John Seidler
What do you say to a fan base that set an attendance record for the second consecutive season? Who sold out 72 of 81 home games and brought energy Monday through Sunday? When your team disappoints, not achieving the ultimate prize and being eliminated earlier in the playoffs than ever before?
Controlling owner and Chairman John Seidler sent a letter to the Padres fan base on Monday. He thanked the Friar Faithful for their unwavering support and their passion. Here is the letter in full:
October 6, 2025
Dear Faithful Padres Fans,
Thank you for your unwavering and passionate support for the Padres in 2025. Because of you, we set a new all-time franchise attendance record and had the best home field advantage in MLB. You are the engine that powers the Padres and our players. On behalf of the entire Padres organization, we greatly appreciate you. You are the best fans in baseball, and we are grateful for your faithful support.
While we have made the postseason in four of the last six years and had two consecutive 90-win regular seasons for the first time in franchise history, we fell short of our goal to win a World Series Championship. Our elimination in the Wild Card round was a disappointment and exposed areas where we must improve.
As we look ahead to 2026, our goal remains the same, but we need to get better to accomplish that goal. The process of getting better will begin immediately as we perform a thorough review of our organization with an eye towards improving and winning our first World Series Championship.
Thank you again for supporting the Padres and I look forward to seeing you at Petco Park in 2026.
Sincerely,
John Seidler
Chairman
What should we expect?
The overall message seems to be that the Chairman is not satisfied. That is reassuring for those not sure if Mr. Seidler would continue the same path toward the goal his brother, Peter, set for the organization. The late Peter Seidler frequently and passionately voiced his desire for a championship for San Diego. As the controlling partner of the group that owns the Padres, Peter Seidler left no doubt as to how far he would go to reach that goal.
The organization invested heavily in expensive contracts to bring high quality players to the team. He repeatedly approved stretching the payroll, even past the point of sustainability. Given that Peter passed before he could achieve his goal, it’s not surprising that the fans are no longer sure of what the organization intends to do going forward.
It does not appear that John Seidler is as engaged with the fan base as his brother was. We haven’t heard from him since he was introduced after assuming control of the team during Spring Training. But the second paragraph of his letter to the fans could carry encouraging language. If all he did was express joy at making the postseason again and thanked the fans for their support, we should be concerned. Happiness with making the playoffs in four of the past six years would reflect being satisfied with merely competing.
That is not the sentiment I get from this statement. He finishes that paragraph by stating the obvious to all fans, who have paid attention this season. This team had some serious shortcomings, despite it having many of the same players as the better-performing team of 2024. There was only a three-win difference between the final totals, but it sure didn’t feel that way. The lack of situational hitting and slug led to prolonged offensive slumps. They also had a hard time winning on the road, away from Petco Park.
If asked, I would tell Mr. Seidler that the Petco Park offensive approach worked pretty well in Petco Park. Their record at home was 52-29. They did not carry that over to the road. Their approach away from home achieved a record of 38-43.
One of those improvements needs to be a different offensive approach. The Padres had the third worst home run total in baseball with 152. The lack of slug really showed when they were playing from behind. Using small ball to score runs works well when the other team doesn’t score a lot of runs. When you have to make up ground or need to get ahead to support a shaky pitcher, the long ball with runners on base gives the pitcher a buffer and lets the whole team play looser. The Padres bunted more than anyone else in baseball, playing for one run.
In the third paragraph of his message to the fans, Mr. Seidler stated the goal is the same as before, a World Championship. He also acknowledges the team must get better to achieve that goal. His process to accomplish that begins with an organizational-wide assessment of where that improvement needs to take place.
I will note that there have been reactions all over Friar Nation to this letter. While listening to the Padres flagship station (97.3 FM), while they and their listeners reacted, it seems many expected a firing of President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller and/or manager Mike Shildt. Although that is often the direction that things go when people are upset, I am going to guess that is not what happens here.
The Padres have two seasons in a row of 90 wins or more. Preller shocked baseball with what was widely considered to be one of the most impressive trade deadlines ever. They have a system and a leadership base in place and changing that would almost definitely close the Padres’ window of contention, while the organization shifted gears.
To me, the obvious answer is to change the offensive philosophy, while working toward adding another bat capable of slugging the baseball. This could mean the end of the Padres tenure for Luis Arraez. As much as the Friar Faithful enjoys his passion and energy, Arraez is a singles hitter. He works hard, cares a lot and seems to be a great teammate, but he is too one-dimensional.
This team needs to get back to situational hitting, getting runners on and getting them in. Their approach with runners in scoring position was abysmal. As a team, they hit .252 with runners in scoring position with the fourth worst slug in that situation. Not surprisingly, the Toronto Blue Jays rank near the top in both categories.
Anyone who watched the team this season knows what needs to be fixed. We all hope that the controlling partner and his front office can figure out how to fix it.
