The Padres are back, and so is my sanity
By Kirk Kern
This year has a big challenge for a lot of people, me included.
When everything shut down in March, so did my job as chief executive officer of a media company that owned six rural Nevada newspapers.
As a guy in my mid-50s whose main work experience has been in a form of media that has been dwindling for the last decade or so, job prospects aren’t all that great.
But as October rolls around, there’s at least one bright spot. My San Diego Padres are in the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Major League Baseball got off to a late start as owners and the player’s union argued over the length of schedule, compensation and a few other issues.
In mid-June, it didn’t look like they would come together.
The commissioner then just laid down the law. He had the authority to schedule a 60-game schedule, so he did. Eventually, they came together on extended playoffs and a couple of rules changes such as the universal designated hitter.
Honestly, I wasn’t that excited. Not because of the drama between league and players, but just because of the funk of not being able to live a regular life and the worries about my future job prospects.
But I’ve been a Padres fan since I moved to San Diego in 1983 to go to college. In 1984, their World Series year, I got a job selling souvenirs in the crowd at the facility then called Jack Murphy Stadium. I was there when Steve Garvey hit the walk-off home run that helped the Padres get to Game Five of the playoffs against the Cubs.
I was there when Leon Durham misplayed the grounder that tied the score and sparked a Padre rally to victory to go to the World Series.
My biggest memory of that series, however, was Game Three, the first in San Diego after the Padres had dropped the first two in Chicago. During the introduction of players, Garry Templeton took a step forward when they called his name, took off his hat and started waving it around. The sell-out crowd went crazy. At that point, I knew the Padres would come back.
But enough about history. This year, I figured the Padres would be pretty good and the short season would help cover up some possible issues that could have come up over 162 games.
In years past, I would watch almost all 162 games, good team or bad. This year, I wasn’t convinced they would even be able to get through 60 games because of the COVID-19, but I figured I didn’t have much else to do, so why not at least watch until I couldn’t anymore.
I was probably more excited about the Padres sweet new brown pinstripe uniforms than the thought of them being a great team. The team was a little uneven at first, a few good games, followed by a couple of bad ones. Approaching the midway point of the season, they were a .500 team and riding a five-game losing streak.
Then they played the Texas teams.
The Padres swept the Rangers in a close four-game series and followed with three-straight wins over the Astros. They became “Slam Diego” by hitting grand slams in four straight games and five of six. They were regularly mentioned on MLB Network, ESPN and other national media. They made a bunch of big trades at the deadline to improve their roster.
For me, they became must-see TV.
Now they’re in the playoffs and the team has provided a big-time diversion to the danger of coronavirus. The Padres start their playoff run on Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. They have the third best record in all of baseball.
Hopefully, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Will Myers and Eric Hosmer will get hot and their pitching studs are healthy. If they get by the Cardinals (something they’ve never done in the playoffs), they will most likely get the Dodgers. We’ll see what happens.
Baseball has helped me get my mind right. It has me excited. My son has been a Padre fan since he discovered baseball and is talking about driving to Texas if they make it that far in the playoffs. Even my career prospects are on the upswing.
Now, if only the Vikings didn’t suck.