Image credit: IMAGE IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It will come to an end. Until now it has not been said.
People have often noted how silly it is that coaches wear uniforms, but now we’re four decades separated from MLB’s last player-manager. And the corporations, which have their own sport of freedom to dress their horses in clothing, smear the name of their city on pullovers and memorabilia as if it were something civil to them, some indissoluble bond between the horses and the place, which, once the stage is ripe enough to drink, is conveniently broken. they suggest the permanence not only of the place but of the structure: Not only do corporations rarely die, but they do not go into the means of rebuilding. The corporation is one of the great paradoxes of modern times: an inhumane entity made of men, built to last forever and managing one quarter of the budget.
The San Diego Padres, the inertia of Peter Seidler’s enthusiasm and the insane talent of AJ Preller, are often praised as running against the capital’s venture-backed, rent-seeking behavior of so many other teams. In large part, because unlike so many others, they really want to. At the same time, one could easily describe it as the ultimate theater of bubbles, always expanding, never consolidating, failing miserably. Both can be true. After all you must live to die.
Aside from these great looking topics, the 2026 San Diego Padres had a pretty good year. There were good teams that finished with a good record, winning a few playoff games in front of their home crowd and putting the ballclub on a 103-win streak. It took some time to get out – they had to win the last two games to get to the All-Star Break – among the most famous fights about their biggest stars, as well as the laborious patching of what were in the third year of the post-Peter Seidler era, and more and more forced fund system. But what just made the team’s MLB-best 43-23 average all the sweeter: Fernando Tatis Jr. He’s adjusting his swing, Jackson Merrill has revealed his rookie greatness, and Ty Gallia has enjoyed a career year at the plate and in the field. Nick Pivetta got healthy during the season, and Joe Musgrove also made a successful cameo appearance.
The Padres faced off, like 97% of baseball teams do, and faced it later than most. They will be a good team, and it is easy to feel good about them. As long as you don’t look down.
***