Manager Search: San Diego Padres Edition
The 2020 season came with many surprises, one of which being that the normal 162 game schedule was condensed to 60 games. Another surprise that happened in MLB was the emergence of the San Diego Padres with Rookie Manager Jayce Tingler behind the bench. San Diego finished 2nd in the NL West after being VERY active during the 2020 trade deadline along with a NL Wildcard Series Victory over St. Louis. However, after a 3-0 sweep in the NLDS against the Dodgers & an underwhelming 2021 season, the San Diego Padres are once again in search of a new Manager after 2 seasons with Jayce Tingler at the helm in the dugout.
So Who are The Notable Managerial Candidates??
Mike Schildt
(Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
After taking over as the Cardinals Manager once former Manager Mike Matheny was fired, Mike Schildt was able to keep St. Louis afloat in 2018 with an 88-74 record that resulted in a 3rd place finish in the NL Central. From 2019-2021, the Cardinals never finished below the Top 2 in the Central with Schildt fully in charge behind the bench. In 2019, the Cardinals finished 1st in the division with a postseason run that ended in an NLCS defeat vs the eventual World Series Champion Nationals.
2020 has been well documented as a surprising and somewhat forgetful year for baseball, but nonetheless the Cardinals once again made the postseason under Schildt, finishing with a 30-28 regular season record & disappointing elimination at the hands of the Padres. The 2021 season saw the Cardinals start off the year slow with tons of injuries that played a huge part in their internal struggles. However, following the 2021 July Trade Deadline & some miniscule moves, the Cardinals went on an EVENTFUL 17 game win streak that propelled them into the postseason.
The magic would eventually run out & it came at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers and an NL Wildcard walkoff to send St. Louis home. A little over a week after being eliminated in the Wildcard Game, the spark that St. Louis found was not enough to save Mike Schildt as he was fired due to “Philosophical Differences” with the front office.
Is Schildt Suited for San Diego??
In my opinion, Yes. Whatever “Philosophical Differences” led to Schildt’s departure in St. Louis, it is incredibly hard to argue against him being the most sought after Managerial candidate this offseason. Schildt was seemingly thrown into the fire after Matheny was let go, but his resume in such a short time speaks for itself, after taking over for Mike Matheny & his success with St. Louis who also came after Tony La Russa’s success prior to retirement.
Ron Washington
(Photo by Adam Hagy/Getty Images)
Ron Washington served as the Manager of the Texas Rangers from 2007-2014. Washington’s last year with Texas was capped off with a mid-season resignation as the Manager after seeing a massive drop in the AL West standings. Washington’s tenure as Texas Manager was definitely one to be remember as it featured back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010 & 2011. Only 3 times (07, 08, & 14) did Texas have a below .500 Win % under the veteran skipper. Along with Texas’ Win % staying above .500 throughout Washington’s time, the Rangers only finished out of the Top 3 in the AL West during his 1st year & half of his last year with the team.
With such an impressive resume as the Texas Manager, Washington served on the A’s coaching staff & has most notably been with the Braves since 2017. Washington was given the chance to manage again with Atlanta but was beat out by then interim manager Brian Snitker but was hired as the team’s 3rd base coach. Since then, Ron’s time in Atlanta has been a fun one for both sides with many people within the organization giving credit to Washington as one of the reasons for the development of the team’s young players.
Is Washington Suited for San Diego??
It’s worth noting that back in 2020, before the hiring of Jayce Tingler, Ron Washington was seen as a finalist for the Padres manager job after being interviewed. Knowing what we know now, the Padres might want to correct their mistake of choosing Tingler over Washington and give him the job this time around. So yes, Ron Washington would in fact be a good Managerial candidate for the Padres and would give fans something to look forward to as he knows how to simply win.
Bruce Bochy
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
When you think of the San Francisco Giants, what is the 1st thing that comes to mind?? To many, Barry Bonds will pop up. To some, Mays & McCovey pops up but Bruce Bochy?? It is hard to forget Bochy amidst the legendary players, managers & moments that are connected to the Giants. For baseball fans, as recently as 7 seasons ago, the San Francisco Giants were once again on top of the world, winning their 3rd World Series in 6 years.
Bruce Bochy managed the Giants for 13 seasons before retiring with a legendary resume as the teams manager in 2019. Through those 12 years, the Giants only made the postseason 4 times, with 3 of those 4 apparances adding to San Francisco’s dynasty in the 2010’s era. In baseball, World Series championships are the ultimate goal but throughout his tenure, the Giants placed out of the Top 3 in the NL West only 4 times .
Coincidentally, prior to being hired as the Giants Manager in 2007, Bruce Bochy served as the Padres Manager from 1995-2006. Bochy’s time with San Diego did not feature as much success that he had in San Francisco but would mark the last time that the Padres would make the postseason (2006) before 2020. Bochy’s Padres placed within the Top 3 of the NL West 6 out of the 11 seasons that he spent with the team to pair with 4 postseason appearances as mentioned before.
Is Bochy Suited for San Diego??
Bruce Bochy would be the most ideal hiring for San Diego’s Managerial Vacancy being that Bochy is the most experienced & winningest candidate among the options listed. Shortly after retiring in 2019, rumors swirled about Bochy’s desire to manage again in the future. Well 2 years later, the Padres are once again in need of a new manager and it seems fitting that Bochy could be the one to finally lead San Diego towards a deep postseason run and a World Series appearance.
Who Gets Hired??
(Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)
As ideal as it may seem to hire Bruce Bochy, I think the Padres will end up/SHOULD hire Ron Washington as their next manager. Given that Bochy has been out of the league since the end of the 2019 regular season, Washington’s contributions to Atlanta’s success will play a part in him getting the job. As mentioned before, Washington interviewed for San Diego’s job a few years back and was seen as a finalist. Though Washington & Bochy both have very impressive resumes, the Padres have a lot of young talent i.e. Fernando Tatis Jr. & Jake Cronenworth. If the reports from around the league & inside the Atlanta organization is true that Washington is one of the important pieces towards players like Albies & Acuna developing into stars is true, then the Padres can most certainly benefit from his leadership. Not to mention, by hiring Washington, you also make the Braves worse in a certain aspect given that you took a major part of that clubhouse away from them.
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