Padres' season could still be alive.
Jake Cronenworth and Freddy Fermin could not score a run, and the season was over. Minutes after the game ended, Bogaerts and Jose Iglesias were shown yelling at the umpire who blew the call on Bogaerts' at-bat.
Iglesias was suspended for one future game, and then Bogaerts was fined for the actions.
It will be a long offseason for the Padres. Changes must be made.
