A recent story published by The San Diego Union-Tribune shined light on just how dysfunctional the San Diego Padres are and how bad their team culture has gotten.
After all, the failures of the Yankees and Mets have somewhat overshadowed just how big of a disaster the 2023 Padres have been.
In the story, questions were raised about the Padres lack of leadership amid their dismal season – and how the organization’s poor culture added to their problems.
“According to several veterans, what also does not exist is a team with a ‘winning culture’ that doesn’t include the best players being the hardest workers and those players demonstrating in word and deed to the rest of the team what is expected and tolerated,” Kevin Acee wrote.
While the Padres had shown promise by reaching the NLCS in 2022, their fortunes took a drastic turn this season despite their offseason spending spree to improve the team.
A lot of the heat and criticism is pointed at Padres slugger Manny Machado who has never been known to have a great work-ethic. He himself once admitted that he will never be “Charlie Hustle” on the baseball field.
Machado, who has been a key figure in San Diego’s lineup, responded to Acee’s article during a media session on Monday, saying: “Honestly, nothing to talk about the story. I don’t think there’s any good or bad publicity to keep doing on this story. Everyone is always going to have their own opinion.”
“At the end of the day, we go out there and play to the best of our capabilities. I think at the end of the day that’s what it is. A lot of quotes of that story were left out and everyone always has their own narrative that they’re trying to persuade … The real point of this is we didn’t play good baseball. I didn’t play good baseball.”
"I think the real point of this is we didn't play good baseball, I didn't play good baseball, we let a lot of people down in this city."
– a piece of Manny Machado's reaction to UT article #padres pic.twitter.com/8ucxMJ4ZrV— Allison Edmonds (@aedmondstv) September 18, 2023
Machado acknowledged the disappointment the team’s performance has caused in the city, saying: “We let a lot of people down in this city. But there’s still 12 games left to make up to it.”
The Padres had entered the 2023 season with high expectations after making significant offseason acquisitions, positioning themselves as World Series contenders. However, the season’s downturn has sparked severe doubts about the team’s core and future.
What do you make of Acee’s story?
All things considered, who has had the most disappointing season – the Yankees, Mets or Padres?