PEORIA, Ariz. − The pain has subsided. The bitter memories have faded.
Yet, none of it will ever be forgotten.
The San Diego Padres will tell you they should have won the World Series last season. They should have been the ones with the parade and a ring ceremony. They had the Los Angeles Dodgers on the ropes. They were just one victory from knocking off the mighty Dodgers to advance to the National League Championship Series.
The Padres were up 2 games to 1 in the best-of-five NL Division series, with Game 4 in front of their frenzied fans at Petco Park. Then, their offense abruptly disappeared. The Padres, who scored 21 runs in the first 20 innings of the series, were shut out the final 24 innings.
Just like that, it was over.
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“I can tell you it was rough,’’ Padres manager Mike Shildt softly said, “real rough. It left a really bad taste and a real emptiness because there was so much invested. That feeling will never go away.
“We can win the next two or three World Series, and it’ll still be there. But I’m glad it’s there for me, and I’m glad it’s there for our group.
“We were right there. We had them. I don’t want to dwell on it to the point where it overtakes me or us, but there’s an edge that’s there now and a hungriness for us to compete.’’
The Dodgers, who had lost eight of 13 regular-season games to the Padres, echo the same sentiments, believing all along that the Padres would be the biggest threat to their World Series title. They were proven correct, bludgeoning the New York Mets in the NLCS and cruising past the Yankees in the World Series for the title.
“That series against the Padres,’’ Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech said, “was the most intense series ever. They were so good. If we had lost to them, I’m convinced they would have been the ones to win the World Series.’’
No doubt, the real World Series last season was that NL Division Series, one that the Dodgers continue to celebrate, and one that will forever haunt the Padres.
“I hate losing, I really do,’’ Padres All-Star third baseman Manny Machado tells USA TODAY Sports. “We had them. We had them. But we came up short. When you lose to the champions, it stings. You see them win it all, it’s like, “Damn, it could have been us right?’
“You soak it in, and after that, you got to flip the switch. You got no choice. But that’s the beauty of baseball. The stuff gets harder every year. That’s why I love this game so much, it keeps you hungry.’’
Said Xander Bogaerts, who is switching back from second base to shortstop. “I mean, it stinks. We had a really good chance. A great chance. I thought we were a better team. We just didn’t win.’’
The Padres are confident they can be right back and meet the Dodgers again in the postseason, but there’s also a cruel reality check. The Dodgers went out and spent $450 million during the winter and will have baseball’s highest payroll at $390 million. The Padres’ free-wheeling spending days came to a halt while trying to keep their projected $207 million payroll below the luxury tax threshold, spending just $8.5 million on free-agent contracts for the 2025 season. They didn’t make a serious attempt to keep key free agents in Jurickson Profar, Tanner Scott, Ha-Seong Kim, Kyle Higashioka and Donovan Solano. They were crushed when 23-year-old Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki picked the Dodgers over them, despite Yu Darvish and former Japanese star Hideo Nomo making convincing arguments for San Diego in their meeting.
There was even fear they would have to trade starters Dylan Cease or Michael King or three-time batting champion Luis Arraez. Instead, they not only remain in a Padres’ uniform, but they signed veteran Nick Pivetta to a back-loaded four-year, $55 million contract. It gave the Padres a huge boost of confidence that they can return to the postseason, giving them at least one more shot before Cease, King and Arraez walk away as free agents after the season, with $845 million still remaining on the contracts for Machado, Fernando Tatis and Xander Bogaerts..
“I think it’s really an exciting time to be a Padre, and I’m just grateful to help them continue what they’ve been doing here,’’ said Pivetta, who spent the last four full seasons with the Boston Red Sox. “There’s a lot of hunger in the clubhouse. I watched their series against the Dodgers. It’s fun to see these two organizations go toe-to-toe with each other.’’
It’s the Southern California version of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, but perhaps in a tougher division.
“Our division now is by far the best division in baseball,’’ Machado said. “Hands down. We’ve got four teams who could make the playoffs.
“The Dodgers are [bleeping] good, man. But we’re excited to take them down. There’s nothing better than having a championship team in your division that you can knock off.’’
The Padres realize they have to take a back seat to the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup. They don’t have nine potential starters and five closers on their pitching staff. They’re not projected to win 103 games, or even come close to winning 93 again.
“But no one was picking us to do what we did last year either,’’ Bogaerts said. “We were one of the best two teams in baseball at the end of the season.’’
Besides, when the Padres gathered last spring, they didn’t really know what they had either. They traded All-Star Juan Soto. They didn’t know who was closing. They didn’t know who was rounding out their rotation. They didn’t know how Jackson Merrill would fare in the outfield or Bogaerts at second base. And they had a new manager in Shildt.
Yet, there they were, nearly winning the NL West, and scaring the daylights out of the Dodgers.
“Last year, it almost seemed like we needed to find our identity,’’ King said. “You just traded away one of the best players in baseball [Soto]. [Yu] Darvish and Joe [Musgrove] and I were the building blocks in the starting rotation, and I’m a question mark because I’ve had only nine starts. There were question marks around the whole team.
“But then we started to mesh as a team, we had an awesome trade deadline [acquiring relievers Scott and Jason Adams], and could have beaten the Dodgers. So, the confidence you get from that translates into this year.
“Obviously, we’ve got unfinished business but it’s a lot more fun coming into a locker room because you’re competing on a really good team instead of just seeing if we’re going to be a really good team.’’
The Padres still have question marks at the back end of their rotation, bullpen depth and lineup. It remains unknown whether Cease or King will still be with them on opening day. Ultra-aggressive GM A.J. Preller continues to listen to trade offers on Cease and King in ways to shed payroll while still remaining competitive.
But there is a strong belief that the Padres will back right back playing in October.
“It’s not necessarily the confidence in what we’re going to do,’’ Machado said, “but the confidence we have in each other. We just know each other so well. We just got to go out there and compete and be on the same page. When you’re not on the same page, you have individuals that do things differently, and it steers you in the wrong direction.’’
The Padres certainly went through that that in 2023, having the most talent and biggest stars in baseball, but fell completely flat and missed the playoffs. They parted company with manager Bob Melvin who left for San Francisco and traded Soto to the Yankees. One year later, they won 93 games, lost the NL West by only five games to the Dodgers, and gave them everything they could handle.
Now, here they are with basically the same nucleus, hoping that the $2 million platoon of Conner Joe and Jason Heyward can replace Profar in left field, and a GM with an itchy trigger finger to pull off something big.
“A.J. is ready man,’’ Machado said. “A.J. will do whatever to help us win now. He’s always done it ever since I got here. You know he’s going to make some moves.
“We’re in a good spot, man, and we’re going to go for this thing. You’ll see.’’
Besides, there were more uncertainties a year ago than now at this time. The Padres had no idea that rookie Jackson Merrill, who had never played center field before in his career, would become a star. Cease was still employed by the Chicago White Sox until the end of spring. Arraez was playing for the Miami Marlins until May. Closer Robert Suarez had only one career save. And Machado, recovering from elbow surgery, was limited to DH duties.
So why not believe again?
The Padres believe that last year’s postseason experience will be beneficial. They know what to expect now. They know the urgency of each moment. And they know the pain of how quickly it can end.
“Listen, we competed, we didn’t back down from anybody, and the moment wasn’t too big for anybody,’’ Shildt said. “We’re at a place now where’s some firm footing, a clear identity, and a real togetherness. We have more confidence with real confidence.
“We’ve got unfinished business, and we’re hungry to have that opportunity again.
“Really, we can’t wait.’’
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