LUNCHEON REPORTS

Luncheon meetings are summarized below (starting with most recent month). Feel free to scroll down the page to view or select one of the following months to jump directly to the article you would like to read.

January 2010 Dave Marcus & Shaun O'Neill
April 2010 Oscar Salazar & Randy Jones
May 2010 Nick Popaditch & John Ensch
June 2010 Tony Gwynn, Jr. & Doug Harvey
July 2010 Jerry Coleman & Ted Leitner
Jeff Moorad

 

JANUARY 2010

A RETURN ENGAGEMENT

by Rickie Sevadjiann; Photos by Rick Zambori

Joining us for a return engagement at our January meeting was Dave Marcus, the producer in the radio booth for Padres games, literally the “brains behind the broadcast.”  Dave brought along a special person to our meeting, his fiancée Tammy.  “Last year when she came with me, we had just started dating.  She thought the Madres were a most prestigious, influential group.  My invitation to speak to you must have put me over the top in her mind, because now we’re engaged.” 

Dave is the person who waves the star outside the booth when Jerry Coleman calls for it with his “You can hang a star on that one!”  His close association with Coleman gives him the opportunity to observe his unique behaviors, some of which Dave shared with us.  “Jerry’s key to long life is lots of sleep.  He sleeps across America, anywhere there’s a couch, in the clubhouse, in Bud Black’s office, in all ballparks and in all positions.  Jerry gets the line-up before the game, sits down in the booth and makes a few notes, takes his hat off, and puts his head down for his pregame nap, pencil still in his hand.  Pretty soon there’s a pencil line across the scorebook.”  Dave recalled a game when the San Diego Chicken was there, and he wondered if he should invite the Chicken to the booth for an on-air interview.  “Do you want the Chicken?” Dave asked.  “No thanks,” replied Jerry, “I just ate.”

Dave also works closely with Ted Leitner.  “I’ve been listening to him since I was a kid in L.A.”  To earn his respect, Dave says he has to do his job right.  “Twenty-five years later, I’ve almost earned it!”   

That kid in L.A. grew up wanting to be a baseball player.  Lacking the talent for that, he decided he would become an announcer.  As a journalism major at San Diego State, he did indeed go into radio broadcasting in 1991, but he found that “it’s a tough job, trying to fill in all the blank air spots and tell stories, and my emotions got in the way.”  Once he remarked, “That umpire should see a gynecologist!  Oops, I mean an ophthalmologist!”  And when Kirk Gibson hit his walk-off home run in the ’88 World Series to win Game 1 for the Dodgers, then Dave’s team, “I was excited,” he explained.  “I said a bad word.”  That’s when he went off the air and into the production department. joining the Padres sixteen years ago.

In addition to producing the Padres radio games, Dave began his “Pearls of Wisdom” segment during the “BP Show” in 2006, and it has become a fan favorite.

What “Pearl” does he have for us as we head into the new season?  “Keep the faith!  Someday soon the Padres will be back in the World Series!”

MAGAZINE MAN
By Phyllis Shinnick; Photos by Rick Zambori

Our January meeting guest Shaun O’Neill joined the Padres organization two years ago as editor of The Padres Magazine, which was sold at the games.  He sees himself as a “behind the scenes” person, working with photography and stories to bring out the history of the team and the backgrounds of the players.     Shaun grew up in Rancho Peňasquitos and attended Mt. Carmel High School.  He began working as a newspaper sportswriter in 1992 for the Times Advocate, now the North County Times.  After covering the Padres for them, he spent a few years in newspaper management before joining the Padres as publications manager in 2008.  Once an observer, he is now part of the team.

He took one year off to work with the Daily Racing Form but missed being with the team.  He feels that the Padres have a unique tie to the community, and he wanted to be part of that.  He still likes the ponies at Del Mar, though, and greyhound racing is big in the Phoenix area during Spring Training!

In 1992, just out of SDSU, Shaun was at Spring Training in Yuma for his first assignment with the team.  He was new on the job and frankly scared in the small locker room.  Tony Gwynn came up to him and said, “You look like you have a question.”  Shaun felt that was a real “human” moment.  Tony was his easiest interview.  “Tony always told you something you didn’t know.  He always provided input.”  Bruce Hurst, a pitcher in the early 90s, was also a good interview.  He was very analytical; he liked to break down his performances.  The most difficult was Brian Boehringer. “Nice guy, but he simply didn’t want to talk to the media.”

Shaun offered a little insight on Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel.  They see this ownership as a great challenge; they want a lot and are very demanding.  They know San Diego is different from their previous area, Phoenix.  On the business side they are seeking fan input and reaching out to the community with Padres.com and the Open House.  They plan to offer give-away bobbleheads and team jerseys, to lower the price of beer at the ballpark, to bring back the Padres Yearbook, and to distribute The Padres Magazine FREE at the games!

As editor, Shaun says the magazine will be 64 pages in playbook format and will be geared towards what is happening in the ballpark during each home stand, including rosters, bios, player features, opponents, a military feature, a history feature, and concessions, as well as information about the next Petco Park home stand.

Shaun was asked about the future of newspapers. He said he hopes they have a future.  He noted that society in general needs them – “We need watchguards and we need more information.”

He said he appreciates the support of the Madres.  “When you’re talking about fans – it’s right here.”

 


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APRIL 2010

A WELL-TRAVELED PLAYER
by Kris Hardesty

our player guest for April was Oscar Salazar.  He came to the Padres in July 2009, in a trade for Cla Meredith, from the Baltimore Orioles.  Oscar plays both infield and outfield.  Last year for the Padres he played in 55 games at four positions - left field, right field, first base, and second base, making starts at each.  At age 31 he has already played for 23 different professional teams in nine countries, including eight different Major League organizations.  He also spent the 2005 season in Mexico and the 2006 season in Italy - not to mention every off-season playing winter ball in his native Venezuela.  He has been playing baseball since he was three and started his pro career at 16 when he was signed by the Oakland A’s as an amateur free agent.

   Taking questions from our group, Oscar was asked who plays tricks in the dugout.  “Me!”  He told us that one of his favorite players while growing up was Roberto Alomar.  Asked what he thinks of Petco Park, he answered, “It’s beautiful for the pitchers, not so good for hitters.”  But he did add that he really likes San Diego.  Asked if he has any superstitions he said yes, but he would not tell us what they are.  When asked who the team clown is, he paused, thinking about it, and as he was thinking someone shouted out, “Heath!”  Oscar immediately agreed.  He then added, “Yorvit . . . and me!”  Since he plays so many positions he was asked which one he likes to play the most.  His answer:  ”Hitting.”  He was asked if he joins in with the others on the team playing golf or basketball.  “No golf, no basketball, just baseball.” 

   During his visit he was wearing a Padres jersey, and when he was finished taking questions, the jersey was put up for auction.  Sue O’Donnell was the lucky winning bidder and got to take the jersey right off his back! 

He told us the team gets along very well.  It’s a young team and all of them are working hard to win.  Based on what we saw on the field during this home stand, it appears that work is paying off.

 

CRAFTY on the MOUND, the GRILL, and the RADIO
by Kris Hardesty

Randy Jones, also known as the “Crafty Lefty,” was our media guest for April.  He was drafted by the Padres in 1972 and was pitching with the Big League club by June of 1973.  After a forgettable 1974, he earned Sporting News’  Comeback Player of the Year in 1975.  In 1976 he won the Cy Young Award, posting a 22-14 record, starting 40 games, pitching a complete game 25 times, working a total of 315.1 innings.  Randy is known for his fast-paced games, once pitching a complete game with only 68 pitches in one hour and 29 minutes.  He pitched for the Padres through the 1980 season.  He was traded to the Mets and played for them in ’81 and ’82. He retired in 1983. He is a charter member of the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame and the first Padre to have his number, 35, retired. 

Randy is busy these days with barbecue and radio.  He can be found at Petco Park keeping an eye on his Randy Jones Baseball Barbecue.  You can actually catch him at the grill every now and then!  He can be heard on the “Padres BP Show” on XX 1090 along with Darren Smith.  He also hosts a national internet radio baseball show every Tuesday, 1 to 2 p.m., at SignOn-wsRadio.com. 

Randy is not the type you have to ask questions to get him to talk!  He has stories to tell and loves to tell them.  He shared one about a time he was pitching, when the batter kept stepping out of the box, and umpire George Foster was tired of it, so he signaled to Randy to throw a pitch, and Randy did.  The umpire called a strike, although the batter wasn’t even in the box.  In talking about salaries today, Randy compared his $25,000 raise when he won the Cy Young to the $52 million Jake Peavy got when he won it.  He told us that Jake once asked him how he pitched 25 complete games, and he answered, “If you saw our bullpen you’d complete them too!”  Asked if he is going to write a book like so many others, he said, “No way!  I’d throw somebody under the bus!  I’m not going there.”  When he was asked if he has any arm problems, he said he did have his shoulder scoped, but that was because it affected his golf game.

He talked about this year’s team, saying that they are young and going through failures.  They will learn and get better.  They need to adjust, adapt, and work hard. 

Thanks for the visit, Randy!  See you around the Bar-B-Q!


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May 2010

 

 

A Hero Among Heroes

by Rickie Sevadjian

 

 

 

The Madres were honored to welcome to our May “Salute to the Military”

retired U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch. His remarkable book Once a Marine is an inspirational memoir of a desert war tank commander’s combat, courage, and recovery.

 

Originally from Hammond, Indiana, Nick enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1986 and served three tours of duty in the Middle East. He saw action in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and the 2004 Battle of Fallujah, where he was gravely wounded while commanding his M1A1 tank nicknamed the Bonecrusher. For his actions in battle, Nick received the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. He lives now in Chula Vista with his wife and two sons.

 

“Gunny” Nick recounted for us some of his most memorable wartime experiences, such as the liberation of Baghdad in April 2003, when his battalion surrounded the famous statue of Saddam Hussein, met their allies with a handshake, and toppled the statue. “I never knew a day in my life when I was not free – except in boot camp!” he said, and helping the people of Iraq to gain their freedom made him proud to be an American. “But knocking down a statue doesn’t free a nation. The newly freed standing in the street that day, they’re gonna need to be the Paul Revere’s and the Patrick Henry’s of their new country.”

 

Popaditch doesn’t consider himself a hero; instead he tells the story of Corporal Ortiz, a young Marine he met in a hospital. "This kid was with his injured buddy when a grenade came in. Ortiz could get out of there, but his friend couldn't — so Ortiz covered his buddy with his own body, hoping their body armor would take up most of the blast. He used his arms to shield his friend's face, and at the last second, this other Marine, shot and bleeding, wrenched his arm free to cover Ortiz's face, too. They took a beating, but they kept each other alive. They are heroes to me."

 

It was in the Battle of Fallujah that his tank was attacked and Nick was grievously wounded by a rocket-propelled grenade to the head. "We'd been in constant contact with the enemy for 36 hours. When I got hit, I saw a flash of light and then everything went black.” Popaditch groped his way around the inside of his tank until he located his driver, Corporal Chambers. "That guy, man, he was injured too, and he'd already climbed right up into the turret to take my place, to take command of the tank, to help save my life when that tank was under fire. That was comforting to me.”

 

Of the medics and his military doctors, he said, “I don’t have a vocabulary big enough to describe their actions that saved my life,” and of the many individuals who served alongside him, “It was a privilege and an honor to serve with these guys. God bless America!”

 

The Madres know it was a privilege and an honor to meet this American hero.

 

 

Military Marketing Man

by Kris Hardesty

Captain John “Jack” Ensch, affectionately known as Captain Jack to Padres fans, was our guest at the May brunch. Captain Jack is a real American hero!

 

Jack graduated from Illinois State University and received his Masters Degree from USC. He was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy in 1965. During his distinguished Naval career Jack accumulated over 3,000 flight hours and made 800 aircraft carrier landings. Among the many medals he received are the Naval Cross, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. One of his most significant is the Prisoner of War Medal awarded to Jack after he was shot down over North Vietnam in 1972 and imprisoned in Hanoi until he was returned with the last of the repatriated officers in March 1973.

 

After recuperating from his imprisonment, Jack went on to complete 20 additional years of an illustrious Naval career. His final position was Commander of the Naval Training Center, San Diego.

 

It was as he was preparing to retire, in 1995, that he was approached by the new owners of the Padres, John Moores and Larry Lucchino. He admits that when they approached him to be Director of Military Marketing, he had no idea what marketing was. He told us that to him marketing was when his wife sent him to the store for milk. When he came to the Padres and started this department it was very small. It has grown over the years. There are many programs the average fan knows about, such as the military discounts on tickets and the visits by the Marine recruits at Sunday games, but there are others that most have never heard about. One is giving tickets to ships’ crews who return from deployments in excess of six months. Another is working with the county veterans service to identify all local veterans and distribute ID cards that will allow them to get the military discount for life.  

 

The Padres have the only military marketing department in all of professional sports. What is a baseball team doing with a military marketing department? Jack’s answer: “Look where we’re located!” One in five jobs in the county is connected to the military. He admits it does mean money for the club, but doing it is the right thing to do. He told us he recently spoke with people from the front office of the Washington Nationals, who, it appears, are going to start a similar department for their club. One very poignant story he relayed to us to show how much this all means to him is this: At a recent game he started talking with a young wounded Marine being honored on the field. He asked the Marine if this was the first game he had been to. The young man said no, he had been a member of a Marine recruit graduating class that had attended a Sunday Padres game just one year prior.

 

With the help of Captain Jack, the Padres are now known as the Team of the Military. The Madres want to thank him for his work with the Padres and for his service to our country.


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June 2010

 

 

Tony: Making a Name for Himself!
by Kris Hardesty

Our player guest for June goes by many names: Little T, Tony, Tony, Jr., Anthony, or Anthony Gwynn, Jr. Whichever you use, he will answer. For this story I will simply call him Tony. It was our pleasure to have him as our guest, as we have enjoyed having his father, Tony, Sr., as our guest in years past. Many of our members can still remember Tony when he was just a boy, following his dad around the ballpark back at the Q. We watched him growing up, going on to SDSU, and eventually being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers. Several Madres were there in 2007 when he got “that hit” off Trevor Hoffman that cost us clinching a playoff spot. He brought it up at our meeting, he took the BOOs, then he apologized for it. “That hit cost us getting into the playoffs,” he stated, using us now that he is a Padre.

Tony made his Major League debut on July 15, 2006, getting his first hit on July 19, exactly 24 years to the day of his father’s first Major League hit - and both were doubles. He came to the Padres via a trade in May 2009. His father, Tony, Sr., was the one who got to break the news to him. Needless to say, his mom and dad were just ecstatic that Tony was coming home to play for the Padres.

Tony was asked what advice he would give to a boy whose dad is a Major League player. His answer: listen to your dad. He still talks to his dad on almost a daily basis; sometimes it’s not even about baseball. Another question asked if he had heard the chant the night before our brunch. During the game when he was up to bat, the crowd had started chanting, “Tony, Tony,” as they had years ago for his dad. He did hear it. He said it gave him goose bumps and made him think back to the Q when it would be his dad at bat. Asked how he was holding up to the pressure of being “Tony Gwynn. Jr.,” he told us he’s been Tony Gwynn, Jr., for so long now that, although the pressure is still there, he deals with it. “It’s like putting on your pants. You just do it.” In regard to playing positions other than outfielder, he said he did play infield in high school for a short time, but he quickly realized he wanted more distance between him and the ball coming off of the bat. Of the three outfield positions he prefers center field.

Asked if would like to go up against Steven Strasburg, he told us a story of the very first time he saw Strasburg. After the 2007 season, he decided to get in some early work on his hitting, so he asked his dad if he could work out with the SDSU team. During an at-bat Strasburg was the pitcher. Tony knew nothing about him. He said he just stood there as three fast balls flew by him. Of course Dad knew what was going on and was sitting in the dugout laughing. So, Tony said, he would like a chance to face him again, in a real game. His feeling is, when you have a pitcher like that, you look forward to the challenge.

Another question was which player he feels he has learned the most from on the current team. That’s David Eckstein. Eck has shown him how to be a professional at work. He was asked how the team, being so young, keeps grounded. He answered that they are 25 people pursuing the same thing, working together toward the goal: winning. There is very good chemistry in the clubhouse, and everyone gets along.

Tony is married; he and his wife Alyse have two daughters, Makayla and Jordan. Tony announced that they have another child on the way. He told us they are a blessing. The girls keep him grounded. When he gets home af-ter a game, they don’t know anything about baseball; they just want to play with Daddy.

Did he ever dream he would be our guest as his dad was? He does remember attending when his dad was our guest, but no, he never dreamed one day he would do the same.

We thank him for being our guest and hope we see him for many years to come, patrolling center field, making those spectacular catches, and adding to the Gwynn legacy here with the Padres.

All-Star Umpire
by Rickie Sevadjian

 

 

The year 2010 will be memorable for our June guest, retired National League umpire Doug Harvey, as he celebrates this “triple”: his 80th birthday and his 50th wedding anniversary and his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

A frequent guest at Madres’ brunches, he is known to many of us by his reputation for excellence at his job and by the respect that players held for him. In his 30-year MLB career he umpired 4,670 games, including five World Series and six All-Star games.

Interestingly, one of his fellow inductees in this year’s HOF class, manager Whitey Herzog, is the person in all of baseball that Harvey sent packing the most times. “Somebody had to be the one I ejected the most,” he explained unapologetically. (Author’s note: Further research turned up a quote by Herzog, "I just hope he doesn't kick me out of Cooperstown.")

Who was the first manager he ever ejected from a game? Joe Torre! And who was the last? Joe Torre! A manager considers it his responsibility to challenge the umpire’s strikes and balls on behalf of his players, explained Harvey. Are managers too argumentative? “No,” said Harvey. “They’re out there fighting for their lives. They have a right to be confrontational.” And Torre always called Harvey “very consistent,” the highest compliment a home plate umpire can receive. Behind the plate, said Harvey, “I always strove for perfection, knowing I could never achieve it. But you come out on me at first base, and I’ll eject you every time before you even reach the base!”

What else gets a player or manager thrown out? “Cursin’! My sister’s sitting in the first row, and she’s a nun,” he joked. Actually, he tolerated certain language as long as no one said “YOU!” along with the bad stuff. “Come out and get personal, then you’re dead!”

Players are ejected too easily nowadays, he thinks. “Maybe umps are less tolerant because they’re hired too young,” he muses. “Umpires in the olden days were more brotherly. I always kept control of myself and the game. That’s the thing about Doug Harvey.”

What else has changed? “The strike zone! What the (heck) is that? Remember, what counts is where the ball crosses the front of the plate, NOT where it crosses the batter. When he stands at the back of the box, the ball can fall as much as eight inches. That’s not baseball to me. Pitchers deserve as much right to play the game as hitters.”

He’s not a fan of instant replay. “How many jobs do you know where the boss can hammer and hammer and hammer at you” if you make a mistake? Besides, “I’m better than any replay you’ll ever have!”

Other thoughts on his career were these: “Baseball’s the greatest game in the world,” and “I loved every minute I walked on the field.”

Baseball is not his only love. There are his two sons. And joining Doug as our guest at the brunch was his wife Joy, a charter member of the Madres and one of its organizers 38 years ago. Referring to her affectionately as “Mrs. Harvey,” he said, “She’s my pal! I’ve loved every minute of being married to her for fifty years.”

Doug Harvey’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame will be on Sunday, July 25.

 

 

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July 2010

 

Jerry and Ted? Oh, My!

by Rickie Sevadjian

 

How about Jerry Coleman and Ted Leitner’s appearance at our July brunch? As Dick Enberg would say, “Oh, my!” The comments, jokes, and banter flew non-stop! To begin, Stevie Vigeveno announced that Jerry has been named an Honorary Madre and presented him with his own Madres name tag. “It’s a magnet, not a pin,” said Stevie, “so you won’t have to stick it into your shirt.” Uh-oh! Jerry has a pacemaker and can’t use a magnet, so Stevie promised to get him a replacement pin. That started the banter between our two broadcasters.

Ted, to Stevie: Huh! So you made him an Honorary Madre and then you took it back! Anyway, why didn’t I get anything? Did he die?

 

But then Ted went on to praise Jerry’s achievements in the military, on the baseball field, and in the broadcast booth.

 

Jerry: Would you shut up? You’d think I won World War II and Korea single-handedly!

 

Ted: Jerry always tears himself down, but he has a body of work that I couldn’t touch. 

 

Ted, on his own unlikely career as a broadcaster: When I had to speak at age 13, even in the classroom, I was catatonic. I would cut school rather than speak. I would rather be in the coffin than give the eulogy.

 

But then as he matured he realized that he had a gift and a passion for broadcast reporting. His calls are accurate, his comments reflective, but what about the stories he tells?  When in doubt, lie! Make it up! Never let facts get in the way of a good story.

 

Jerry, on his broadcasting future: My time is short. I’ll be 86 next month. Another year or so . . .

 

On the 2010 Padres . . .

 

Jerry: I don’t know what to say about this team! They were 37-23 to end last year, and now they’re actually better than that.

 

Pitchers win. Our pitchers have the best pitching record in all of Major League Baseball, and we have the best bullpen.

 

This is not an overwhelming team, but the sum of its parts . . . it’s the damnedest team! They’re smart in their approach. If they go on to the playoffs, it will be the biggest achievement in Padres history, based on what they have.

 

Buddy Black is the most intelligent manager, intellectually superior. He should be named Manager of the Year.

 

Ted: It’s an amazing year. Our players are smart, they have book smarts, brains, and baseball IQ.

 

Jerry: Dumb never wins! 

 

Ted, quoting some favorite baseball lines . . .

Jerry Coleman: He slides into base with a stand-up double!

 

Yogi Berra, when he ordered a pizza and was asked if he wanted it cut into six pieces or eight: Make it six. I don’t think I can eat eight.

 

Casey Stengel: There comes a time in every man’s life, and I’ve had a lot of them.

John Kruk: Lady, I ain’t no athlete. I’m a ballplayer.

 

Tallulah Bankhead: There have been only two geniuses in the world, Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare.

 

More comments and stories . . .

 

Ted, on the size of Bruce Bochy’s batting helmet: It was so big, Tony Gwynn used it to hold ice and cans of beer.

 

Ted, on umpires: I don’t know where they get their attitude. Once they were non-confrontational. Now they’ll rip off their mask and curse out a player. They’re not Supreme Court justices, not appointed for life. They need evaluating.

 

Jerry, on the best players he ever saw: Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays.

 

Jerry, on playing through pain: You have to play, even when you’re dying!

 

Once Ted, father of five sons, was celebrating the birth of his daughter. Jerry commented on raising a girl: Wait! You’re a dead man!  You wait!

 

Ted, moaning: Oh, he was right. When she was eight, I told her, “No sex and no dating until I’m DEAD!”

 

Ted, spokesman for the Medi-Fast diet: I’m sucking my gut in so much that this speech has to end soon!

 

And thus it did, but only after several caustic remarks from both of them about coaches and players betting on baseball, using drugs, lying to Congress.

 

And finally, from Ted:  HOW ‘BOUT THOSE PADRES??!!

Jeff Moorad: Write It Right!

by Kris Hardesty

Jeff Moorad, vice-president and CEO of the Padres, was our guest at our July brunch. Jeff brought a vast amount of experience with him when he and his group reached an agreement to purchase the Padres in February 2009. He founded Moorad Sports Management in 1983, specializing in athletic representation. In August 2004 he joined the Arizona Diamondbacks. While with Arizona, Jeff was a general partner, CEO, the spokesman for the D-backs' ownership group, and oversaw, along with Ken Kendrick, the day-to-day operations of the franchise. Additionally he was a baseball technical consultant for two motion pictures, For Love of the Game and Jerry Maguire, and had an appearance in both movies.

Right off, Jeff admitted that he did not know there were men in our organization. He then told us about a trade, bringing Ryan Ludwick from St. Louis, that had been completed just prior to his arriving at our brunch.

He began his presentation by telling us his theory of how to run a ball club. He feels that good leadership is hiring the right people to do a job, and letting them do it. You don’t make change for change sake, on either the player or the executive side. He talked about when he started at Arizona; the team was declining, on the field and in attendance. Upon arriving here in San Diego, he saw the same thing happening. Working from their experience in Arizona, he and Tom Garfinkel went to work to stem the decline right away. He pointed out three things he will always stress: (1) put a competitive team on the field, (2) the fan experience should always be family friendly, and (3) the organization should be involved in the community, should be a good corporate citizen.

Jeff is from Modesto. He was a Giants fan growing up, not so much these days, though! His favorite player was Willie Mays.

He then answered questions from the group. One was, how is Chris Young doing? He told us Chris has started throwing again. He could be back in August, it could be September, and it could be next year. They really don’t know. He was asked if he would be open to giving Trevor Hoffman a one-day contract when he is ready to retire, so he could retire as a Padre. He was not sure how that would work, but said he would like to have Trevor working in the Padres organization once he does retire. What about getting an All-Star game at Petco Park? He is one- for-one so far, getting a game for Arizona. He is going to do everything he can to secure one here. It means politics, and he’ll play them to get the game. Asked if there will be any changes to the team colors, he said the only one that might happen would be a return to the “road gray” uniforms instead of the sand. When asked if we would be changing the game times back to those of last year, he said no, we will be staying with the hours as they are this year. Will we start seeing our good upcoming players stay? To be honest, he said, he doesn’t see that happening. With our small-market club it can’t. When a player becomes a free agent and can get the kind of money the market is paying, the Padres just can’t pay up when they are trying to run the club as a break-even business. The question came up about the Padres’ AAA team having to move from Portland. He likes the idea of having the AAA club in North County. Aside from the savings in travel expense and time, it would allow fans to see the club’s young players, get to know them, and then follow them to the big club downtown. For now it looks like the AAA team will play in Lake Elsinore, along with the A team, for the 2011 season, although nothing has been finalized yet.

When asked what he thought of all the pre-season predictions that the Padres would finish in last place, he said he just wants them to write it right when the season is over!

We too are looking forward to the story of this season, ending in the playoffs…and beyond?!! We thank Jeff for his visit and hope to see him around the ballpark!