The Fightin' Padres

The "never say die" spirit of the 2022 San Diego Padres is a real treat for fans, but where is it coming from?

Over the weekend, since I had the opportunity to do so, I did a post game podcast on the Padres Hot Tub podcast feed. I only did one, and it happened to be after the San Diego Padres lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in extra innings.

One of the guys who dialed in via our Discord server said, after the loss, “I don’t feel mad about this one but I’m not sure why.”

It got my mind racing, because he was right. I know I’m not alone in my Padres fandom as being someone who tends to overreact to losses. Especially the last few years. And there was plenty of reasons to be mad about that one:

• Eric Hosmer’s boneheaded defense probably lost the team the game

• The Padres outfield was clearly outplayed by the Pirates outfield

• The Padres bullpen was already showing signs of leakage in April

So, why wasn’t I mad? Why wasn’t the caller? I thought about it for a while and came back with something that’s silly but feels real, so I’m going to write about it like it is. I might even look for a stat to back me up. But before we get there, let me tell you what my answer was:

This Padres team fights. They fight when they’re down late. They fight after taking gut punches on the road. They fight after their manager is ejected. When the cards are down, they seem to get a fiery spirit and a determination that they’re going to win the game anyway. It is something that, in my opinion, has been lacking in this team for the better part of a decade (with the two-month season of 2020 being a possible exception to this).