From 2016 to 2024, San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller hired four managers.
Andy Green was the rebuild manager, never intended to be the guy. Then Preller hired his friend from the Texas Rangers, Jayce Tingler. They had their first successful season in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. From the start of 2021, it was clear that Tingler was in over his head and he reportedly lost the clubhouse before the end of the year.
Then there was Bob Melvin and a playoff season in 2022
but there were lots of rumblings about disagreements between Melvin and Preller. After the debacle of the 2023 season, Melvin quit to take a job with the San Francisco Giants.
Mike Shildt had been a special advisor to Preller during Melvin’s tenure as manager. He was a logical choice to succeed Melvin due to his knowledge of the organization and an already established relationship with players and team members. He also had a winning record as a manager but a clouded situation regarding his exit from the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
After two seasons of 90 or more wins each year, Shildt walked away from managing, citing the strain on his mental and physical health. After his departure, word came out about clashes with Preller and his coaching staff regarding his management style and his verbally abusive behavior.
A surprising choice to lead the way
After a lengthy process with multiple interviewees coming through San Diego, former Padre Craig Stammen was announced as the manager for 2026 season.
It’s not a stretch to say there were many surprised, and sometimes outraged, reactions. A good portion of fans and media thought future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols had the job in the bag. At the press conference introducing the new on-field leader, Preller revealed he had to talk Stammen into taking the job. He had originally been part of the interviewing process, not an interviewee.
Needless to say, hiring a first-time manager who had never coached before caused a flurry of anxiety-ridden outbursts from all over the city. The Padres had been to the postseason for two years running. They had two seasons of 90 or more wins along with those two playoff runs. They needed someone who had the experience to take them over the finish line, not start over from scratch.
Preller was betting on an unproven former player that he respected so much he hired him to join the organization as soon as he retired from baseball. Giving him a special assistant role and placing Stammen in the front office, Preller said he always believed that managing was in Stammen’s future, but the Ohio resident and family man didn’t seem to be on board.
It appeared that Preller valued Stammen’s character traits and personality above any coaching experience. He was known as a leader in the clubhouse and the bullpen when he pitched for the team. Preller was gambling that those same leadership qualities would carry him through his rookie season if he had enough support around him.
Stammen is as steady as they come. We saw it when he pitched for the Padres. As a middle reliever, he famously started the “Stammen Game” for the 2020 playoffs and his teammates valued him for that and his quiet leadership.
What went wrong with the other guys
Andy Green being named as the manager for the New York Mets after serving as their interim manager this season highlights the prove-it nature of managing jobs in MLB.
When he was hired in San Diego, Green was the development guy, brought in to guide as Preller built. He would not be given the opportunity to manage a better team and was let go after the 2019 season.
Tingler was definitely Preller’s choice, but the match wasn’t good. The players didn’t respond to his style, and he seemed overwhelmed at many points during the season.
The two experienced and proven managers that Preller hired after that were both very set in their ways. Old-school baseball guys resistant to analytics and to the front office team’s involvement in the clubhouse. Neither Melvin nor Shildt could adapt to what was asked of them.
Preller is unique
A.J. Preller thinks and works outside the box. Like him or not, he is unique in baseball for the way he does his job. There has been a lot of criticism of his approach and his non-traditional way of building a baseball team.
Whether or not you agree with his choices, the Padres are more successful under his guidance and late owner Peter Seidler’s vision than at any other time in Padres history. Much of the credit goes to Seidler for the influx of money into the team. For better or worse, the Padres have a core of players tied to the team for many years, and that is due to Seidler and Preller.
If you stick with Preller, then you stick with his approach.
What makes Stammen different
Stammen is done with his first regular season as the Padres manager. He has led the team to 90 or more wins for their third season in a row. They are going to the postseason for the fifth time in seven years.
His rookie season was not without its ups and downs, but he remained constant. His only showing of temper was with umpires.
Mistakes were made, absolutely. Strategy and bullpen management are never mastered and are always second-guessed. No manager does it right if you ask the fans.
An article written by Kevin Aceeand published in the San Diego Union-Tribune on Sept. 22 outlined the meeting that occurred between Preller, Stammen, Josh Stein (Preller’s vice president), and Ruben Niebla.
In that conversation, the group developed the “pitching chaos” plan that got the team through the two weeks leading up to the trade deadline. The season was slipping away, and thinking outside the box was a must. They cobbled together a map that would take the pitching staff through the two weeks until trades could be made to acquire more pitching. It probably saved the season.
Stammen is not a traditional baseball guy; he is not a seasoned veteran of dugout strategy or coaching.
He brings his experience as a player, his personality and character, his already established reputation, and the respect he has from those around him.
Probably most importantly, Stammen brings flexibility in thinking. A willingness to go outside the box, try new things, make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes, on the biggest stage possible. His ego is not a hindrance to admitting when he needs to improve. He encourages others to contribute to the whole while guiding the ship with a steady hand.
What the future holds
We don’t know how far this team will go this season. We don’t even know if Stammen intends to stay for another year.
The new ownership has expressed a desire to win it all. If they put their money where their mouth is, the future could be bright for this organization.
The people leading going forward will be Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones. They will decide who the leadership team will be for next season and beyond.
If Preller remains in charge, it seems likely he will want Stammen to remain. It is hard to argue with what this team has accomplished this season.
