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Padres Press Clips Thursday, June 2, 2016 Article Source Author Page Padres loaded with extra picks early in Draft MLB.com Cassavell 2 Padres homer four times to rout Mariners MLB.com Cassavell/Johns 5 Padres need support at the All-Star ballot box MLB.com Cassavell 8 Padres pit Rea against Mariners’ Miley in finale MLB.com Johns 10 Blash paces El Paso; Dickerson’s streak ends Padres.com Center 11 Alexei adds 2-HR, 5-RBI night to power surge MLB.com Cassavell 13 Myers’ near cycle provides needed spark MLB.com Collazo 15 Injured Ross resumes throwing MLB.com Collazo 16 Padres chairman Fowler expects better from team MLB.com Cassavell 18 Fowler’s foul mood justified, appreciated UT San Diego Acee 20 Padres answer as Fowler blasts team UT San Diego Sanders 23 Padres turn tables on Mariners in 14-6 win UT San Diego Kenney 26 Minors: Dickerson’s hit streak comes to end UT San Diego Sanders 29 San Diego Padres exec calls his team ‘miserable failures’ FOX Sports Rosenthal 31 Padres executive calls team ‘embarrasing,’ ‘pathetic’ Associated Press AP 33 Padres’ chariman calls out team, Preller Baseball America Glaser 34 Padres offense surfaces against the Mariners NBC San Diego Rosehart 36 Padres unveil “Barkyard” seating options NBC San Diego Rosehart 37 Padres offense surfaces against the Mariners NBC San Diego Rosehart 38 Tony Gwynn’s last days: Cancer, tobacco and the death Sports Illustrated Lawrence 39 of a legend

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Padres loaded with extra picks early in Draft

By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- In A.J. Preller's eyes, preparation for the Draft is a year-round process, no matter where

his club's selections may fall. When San Diego owned just one of the first 85 selections a year ago, the

Padres' general manager treated the endeavor as a potential franchise-changer.

But even Preller is ready to acknowledge that the stakes are raised this year. Among those first 85

selections in the 2016 Draft -- which begins next Thursday at 4 p.m. PT on MLB Network and MLB.com

-- the Padres have six picks, the most in the Majors. In the span of a year, San Diego went from the

quietest team in the Draft's early stages to its most active.

A 74-88 finish to last season netted the Padres the No. 8 overall pick. Then in November, Justin

Upton and Ian Kennedy declined qualifying offers, adding a pair of compensation picks at the end of the

first round. Throw in a second-rounder and a pick at the top of the second competitive balance round, and

the Friars will make five choices on the Draft's opening night.

"Almost every tier of player is in play," said Preller. "You've got to be prepared for the guys that are high

in the Draft, you've got to be prepared for the guys at the back end of the first round, the guys in the comp

round and second round.

"In other years, you know where you're locked in, and there's players you can eliminate pretty early. You

know they're not going to be a part of your mix. This year, we can't eliminate anybody."

That's what happens when you've got the eighth, 24th, 25th, 48th, 71st and 85th picks. And as a result of

those early selections, scouting director Mark Conner and his staff skewed their trips slightly toward the

players coming off the board early.

It should make for an interesting Draft-day strategy in the Padres' war room. With an abundance of picks

in the first few rounds, they could be more willing to take risks with higher-upside talent.

"It gives us a little bit more flexibility with who we're going to go for," Conner said. "If somebody has a

little bit more floor or ceiling, or is a high-upside type player, we can mix and match a little bit more,

because we have the picks. If we go upside, then we can go conservatively."

Suffice it to say, the Draft hasn't been kind to the Padres over the past dozen years, with Matt Bush (No.

1 overall in 2004) and Donavan Tate (No. 3 overall in 2009) among their high-profile misses.

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In hindsight, it's easy to fill Justin Verlander and Mike Trout into those slots and wonder what could

have been. But the nature of baseball's Draft is such that early-round whiffs occur more frequently than in

any other sport.

Says Conner, "Ultimately, what we do is really hard. We're identifying 17- to 22-year-olds and predicting

what they're going to be when they're 25 and older."

What's been more damaging for San Diego has been the lack of consistent homegrown help from the

Draft. No Padres selection from the past 10 years has put forth more than five wins above replacement for

the club. (Chase Headley and Will Venable -- taken in 2005 -- were the last draftees worth that much to

the organization.)

Most of those selections, of course, occurred under different regimes and different general managers. And

thus, Preller isn't concerning himself with the past.

"We know the significance of it -- when you draft well, usually you look up in a few years and your

franchise is in good shape," Preller said. "There's always importance in the Draft. I don't think that has

anything to do with the past, looking back, good or bad. We don't need to atone for anything."

The 2016 Draft will take place from Thursday through Saturday, beginning with the Draft preview show

on MLB Network and MLB.com on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT. Live Draft coverage from MLB Network's

Studio 42 begins at 4 p.m., with the top 77 picks being streamed on MLB.com and broadcast on MLB

Network. MLB.com's exclusive coverage of Day 2 begins with a live Draft show at 9:30 a.m. on Friday,

with exclusive coverage of Day 3 beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

MLB.com's coverage includes Draft Central, the Top 200 Draft Prospects list and Draft Tracker, a live

interactive application that includes a searchable database of over 1,500 Draft-eligible players. Every

selection will be tweeted live from @MLBDraftTracker, and you can also keep up to date by following

@MLBDraft. And get into the Draft conversation by tagging your tweets with #mlbdraft.

Preller spoke to the importance of giving the Draft year-round attention in terms of scouting. In doing so,

the club can bring much knowledge as possible in the war room on Draft day.

Conner echoed that sentiment, specifically noting how much a 365-day effort can impact the later rounds.

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"Everybody gets focused on the top picks all the time," Conner said. "And a lot of the time, that's where

your money goes, and that's where your focal point of the Draft [is]. We truly look it as a complete Draft,

and we know that in the 13th round or in the 22nd round, we have a chance to change the organization."

That's true every year, but specifically in 2016, when the Padres will get that chance early and often.

"In a year where you don't have [as many] picks, you still add 40 new bodies, and you'll always see the

impact down the road," Preller said. "I think this year, with the extra picks we have, it's just that much

more significant."

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Padres homer four times to rout Mariners By AJ Cassavell and Greg Johns / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- Apparently eager to put a rough road trip behind them, the Padres wasted no

time pouncing on Mariners spot starter James Paxton in their return to Petco Park on

Wednesday night. They put six runs on the board in the first, kicked the extra point in the

second and finished with a 14-6 victory over their Pacific Northwest foes.

Alexei Ramirez led the way with a pair of homers -- his first two as a Padre at Petco Park -- and

a career-high five RBIs. Wil Myers, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, and Adam

Rosales also went deep. The 19 hits for the Padres matched a season high, and the 14 runs

were the most they've scored in a home game this season.

"It was a disappointing [1-7] road trip," said Padres skipper Andy Green. "You get back home,

it's a welcome environment to be back in. I think what it was was a great response to the three

runs we gave up in the first inning."

Robinson Cano took Padres starter Christian Friedrich deep in the top of the first inning,

giving the Mariners that three-run lead before an out was recorded. But Friedrich settled in

nicely after that, tossing five frames while allowing only those three earned runs and another

unearned run in the fourth.

"We had just picked up the bullpen phone," Green said of Friedrich escaping the 37-pitch first

inning. "That's right where we were. He's upper-30s in pitches, but we're trying to give him a lot

more leash than you typically do, considering [the bullpen being used a lot] yesterday. You don't

want to run through the bullpen in the second inning."

Paxton wasn't quite as adept at limiting the damage. Filling in for Felix Hernandez -- who hit the

disabled list Wednesday afternoon -- Paxton allowed eight runs (only three of them earned) on

10 hits in 3 2/3 frames.

"It's disappointing," said Paxton, who was 12-8 with a 3.16 ERA in 30 starts over the previous

three years. "I was just too amped up, too fired up for it. I was just going too fast."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Padres make 'em pay: Following Myers' solo homer, the Padres tacked on five more runs in

the opening frame -- all of them unearned. On a tapper back to the mound, Paxton threw the

ball into center field attempting to get a forceout at second base. Derek Norris would then tie

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the game with a sac fly, and Ramirez gave the Friars the lead with an RBI single, before

Rosales put a capper on the frame with a two-run blast into the left-field seats.

"They scored three right away, and I'm like, 'All right, we've got to answer back,'" Rosales said.

"We did, scoring six runs in one inning. We just took the momentum from there on out."

Cano keeps crankin': The Mariners' second baseman gave Seattle a 3-0 lead in the first with

his 16th homer of the season, a line-drive shot just over the right-field fence that got out in a

hurry -- with a 110-mph exit velocity, per Statcast™. Cano now is one back of the White

Sox's Todd Frazier for the Major League home run lead and tied with the Red Sox's David

Ortiz for the most RBIs, with 48. It took Cano 137 games last year to reach 16 homers. This

year, he's there in 52. But the Mariners weren't able to build on that early start.

"Robbie jumps on a big first-pitch fastball, and we had a chance to get more," said Mariners

skipper Scott Servais of the first inning. "Unfortunately we weren't able to add on. We probably

could have had four or five in that inning.

"I thought we were in a great spot, but the game is driven by starting pitching. That's why we've

gotten to the point we're at. We've been very consistent with guys going out there and giving us

a chance to win games."

Alexei powers up: In five of Ramirez's first eight big league seasons, he recorded at least 15

homers. The Padres' shortstop struggled to find that power stroke early this season and didn't

hit his first dinger with the Padres until Sunday in Arizona. But Ramirez has now gone deep

three times in four days, after he recorded the second two-homer game of his career on

Wednesday night. He also did so as a member of the White Sox on April 12, 2011, against the

A's.

"I'm still learning every day," Ramirez said. "I spent my whole career up until now in the

American League. Now, in the National League, I'm still learning pitchers, still learning

everyone, getting to know them. I think that's a big part of it. Aside from that, it's just seeing the

ball well." New month, same results: Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager was one of the hottest hitters in baseball in May, and he turned the calendar page to June without slowing down, going 4-for-5 and scoring twice. Seager is 45-for-117 (.385) since April 30 with six homers and 24 RBIs, hiking his average from .139 to .287.

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QUOTABLE

"We beat them at our place by almost the same score. They came back today and got mad

maybe. You have to give them credit, the way they swung the bat. Paxton was throwing 98

[mph]. He's tough. Even lefties were able to get hits. We got beat. Nothing else you can do." --

Cano, on the Mariners' loss

"I don't slow down. He's got to speed up." -- Rosales, on nearly passing Ramirez on the bases

during his home run "trot" SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS In his first two at-bats, Myers hit a pair of lasers -- one into the right-center-field seats that was tracked by Statcast™ at 106 mph, and one a single to right that Statcast™ clocked at 100 mph. Entering Wednesday, Myers had recorded two triple-digit exit velocities in the previous 10 days combined. A day after racking up their season high in runs in a 16-4 rout of the Padres in Seattle, the Mariners gave up their most runs in a game this season on Wednesday night. Their previous high allowed was nine, to the Angels in a 9-7 loss on May 14.

WHAT'S NEXT

Mariners: Wade Miley (5-2, 4.95 ERA) closes out the Interleague series at Petco Park in

Thursday's 6:10 p.m. PT start, looking to bounce back from a rough outing against the Twins

when he allowed three homers in four-plus innings in a no-decision. The lefty is 1-6 with a 4.60

ERA in 12 career starts against the Padres.

Padres: Colin Rea (3-2, 4.47 ERA) makes his return to the Padres after a brief stint in the

Minors, and he'll face the Mariners on Thursday in the last of four games between the clubs this

week. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m. PT.

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Padres need support at the All-Star ballot box By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- Despite a solid all-around start to the 2016 campaign, Padres outfielder Melvin Upton

Jr. is not among the National League's leading vote-getters for the All-Star Game, which were unveiled

by Major League Baseball on Wednesday afternoon.

In a release, MLB listed the top five vote-getters at catcher and each infield position and the top 15

outfielders. No Padres were among them.

Upton entered Wednesday batting .255/.319/.408 with six homers -- two of them walk-offs -- and is tied

for third in the NL with 10 stolen bases. Defensively, Upton's seven Defensive Runs Saved are third

among all Major League left fielders.

Meanwhile, third baseman Yangervis Solarte was hurt by a stint on the disabled list that lasted more than

a month. But for the 15 games he's been healthy -- an admittedly small sample size -- he's been the Padres'

best hitter, batting .300/.397/.600 in 58 plate appearances. Over the past week, Solarte is 9-for-25 with

three homers and three doubles.

Should any Padres be voted into the starting lineup for the All-Star Game at Petco Park, they would join

Tony Gwynn, Benito Santiago and Fred McGriff as the only San Diego players to represent their club in a

hometown Midsummer Classic.

Fans can cast their votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on their computers, tablets and

smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday,

June 30, at 8:59 p.m. PT. Vote up to five times in any 24-hour period for a maximum of 35 times.

Fans may also receive the ballot by texting VOTE to 89269 (USA) or 101010 (Canada). Or text VOTA

for a ballot in Spanish. Message and data rates may apply. Up to five messages. No purchase required.

Reply STOP to cancel. Reply HELP for info.

Following the announcement of the 2016 All-Stars, be sure to return to MLB.com and cast your 2016

Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each league's All-Star roster. On

Tuesday, July 12, watch the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, and during the

game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented

by Chevrolet via the 2016 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.

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The 87th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS,

and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN

Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB.com,

MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more

information, please visit allstargame.com.

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Padres pit Rea against Mariners' Miley in finale By Greg Johns / MLB.com

The Padres will recall right-hander Colin Rea from Triple-A to face Mariners southpaw Wade Miley in

Thursday's finale of the Interleague series at Petco Park.

Rea, 25, was 3-2 with a 4.47 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) before being sent down to help control his

innings in his first season as a full-time starter for the Padres. He pitched one inning for El Paso and now

returns to face a Mariners club that is contending for the American League West lead with the Rangers.

Rea didn't want to be sent to Triple-A, but he said he understood the club's reasoning. He has never

thrown more than 139 innings in his professional career and was already over 50 when he was sent down

May 20.

"It definitely means that they're looking out for you," Rea said. "They're looking out for your future and

they care about you, so that's a good thing."

Miley is 5-2 with a 4.95 ERA for the Mariners, but is coming off a rough no-decision against the Twins

on Tuesday, when he gave up five runs on six hits, including three home runs, in four-plus innings.

Things to know about this game

• Miley, who spent his first four seasons in the Majors in the National League West with the D-backs, is

1-6 with a 4.60 ERA in 12 starts against the Padres. He's 1-4 with a 3.62 ERA in eight games at Petco

Park.

• Right fielder Matt Kemp is the Padres' hitter with the most experience against Miley. He's put up a

.292/.320/.583 line with two homers and five RBIs in 25 plate appearances vs. the lefty. Rea, who will be

making his 16th Major League start over two seasons, has never faced any of the Mariners hitters.

• With the right-handed Rea on the mound, the Mariners will start Adam Lind at first base on Thursday

after giving him the day off against southpaw Christian Friedrich on Wednesday. Lind has recovered from

a slow start with his new club to hit .333 with five homers and 18 RBIs in 54 at-bats over his last 15

games. Lind has a career .379 average and 11-game hitting streak going against the Padres.

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Blash paces El Paso; Dickerson's streak ends Class A RHPs Lockett, Cosme sharp in wins By Bill Center / San Diego Padres

Alex Dickerson's hitting streak was stopped at 29 games Wednesday night. But his Triple-A El Paso

Chihuahuas kept rolling behind Jabari Blash.

Dickerson, who was at first base, was 0-for-5 as his average dropped to .396. El Paso, however, scored its

sixth walk-off win of the season, defeating Sacramento, 6-5, in Texas. The win was El Paso's third

straight and eighth in its last 10 games as the club improved to 30-22 to open a three-game lead in the

Pacific Coast League's Pacific South Division.

Blash (.265) was 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs. Center fielder Manuel Margot

(.302) and catcher Rocky Gale (.289) were each 2-for-5.

Starting right-handed pitcher Daniel McCutchen (6.25 ERA) allowed four runs (one earned) on six hits

and three walks with two strikeouts over six innings. Right-hander Michael Dimock made his season

debut and allowed a run on two hits with two strikeouts in two innings. Right-hander Jose Dominguez (3-

1, 3.46 ERA) allowed a hit in a scoreless ninth to pick up the win.

Meanwhile, right-handed starting pitchers Walker Lockett and Jean Cosme each allowed one run in wins

by the Padres' Class A affiliates.

The 22-year-old Lockett (1-1, 2.79 ERA) allowed one run on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts

in seven innings to lead Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore (26-27) to a 5-3 win at Rancho Cucamonga.

Left-handed reliever Taylor Cox (3.00) allowed two runs on a hit and a walk while striking out the only

hitter he retired in the eighth. Right-hander Yimmi Brasoban (0.00) allowed a run-scoring hit with two

strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning. Right-hander Colby Blueberg (1.13) allowed a hit and two walks

with a strikeout in a scoreless ninth to pick up his ninth save.

Designated hitter Franmil Reyes (.208) hit a three-run homer in four at-bats. Josh VanMeter (.295) hit his

sixth homer in five at-bats. Corner outfielder Edwin Moreno (.271) was 2-for-4 with a run scored to

stretch his hitting streak to a 10th straight game. First baseman Trae Santos (.222) was 3-for-4 with a RBI.

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The 20-year-old Cosme (5-2, 2.93 ERA) allowed a run on five hits with a strikeout in five innings as

Class A Fort Wayne (28-25) defeated South Bend, 6-2, at Fort Wayne. Left-hander Nathan Foriest pitched

two scoreless innings in his debut with the TinCaps. Right-hander Trey Wingenter (0.82) allowed an

unearned run on a hit with two strikeouts in two innings.

Right-fielder Jhonatan Pena (.218) was 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Third baseman Carlos Belen (.195) was 1-

for-3 with a double, a run scored and a RBI.

Around the farm

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (16-35): NORTHWEST ARKANSAS 7, Missions 5. LF Nick Torres

(.286) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Starting RHP Bryce Morrow (1-7, 6.34 ERA) allowed

four runs on 10 hits and two walks with a strikeout in six innings.

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Alexei adds 2-HR, 5-RBI night to power surge By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- Alexei Ramirez has never been one to get off to fast starts -- and it's not exactly

something of which he's proud.

But following a rocky beginning to his tenure with the Padres, those slow starts are something he can fall

back on as the calendar turns to June. It certainly seems as though the veteran shortstop has turned a page

offensively over the past week or so.

With a pair of big flies in Wednesday's 14-6 drubbing of the Seattle Mariners, Ramirez has now hit

three dingers in his past four games -- this coming after 50 straight homerless games to start the season.

He's hitting .367 (11-for-30) since May 24.

"My whole career, I've been one of those people that started slowly and got going," Ramirez said. "If I

could have it the other way around, I would. I wish it weren't that way, but I think that's what it is, and I

think that's where we're going."

When the Padres signed Ramirez to a one-year deal during the offseason, they believed they may have

inked the veteran shortstop to a discount rate because of his early-season struggles in 2015. He posted a

.757 OPS in the second half of last season -- 216 points higher than his first-half mark.

Through 54 games this year, Ramirez is hitting just .250 with a .627 OPS. Clearly his second-half surge

didn't carry over. But the Padres wouldn't mind a late-season boost like the one Ramirez gave the White

Sox in 2015.

"I'm still learning every day," Ramirez said. "I spent my whole career up until now in the American

League. Now, in the National League, I'm still learning pitchers, still learning everyone, getting to know

them. I think that's a big part of it. Aside from that, it's just seeing the ball well."

Part of that can be attributed to a change in Ramirez's approach at the plate. For much of his career,

Ramirez has been predominantly a pull hitter. But the Padres recently noticed him putting a bit too much

emphasis on working the ball to right field.

"He's always been a guy that's a head-out hitter that's hit to the pull-side predominantly in his career," said

Padres manager Andy Green. "As we watched him the first part of the season, he was working hard to

stay inside the baseball, use the whole field.

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"There was some encouragement given in the last week and a half: 'Be who you are. You've always been

the guy who's gotten the head out. You've always been very aggressive.' He's kind of gotten back to that,

and I think you've seen the power surge as a result."

Ramirez peppered the left-field seats with his two homers on Wednesday -- one in the fourth and one in

the sixth. In doing so, he became just the third Padres hitter this season to homer in conescutive at-bats

and the first with multiple dingers in a game at Petco Park this season.

With the second multi-home-run game of his career, Ramirez set a career high with five RBIs. He also

made a very impressive barehand play on a chopper in the top of the sixth. It was a breath of fresh air for

the Padres, who had lost twice in Seattle earlier this week by a combined score of 25-7.

"My saying has been every game is different," Ramirez said. "What happened in Seattle is already in the

past. We came out and done what we've always done -- prepared and played a baseball game and

thankfully we got a victory."

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Myers' near cycle provides needed spark By Carlos Collazo / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- Wil Myers ignited the scoring for the Padres on Wednesday night, helping to lead his team to a

much-needed 14-6 win over the Mariners.

From his first at-bat -- a solo home run in the first -- to his last -- a deep sacrifice fly to center field -- Myers was

locked in at the plate, and fell a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

"I thought Wil was outstanding," said Padres manager Andy Green. "He looked like he just about had a cycle there

if that [fly ball in the eighth inning] had gotten down. So we were all pulling for that.

"He swung the bat very well, looked like he was behind the baseball really well today, driving it to all fields."

While "driving the ball to all fields" is often a phrase imbued with hyperbole, that wasn't the case on Wednesday

night.

Myers launched a 98-mph fastball into the right-field stands during his first at-bat, singled to center field on a 96-

mph fastball during his second at-bat and doubled to left field during his fourth trip to the plate.

"Yeah, I felt good," he said. "Got some good pitches to hit today and was able to put good swings on them."

While Green was pulling for Myers to get the triple that would round out a cycle in the sixth inning, Myers said he

wasn't even thinking about the possibility. When he sent a deep fly ball to Norichika Aoki in center field, he was

only concerned with whether he'd just made an out.

"Honestly, I was watching [Aoki] to see if he was going to catch it," Myers said. "I wasn't even thinking about the

triple. I didn't even think about it honestly.

"So, nah, [the cycle] didn't really matter. At least I got the RBI."

Myers might have come short of hitting for the cycle, but he sparked San Diego's offense and kept it hot throughout

the night, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs to go along with his eighth home run of the season.

With Wednesday night's performance, Myers is hitting .333 (14-for-42) in his last 11 games.

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Injured Ross resumes throwing By Carlos Collazo / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- Opening Day starter Tyson Ross played catch before the Padres' game against the Seattle

Mariners on Wednesday night, marking the first time he has thrown since being placed on the disabled list

on April 9.

Ross hit the DL -- retroactive to April 5 -- with inflammation in his right shoulder. Wednesday's throwing

routine marked the first tangible step in a recovery process that is expected to be slow and cautious.

"I'm going to have to listen to my body and as I go through this throwing program, if I need to take a day

here or there, definitely not push it to rush back," Ross said after throwing from around 50 feet. "The goal

is to get back out there and be healthy for the rest of the season, at whatever date that is."

Ross is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he threw at least 195 innings.

"I pride myself on the past couple of years here, being able to take the ball every five days and give this

team a chance to win," he said. "It's been tough to sit back and watch the struggles earlier this year and

know that I should be out there taking the ball and fighting for our guys. ... The reality is I just had to

focus on the rehab and do it right."

Rea returns

Colin Rea was back in the San Diego clubhouse on Wednesday and is expected to start Thursday in the

finale against the Mariners. Rea was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on May 23 in an effort to limit his

workload.

The 25-year-old right-hander has never thrown more than 139 innings in a professional season and threw

just one inning during his nine-day stint in El Paso.

"I knew what they were trying to do, and they were just looking out for me," Rea said about being sent

down. "And that's a good sign when they're doing that. I got down there, got some rest, was able to throw

an inning, too. I feel good, so it's good to be back."

Rea allowed one run on one hit during his inning, walking one batter and striking out two. The emphasis

on the outing, though, was on fastball command.

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"We were mostly working on four-seam fastball command and trying to be efficient," he said. "It was a

long inning, but I felt good about it. Felt like the command was there with the four-seam, so I was happy

about it."

In 50 1/3 innings with the Padres this year, Rea is 3-2 in nine starts and has posted a 4.59 ERA.

Poodles at Petco

The Padres on Wednesday announced "The Barkyard at Petco Park," which is made up of six

dog-friendly box seats in left-center field.

According to a team release, "The Barkyard allows dog-loving fans to experience America's

favorite pastime with their best friend by their side, in an elevated backyard-inspired setting."

Each of the six boxes has room for four people and two dogs, and all four tickets must be

purchased together, regardless of the number of fans attending. Ticket prices vary game by

game, but start at $100 for each of the Barkyard boxes.

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Padres chairman Fowler expects better from team By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler was critical of the team's recent performance in

an interview with the Mighty 1090AM radio on Wednesday morning.

Entering June, the Padres are 20-33 and sit in last place in the National League West. They're coming off

a road trip in which they won once in eight contests and were beaten twice in Seattle by a combined score

of 25-7.

"It's been embarrassing," Fowler told host Dan Sileo. "I don't know how else to put it. I think our

performance on the road trip, 1-7, is pathetic. I'm a very competitive individual, I've won a lot more than

I've lost in my life. This baseball experience has been very frustrating."

Fowler singled out the performance of starter James Shields, who struggled Tuesday, allowing 10 runs

over 2 2/3 frames.

"To have a starter like Shields perform as poorly as he did yesterday is an embarrassment to the team and

an embarrassment to him. It's about as frustrating as it can get, but we've got to get through it," Fowler

said.

Shields did not respond to Fowler's comment, but he was quick to note that those frustrations aren't

limited to the Padres' executive chairman himself.

"I'm sure it's more just the frustration of our team losing," Shields said. "I'm frustrated, myself. Obviously,

I'm not happy with my game yesterday. I don't think it's an embarrassment to me, personally, but I'm not

happy. I'm the ultimate competitor. I have high expectations of myself. Ultimately, they expect the same

out of me."

Right fielder Matt Kemp echoed Shields' sentiment. He had "no comment" on Fowler's remarks, but he

said the results must improve -- and the clubhouse is well aware of that.

"As a team, we need to play better," Kemp said. "That's all we can do. We've just got to worry about what

we can control. What we can control is what we do out there on the field. And it's not cutting it."

Fowler said he's been impressed with the coaching staff thus far, and he added that he's looking forward to

next week's Draft and the forthcoming international signing period, which begins July 2.

19

The Padres hold six of the first 85 picks the Draft, and reports have them pegged as one of the primary

players in the international market this year.

"Winning on the field -- we have to figure out a way to do that," Fowler said. "If that requires changes to

accomplish that, then we'll do it. But we're not going to make changes for the sake of changes. We have to

feel it's going to strengthen the ballclub.

"What we're focused on over the next week and then focused on in early July -- July 2 [when international

amateur free agents are eligible to sign] -- is making sure that we get the people here that are the ones we

want for the future. In the meantime, we've got to figure out how to get this team playing better. It's not an

either/or. It's both."

Fowler indicated that changes in player personnel could be coming before the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline this

season. The Padres have several players with expiring contracts on the current roster, including center

fielder Jon Jay and right-handerAndrew Cashner, while Shields holds an opt-out clause in his contract.

But Fowler threw his support behind the current group of Padres coaches, including manager Andy

Green, who is in his first season at the helm.

"In terms of the manager and the coaching staff and such, I think we've got as good a group or a better

group than I've seen," Fowler said. "They're doing what they need to do. Part of it is on the players. But

our job is to get the right players who can be motivated and deliver at game time. Right now, we're not

doing it."

As for general manager A.J. Preller, Fowler indicated that the next month will be critical in his evaluation.

In Fowler's words, the Padres hired Preller, "to develop a farm system and to do far better at

international." Preller will get his chance to do both over the next few weeks.

Running the Padres, Fowler said, has been his toughest challenge in business, but he's confident the

organization will turn it around.

"The other aspects of the team -- in terms of the ballpark or the fan experience -- we've done well,"

Fowler said. "But as to the winning and losing, we've been miserable failures so far, there's no other way

to describe it."

20

Fowler’s foul mood justified, appreciated Padres owner echoes fans’ sentiments about ‘embarrassing’ team By Kevin Acee | 7:57 p.m. June 1, 2016

The best part is that Ron Fowler’s disgust is real.

Just like yours.

The Padres executive chairman often jests that, at 71-years-old, he doesn’t have time

to wait for too many next years. So consider this the old beer slinger saying he’s fed

up, and he’s not going to take it anymore. Or at least, he wasn’t going to be quiet

about it anymore.

"It's been embarrassing. I don't know how else to put it," Fowler said Wednesday

morning in an interview on the team’s radio home, The Mighty 1090. "Our

performance on the road trip, 1-7, was pathetic."

There was more. But you’ve probably heard it, and the above pretty much summed up

the rant. Basically, he said everything you’ve been saying about the Padres.

“"It's on the player(s), but the organization has to accept responsibility for probably

having the wrong players," Fowler said. "We don't have a team out there right now

that is competing effectively.”

So now will Fowler, who is entrusted by managing partner Peter Seidler and other

partners to run the club, go full George Steinbrenner and litter the path to a pennant

with pink slips? Will he begin to rule with an iron fist as a means to make sure he

delivers a winning team for himself and his city?

No. And that’s good

Despite a record that is exactly what Fowler assessed it to be – pathetic and

embarrassing – this is a stable front office. As stable as it has been in some time.

21

Fowler is generally a pragmatist. So he’ll temper his impetuousness with patience and

continue believing in the plan general manager A.J. Preller has set forth for this

summer of restoration and the coming years of construction.

Preller faces an important amateur draft this month and imperative success in next

month’s international signing period, but he is nowhere near the hot seat.(CEO Mike

Dee is good for now, too. And if manager Andy Green were any more loved by the

breass, they’d be fighting over who got to adopt him.)

Look, Seidler and Fowler took over a mess in 2012. They approved the Preller moves

prior to the 2015 season that made a bigger mess of things. They’ve long figured

they’re at least two more years – and maybe three or four years – from actually

contending.

It is what it is. But that doesn’t mean Fowler is happy about it.

He knew deep down this season was going to be rough. He essentially reasoned that if

fortune was with the Padres in bucket loads, they would flirt with mediocrity.

But a 1-7 road trip, punctuated by Tuesday’s 16-4 shellacking by the Seattle Mariners

(with the $600k-per-start pitcher allowing eight runs before exiting in the third

inning) left the Padres 13 games below .500 and perhaps getting worse.

Fowler reached his tipping point.

Here’s a guy who built a beer distributorship from almost nothing to a company that

does some quarter-billion dollars in annual sales. That and various other ventures

have helped him purchase his own plane and homes in various exotic locales. His

business acumen is thought of highly enough that he is chairman of Major League

Baseball’s labor committee, representing owners in collective bargaining negotiations.

"I'm a very competitive individual," Fowler said in the radio interview. "I think I've

won a lot more than I've lost in my life. This baseball experience has been very

frustrating, very embarrassing."

Yeah, he’s ticked off.

22

What Fowler said Wednesday morning should really have only been shocking for its

unrestrained candor. There is telling the truth, and there honesty that sears with the

white hot honesty of 1,000 suns.

"I feel it had to be said," is Fowler he said Wednesday afternoon, about 10 hours after

the radio interview that made the Padres a national talking point.

He would offer no more for public consumption.

Nothing different should have been expected. No way was Fowler relenting. He’s a

passionate man, but he didn’t fly off the handle in this case.

In fact, he’d said similar things to varying degrees on plenty of occasions in private, to

employees and friends. There was no one in the front office surprised Fowler felt that

way. There were more than a few, in fact, who were glad he went public.

Almost everything the he said was sound, too, save for calling out Shields, the only

pitcher in the majors to have logged 200-plus innings each of the past nine seasons. If

you know Fowler, though, you figured right away his issue was with Shields coming

off somewhat dispassionate about the outing in his postgame remarks, shrugging off

getting blown up as something that happens to him once or twice each season. Fowler

went too far there.

Oh well. There is no such thing as an owner overstepping.

A little too far was just far enough.

This is the kind of leadership we want to see every once in a while. A pragmatist with a

Steinbrennerish streak.

So many have wondered whether the Padres ownership cares as much as you do. Now

you know.

23

Padres answer as Fowler blasts team 'It's been embarrassing,' Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler says of last-place team on radio By Jeff Sanders | 2:30 p.m. June 1, 2016 | Updated, 10:36 p.m.

Outscored 25-2 on the road in the opening series of the 1974 season, then-Padres

owner Ray Kroc had had enough when called out his team’s “stupid ball-playing” over

the microphone during the home opener. Forty-two years later, Executive Chairman

Ron Fowler had a bit more juice behind his appraisal when he took to the team’s

flagship radio station Wednesday to label these Padres “miserable failures” and single

out the latest effort from the franchise’s richest free agent signee as “an

embarrassment.”

“I’m a very competitive individual,” Fowler said Wednesday during an interview on

The Mighty 1090. “I think I’ve won a lot more than I’ve lost in my life. This baseball

experience has been very frustrating, very embarrassing.

“The performance by our team (Tuesday), I can understand how Kroc would have

grabbed the microphone. It's that frustrating."

Fowler’s remarks greeted a team returning from a 1-7 road trip that sunk the Padres a

season-high 13 games below .500, the last of those games a 16-4 laugher that ended

with a backup catcher and utility infielder combining for the final frame after James

Shields started the game with 10 runs allowed in 2 2/3 innings.

"To have a starter like Shields perform as poorly as he did (Tuesday),” Fowler said of

last year’s $75 million signee, “is an embarrassment to the team, an embarrassment to

him.”

Hours later, the Padres began an eight-game homestand answering for their owner’s

frustrations in the clubhouse and then answering on the field in a 14-6 win over the

Mariners. Pouncing on a team that substituted right-hander Felix Hernandez

(strained calf) with left-hander James Paxton, the Padres scored six runs in the first

inning and collected two home runs from Wil Myers, Adam Rosales and Alexei

Ramirez – two for him – on the heels of Fowler’s harsh remarks.

24

“I guess I shouldn't have given up 10 runs; I guess I was the guy,” said Shields, whose

ERA rose from 3.06 to 4.28 after his last start. “I'm sure it was more about the

frustration of our team losing. I'm frustrated myself. Obviously, I'm not happy with

my game (Tuesday). I don't know if it's an 'embarrassment to me,' but I'm not happy

with it. …

“He can say it on the radio, but we're just as frustrated in this clubhouse.”

Added manager Andy Green: “I think the first thing that comes to mind is his passion,

his desire to win, his desire to have something here that the city can be proud of. I

think we all share that. I think every single one of us wants to pour everything out to

win a game every single day. … But when you’re in that clubhouse, the last thing you

can allow is the level of frustration to impact your play. If you carry that burden on

your shoulder, it becomes harder to perform on the baseball field.

“That's when you start seeing the snowball effect.”

Like the 1974 version, these Padres were swept by the Dodgers to start the season.

Only they were outscored 25-0 this time, have been shut out an MLB-worst 10 times

to date and rank last in the majors in batting average (.226) and on-base percentage

(.283) in a season devoid of any of the optimism that followed a hectic 2015 offseason

that injected the organization with star power in the form of Shields, Myers, Matt

Kemp and Justin Upton.

They’ve since won just 43.7 percent of their games, although Fowler seemed to

absolve Green’s two months in the organization in Wednesday’s assessment.

"It's on the player(s), but the organization has to accept responsibility for probably

having the wrong players," Fowler said. "We don't have a team out there right now

that is competing effectively. We're doing everything we can going into the draft and

looking at international signings to get some guys who can get us there.

"But in terms of the manager and coaching staff, we've got as good a group or a better

group than I've seen. They're doing what they need to do. Part of it is on the players.

25

But our job is to get the right players who can be motivated and determined at game

time. Right now, we're not doing it. That's what frustrating for all of us."

That sentiment was echoed throughout the clubhouse Wednesday and into the front

office as personnel up and down the organization’ echoed Fowler’s sentiment, as

surprising as it was to hear to some.

“Hey man, that man writes the checks,” Melvin Upton Jr. said. “I hadn't really ever

dealt with that (sort of criticism from an owners), but guys want to win. That's the

bottom line. No matter what was said, we know we have to find a way to win.

“We'll take care of what we need to take care of in-house.”

While Kemp – who is making $21.75 million each of the next four seasons – declined

to comment specifically on Fowler’s remarks, he, too, acknowledged a frustrating

month in which the Padres lost 18 of 29 as he fashioned a .561 OPS in another dismal

May.

“I wish I could be playing better,” said Kemp, who leads the Padres with 10 homers. “I

know what I'm capable of doing. I had a good April. A bad May. It's a new month and

hopefully a better outcome this month.”

He added: “What we're doing as a team is not cutting it, but you have to play better.”

That’s a broad, short-term fix.

In the long view, the Padres have placed an emphasis on adding foundation-building

talent through next week’s amateur draft and the upcoming international free agency

period, both of which figure to weigh heavily in the evaluation of General Manager

A.J. Preller’s role in the construction of a team that as far as “winning and losing,”

Fowler said, has “been miserable failures.”

“Ron is passionate and wants to win as much as anybody, and we want to do it for

him,” Preller said late Wednesday night during a break from preparing for a draft in

which the Padres own six of the top 85 picks. “I don't blame him for being frustrated

with the team not playing well, and after a tough road trip, we all feel that.”

26

Padres turn tables on Mariners in 14-6 win Six-run first inning is only the beginning as San Diegans tie season-high with 19 hits

By Kirk Kenney | 10:30 p.m. June 1, 2016 | Updated, 11:14 p.m.

Those wondering how the Padres would respond to the 24 hours that preceded

Wednesday night’s game against Seattle probably wouldn’t have predicted this:

Padres 14, Mariners 6.

They say laughter is the best medicine. Laughers, too.

The sideshow that has become the Padres’ season seemed to fully engulf the game

within minutes of taking the field at Petco Park.

Mariners center fielder Nori Aoki, the game’s first batter, fouled a ball into the upper

deck that bounced off a seat and fell all the way back down to field level — in the back

pack of a vendor. A nearby fan calmly reached in and pulled out the souvenir. The

least he could have done was purchased something to go with the prize.

Then there was the fan who ran out on the field, apparently with designs on playing

shortstop. Three security guards intervened, taking the man on a perp walk past the

Mariners dugout before hustling him down an exit ramp.

After a 16-4 drubbing on Tuesday in Seattle, it looked like a here-we-go-again game

when the Mariners had a 3-0 lead after just three batters.

And all this coming after executive chairman Ron Fowler began the day by referring to

the Padres as “miserable failures” on a Wednesday morning radio show.

The Padres finally responded in the bottom of the first inning. They scored six runs —

more runs than they scored in 42 of 53 games this season — and were well on their

way to the second-most productive night of the season. Only a 16-run game against

Colorado included more runs, and that doesn’t quite count, does it? After all, the

game was played in Denver.

27

By the time things concluded against Seattle, the Padres (21-33) had tied their season

high for hits (19). Four of the hits were home runs, the most homers they've had in a

game at Petco Park in nearly six years. Go figure.

About all that remained after the game was for someone in the Padres clubhouse to

say: “That’s baseball.”

Although the performance came just hours after Fowler's comments, Padres manager

Andy Green didn't read anything extra into the offensive showing.

"I think it was a baseball game," Green said. "I didn't think of it as a response to

anything like that. I thought the runs in the first were a response to their runs in the

first. It was a baseball game. It was good to flip the script. It was a great way to start

the homestand."

The game began like this: Padres left-hander Christian Friedrich walked Aoki.

Franklin Gutierrez followed with a single. Then Robinson Cano stepped up and

launched his 16th home run of the season. The Mariners (30-22) batted around in an

inning that didn't end until Friedrich (2-1), who allowed nine hits and four runs (three

earned) over five innings, got Mariners pitcher James Paxton looking at a called third

strike.

"He was on the ropes in the first inning, close to possibly not getting out of the

inning," Green said. "He finally gets out of there with getting Paxton. He gave up three

runs to the first three batters and then he pretty much shut him down the rest of the

way."

Shaken, the Padres finally stirred.

First baseman Wil Myers — who came within a triple of hitting for the cycle in the

game — hit a one-out homer to get things started. Second baseman Adam Rosales

capped the big inning with a two-run homer, circling the bases so fast that he nearly

passed teammate Alexei Ramirez at the plate.

Advised that he might make a more leisurely stroll around the bases, Rosales said: "I

don't slow down. He's got to speed up."

28

Rosales said it was "huge" to respond quickly against Seattle.

"You have to answer back and we did," he said. "We came back strong — six runs in

one inning. I think we just took the momentum from there on out."

It was Ramirez, the Padres shortstop, who had the biggest night of all. He hit two

home runs and tied his career high with five RBIs. For good measure, Ramirez threw

in the defensive play of the game, charging in to make a barehanded grab of an Aoki

chopper in the sixth and throwing him out at first base.

Ramirez was asked which he enjoys more, making a barehanded play or hitting a

home run?

"Neither," he said through a translator. "To help the team, that's the key, whichever

way that is."

29

Minors: Dickerson's hit streak comes to end Recapping the previous day of action for the Padres' minor league affiliates

By Jeff Sanders | 6 a.m. June 2, 2016

Alex Dickerson’s hitting streak is over. That didn’t slow Triple-A El Paso’s roll one bit.

Left fielder Jabari Blash doubled twice and drove in two runs on four hits, shortstop

Nick Noonan drove in two runs and a defensive miscue allowed the game-winning run

to score in the ninth in theChihuahuas’ 6-5 win over Sacramento, the eighth win in the

last 10 games for El Paso (30-22).

Dickerson went 0-for-5 to end his hitting streak at 29 games, the longest active pro

streak in baseball. He is still hitting an organization-best .396 on the season.

Right-hander Jose Dominguez improved to 3-1 with a scoreless ninth inning, lowering

his ERA to 3.46.

Right-hander Daniel McCutchen started the game with four runs – one earned – in six

innings before right-hander Michael Dimock allowed a run in two innings in his first

action since returning from a suspension.

Manuel Margot (.302), Jose Pirela (.242) and Rocky Gale (.289) each had two hits.

Hunter Renfroe (.317) singled in five at-bats and scored the game-winning run when a

Sacramento error thwarted what looked to be an inning-ending double play.

DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (16-35)

NW Arkansas 7, Missions 5: LF Nick Torres (.286) went 2-for-4 with a double and a

run scored and every Mission had one hit. RHP Bryce Morrow (1-7, 6.34) allowed four

runs on 10 hits and two walks in six innings. He served up both of Frank Schwindel’s

home runs.

HIGH SINGLE-A LAKE ELSINORE (26-27)

Storm 5, Rancho Cucamonga 3: DH Franmil Reyes (.208) drove in three runs on his

third homer and 3B Josh VanMeter (.295) hit his sixth homer. SS Javier Guerra (.178)

went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. RHP Walker Lockett (1-1, 2.79) allowed a run in seven

30

innings and RHP Colby Blueberg (1.13) saved his ninth game with a scoreless ninth

despite walking two and allowing a hit.

LOW SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (28-25)

TinCaps 6, South Bend 2: RHP Jean Cosme (5-2, 2.93) allowed a run in five innings.

RF Jhonatan Pena (.218) drove in two runs on a single.

31

San Diego Padres exec calls his team 'miserable failures' Ron Fowler went off on the team during a radio interview following a 1-7 road trip.

By Ken Rosenthal @ken_rosenthal Jun 1, 2016 at 3:45p ET

The frustration in San Diego is palpable.

Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler, in a radio interview with the Mighty 1090 AM on Wednesday, labeled the team "miserable failures" on the win-loss front, calling its performance "embarrassing."

Fowler's comments came less than 24 hours after the Padres absorbed a 16-4 beating from the Mariners, completing a 1-7 road trip.

The Padres, 20-33, are in last place in the National League West, 12½ games behind the Giants.

"It's been embarrassing. I don't know how else to put it," Fowler said. "Our performance on the road trip, 1-7, was pathetic.

"I'm a very competitive individual. I think I've won a lot more than lost in my life. This baseball experience has been very frustrating, very embarrassing."

"The performance by our team (Tuesday), I can understand how (former owner Ray) Kroc would have grabbed the microphone. It's that frustrating."

Fowler singled out right-hander James Shields, who allowed 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings on Tuesday. Shields, who signed a four-year, $75 million free-agent contract with the Padres in February 2015, has been the subject of trade talks.

"To have a starter like (James) Shields perform as poorly as he did yesterday is an embarrassment to the team, an embarrassment to him," Fowler said.

"It's about as frustrating as it can get. In a normal environment, if you had performed as well as we have over the last three years, you'd probably be unemployed. But it's baseball, with guaranteed contracts. We've got to get through it."

Fowler seemed to absolve first-year manager Andy Green and his coaching staff, but his comments likely will increase the scrutiny on the team's principal decision-makers, team president Mike Dee and general manager A.J. Preller.

"It's on the player, but the organization has to accept responsibility for probably having the wrong players," Fowler said. "We don't have a team out there right now that is competing effectively. We're doing everything we can going into the draft and looking at international signings to get some guys who can get us there.

32

"But in terms of the manager and coaching staff, we've got as good a group or a better group than I've seen. They're doing what they need to do. Part of it is on the players. But our job is to get the right players who can be motivated and determined at game time. Right now, we're not doing it. That's what frustrating for all of us."

The Padres hold six of the top 85 picks in next week's amateur draft and are expected to be a major player in the international signing period that begins on July 2.

Preller is in his second full season on a deal that reportedly expires in 2018. Fowler credited him with improving the farm system but reserved judgment on the GM's tenure overall.

"We had hired A.J. because we knew we had to develop a farm system and we had to do far better at international than we had done," Fowler said. "This draft coming up and the international signing period will give us a far better view of A.J.

"I will say he has done a spectacular job of building the player-development area. I think the players we have in the farm system now as a group are stronger than they have been before.

"We rolled the dice with him on some major-league signings, major-league trades. We collectively have to look at that and say it didn't come together as well as we wanted.

"I don't think there is a brighter GM out there. I don't think anyone works harder. But the results are not there, and I think A.J. would be the first one to tell you that."

"But in terms of the manager and coaching staff, we've got as good a group or a better group than I've seen. They're doing what they need to do. Part of it is on the players. But our job is to get the right players who can be motivated and determined at game time. Right now, we're not doing it. That's what frustrating for all of us."

The Padres hold six of the top 85 picks in next week's amateur draft and are expected to be a major player in the international signing period that begins on July 2.

Preller is in his second full season on a deal that reportedly expires in 2018. Fowler credited him with improving the farm system but reserved judgment on the GM's tenure overall.

"We had hired A.J. because we knew we had to develop a farm system and we had to do far better at international than we had done," Fowler said. "This draft coming up and the international signing period will give us a far better view of A.J.

"I will say he has done a spectacular job of building the player-development area. I think the players we have in the farm system now as a group are stronger than they have been before.

"We rolled the dice with him on some major-league signings, major-league trades. We collectively have to look at that and say it didn't come together as well as we wanted.

"I don't think there is a brighter GM out there. I don't think anyone works harder. But the results are not there, and I think A.J. would be the first one to tell you that."

33

Padres executive calls team 'embarrassing,' 'pathetic' AP 12:18 a.m. EDT June 2, 2016

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler criticized his team in a radio interview

on Wednesday, saying its recent performances have been "embarrassing" and "pathetic."

Fowler's comments to The Mighty 1090 came a day after James Shields lasted 2 2/3 innings in a 16-4 loss at

Seattle.

"It's been embarrassing. I don't know how else to put it," Fowler said. "Our performance on the road trip, 1-7,

was pathetic. I'm a very competitive individual. I think I've won a lot more than I've lost in my life. This baseball

experience has been very frustrating, very embarrassing."

Fowler even mentioned the night in 1974 when then-owner Ray Kroc grabbed the public-address microphone

and said he'd "never seen such stupid ballplaying in my life"

"It's that frustrating," Fowler said.

Fowler cited Shields, who allowed 10 runs Tuesday.

"To have a starter like Shields perform as poorly as he did yesterday is an embarrassment to the team, an

embarrassment to him," Fowler said. "It's about as frustrating as it can get. But we've got to get through. ...

But in a normal environment, if you had performed as well as we have over the last three years, you'd

probably be unemployed. But it's baseball, with guaranteed contracts, and we've got to get beyond it."

Fowler is part of the ownership group that took over in August 2012. The Padres finished 76-86 that season.

In the last three years, they've lost 86, 85 and 88 games. The ownership group includes Peter and Tom

Seidler, nephews of former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley.

The Padres went into Wednesday night's game against Seattle last in the NL West at 20-33, 12 games behind

San Francisco.

"We thought we'd be at least a .500 baseball team and we're anything but," Fowler said. "I'd like to break

through .400 and stay above .400 in terms of winning percentage. It's very frustrating."

The Padres have had six straight losing seasons. They haven't been to the playoffs since 2006.

34

Padres’ Chairman Calls Out Team, Preller

June 02, 2016 By Kyle Glaser

SAN DIEGO—Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler had a chance to give general manager

A.J. Preller a vote of confidence during a radio interview Wednesday in which he called the

team “miserable failures” and labeled San Diego’s performance “embarrassing.”

Tellingly, Fowler did not.

Preller’s headline-grabbing acquisitions since taking over as the Padres general manager in

August 2014 have not led to a change in performance in San Diego, where the Padres are

currently 20-33 and on pace for their sixth consecutive losing season and eighth in nine years.

Since Preller’s first full offseason at the helm, the Padres are 94-122, the seventh-the worst

record in baseball in that time.

“It’s on the (players), but the organization has to accept responsibility for probably having the

wrong players,” Fowler said during an interview with the “Dan Sileo Show” on XPRS 1090 AM in

San Diego. “We don’t have a team out there right now that is competing effectively. We’re doing

everything we can going into the draft and looking at international signings to get some guys

who can get us there.”

Though on the job for less than two years, Preller is responsible for most of the Padres roster.

Nineteen players on the Padres current 25-man roster, and 27 players on the 40-man, were

acquired by Preller through either trades or free agent signings.

Four of the Padres’ top nine prospects were also acquired by Preller, with the headliner—20-

year old shortstop Javier Guerra—hitting .182 with 63 strikeouts in 46 games at high Class A

Lake Elsinore.

“We had hired A.J. because we knew we had to develop a farm system and we had to do far

better at international than we had done,” Fowler said. “This draft coming up and the

international signing period will give us a far better view of A.J.

“I will say he has done a spectacular job of building the player-development area. I think the

players we have in the farm system now as a group are stronger than they have been before.

“We rolled the dice with him on some major league signings, major league trades. We

collectively have to look at that and say it didn’t come together as well as we wanted.

“I don’t think there is a brighter GM out there. I don’t think anyone works harder. But the results

are not there, and I think A.J. would be the first one to tell you that.”

35

Starting pitcher James Shields, signed by Preller to the largest free agent contract in Padres

history and at the expense of their 2015 first-round pick, was singled out for specific criticism by

Fowler. Shields is 2-7, 4.82 and allowed 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings in a 16-4 loss to Seattle on

Tuesday.

“To have a starter like Shields perform as poorly as he did (Tuesday) is an embarrassment to

the team, an embarrassment to him,” Fowler said. “It’s about as frustrating as it can get. In a

normal environment, if you had performed as well as we have over the last three years, you’d

probably be unemployed. But it’s baseball, with guaranteed contracts. We’ve got to get through

it.”

Padres manager Andy Green addressed the criticism before Wednesday’s game.

“I think the first thing that comes to mind is (Fowler’s) passion, his desire to win, his desire to

have something here this city can be proud of and I think we all share that desire,” Green said.

“I appreciate his passion and his energy and his desire to win. I appreciate an ownership that

cares and wants to win and wants this to be special. I share that with him. I recognize the

frustration and can appreciate the sentiment.”

36

Padres Offense Surfaces Against The Mariners San Diego Crushes Seattle To Start Homestand

By Ben Rosehart One day after losing 16-4 against the Mariners in Seattle, the Padres bounced back with a much-needed 14-6 victory against the same opponent. Perhaps the Padres were aided by a change of venue with the Vedder Cup moving back to Petco Park for the final two games of the series. Or maybe it was a kick in the pants by team Executive Chairman Ron Fowler, who voiced his displeasure with the Padres performance on local sports talk radio Wednesday morning. But seriously, it was great to see San Diego jump out to a big lead and then not only maintain it - but add to it as the game progressed. The first inning started off shaky with Robinson Cano sending a line-drive home run to give the Mariners an immediate 3-0 lead. Christian Friedrich managed to work his way out of a bases-loaded one out jam or it could have been much worse. And that was important because San Diego jumped on the recently promoted James Paxton in the first frame as well. Wil Myers helped the Friars get on the board with a solo shot. Then the floodgates opened and the Padres batted around. By the time all 9 batters had stepped into the batter’s box, San Diego had built a 6-3 lead and Adam Rosales had lofted his 3rd long ball of the year. Shortstop Alexei Ramirez later cranked a pair of two-run homers to help push the Padres to an emphatic 14-6 victory. San Diego had lost 7 of its last 8 during its recent road trip and 12 of its last 15 overall. Seattle scratched star pitcher Felix Hernandez from his scheduled start earlier in the day and put the ace on the 15-day disabled list with a calf strain. Seattle’s loss wound up being San Diego’s gain. As Hernandez’s replacement, Paxton allowed 8 runs on 10 hits and didn’t make it out of the 4th inning. The Padres will try to make it two in a row when right-hander Colin Rea opposes Wade Miley at 6:10 p.m.

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Padres Unveil “Barkyard” Seating Options Fans Can Now Buy Dog-Friendly Box Seats at Petco Park

By Ben Rosehart Some places have “Bring Your Dog To Work Day.” Well the Padres are taking it a step further. The Padres unveiled another addition to Petco Park Wednesday in the form of “The Barkyard.” This new invention consists of six sets of dog-friendly box seats in left-center field during Padres home games. Each of the six boxes in The Barkyard can accommodate up to four people and two dogs. It’s to encourage baseball fans to bring their dogs to the ball park and get a good view of the game. “The Padres are continuously looking for new ways to offer our fans a unique ballpark experience, and with that in mind, we are proud to unveil The Barkyard,” said Padres Vice President, Corporate Partnerships Sergio del Prado. “Given our longstanding partnership with Petco, it’s only natural that Petco Park would become the first Major League Baseball venue to welcome fans together with their dogs in a dedicated space at every home game.” Ticket prices for the “Barkyard” will vary on a per-game basis but start at $100 a pop. One caveat is that all four tickets for each space must be purchased together, regardless of the number of attendees. The Barkyard area used to be called the Picnic Terrace, and has a designated entrance from K Street in the Park at the Park. There is a check-in area staffed by a Petco brand ambassador and a watering station near check-in as well. A Padres pet concierge also will be on-hand to escort fans and their dogs to and from the location. The Padres opened up an 8-game homestand Wednesday night against Seattle and are home for 15 of their next 18 contests in June.

38

Padres Offense Surfaces Against The Mariners San Diego Crushes Seattle To Start Homestand

By Ben Rosehart One day after losing 16-4 against the Mariners in Seattle, the Padres bounced back with a much-needed 14-6 victory against the same opponent. Perhaps the Padres were aided by a change of venue with the Vedder Cup moving back to Petco Park for the final two games of the series. Or maybe it was a kick in the pants by team Executive Chairman Ron Fowler, who voiced his displeasure with the Padres performance on local sports talk radio Wednesday morning. But seriously, it was great to see San Diego jump out to a big lead and then not only maintain it - but add to it as the game progressed. The first inning started off shaky with Robinson Cano sending a line-drive home run to give the Mariners an immediate 3-0 lead. Christian Friedrich managed to work his way out of a bases-loaded one out jam or it could have been much worse. And that was important because San Diego jumped on the recently promoted James Paxton in the first frame as well. Wil Myers helped the Friars get on the board with a solo shot. Then the floodgates opened and the Padres batted around. By the time all 9 batters had stepped into the batter’s box, San Diego had built a 6-3 lead and Adam Rosales had lofted his 3rd long ball of the year. Shortstop Alexei Ramirez later cranked a pair of two-run homers to help push the Padres to an emphatic 14-6 victory. San Diego had lost 7 of its last 8 during its recent road trip and 12 of its last 15 overall. Seattle scratched star pitcher Felix Hernandez from his scheduled start earlier in the day and put the ace on the 15-day disabled list with a calf strain. Seattle’s loss wound up being San Diego’s gain. As Hernandez’s replacement, Paxton allowed 8 runs on 10 hits and didn’t make it out of the 4th inning. The Padres will try to make it two in a row when right-hander Colin Rea opposes Wade Miley at 6:10 p.m.

39

Tony Gwynn's last days: Cancer, tobacco and the death of a legend

BY ANDREW LAWRENCE Posted: Thu Jun. 2, 2016

Tony Gwynn was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2010, after a lump sprouted

from a tiny space inside his right cheek called the parotid gland. Most of that lump, a

malignant tumor, was excised along with Gwynn’s lymph nodes in a surgery from which

the face of San Diego emerged unable to smile or close his right eye. (To sleep, he taped

the eye shut.) Chemotherapy left him dry-mouthed. Radiation treatments littered his face

with open sores. But by the end of the treatment, the cancer appeared to be gone.

Then in the winter of 2012, the cancer returned, to the exact same spot. It took surgeons

almost 14 hours to remove Gwynn’s latest lump, which sat on a nerve that controls facial

expression. To replace the bits of the nerve that had to be cut away—and to prevent half

his face from turning to stone—doctors grafted a nerve from Gwynn’s neck. After another

round of chemo and radiation, the cancer was gone again.

A year later, it was back.

By this point, Gwynn was exhausted. He declined further radiation, which meant wearing

a claustrophobia-inducing mask, and waved off a second opinion from the MD Anderson

Cancer Center in Houston, because it was too far away from home. “I’m dying,” he told

his doctors. “I’m gonna go out my way. Let me enjoy what I can enjoy.” And in those last

days, nothing made him feel more alive than working.

Gwynn coached the San Diego State baseball team for 12 seasons. But his devotion to

the Aztecs was never more plain than in the last four years—from the first cancer

diagnosis until his death on June 16, 2014, at 54. Only the most withering pain could

keep him away from the dugout. Sometimes Gwynn went to work straight from the

hospital, often with his face covered in bandages. “That’s one of the most amazing things

about that whole time period,” says Aztecs senior outfielder Spencer Thornton. “I really

didn’t put it in perspective until later on—like,Man, this is crazy. This guy’s out here, and

he’s got cancer. He’s deep into chemotherapy treatments. He’s not feeling good. But he

would never let any of us know that. If he was here, he was gonna give it his all.”

In some respects, Gwynn hasn’t left. Friends, family, fans—they still talk about him in the

present tense. His old ballpark office in the stadium that bears his name—a shuttered

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concession stand with a giant rat trap by the door—remains unoccupied, out of respect.

Same goes for his home field perch, a worn black leather office chair that sits near the

dugout steps. His likeness looms over the rightfield wall, in his short-sleeve windbreaker

and Oakley shades, reminding the Aztecs to “do things right.” That had been Gwynn’s

slogan since taking over as coach of his alma mater in 2003, two years after retiring from

the Padres after 20 seasons in the outfield and a Hall of Fame career.

If Gwynn were ever going to stop chewing tobacco—which is forbidden in college

baseball—it would have been there. But he never did. In an otherwise squeaky clean life,

dipping was Gwynn’s only vice. Was it also the reason he died?

Officially, the cause of Gwynn’s death was complications related to parotid cancer, a rare

malignancy of the salivary gland. Even as he wasted away, Gwynn was convinced of a

link between his cancer and smokeless tobacco, his unshakeable routine for more than

three decades; his malignant tumor had grown from the same tiny space inside his right

cheek where he’d always gotten his fix. “His thing was 'educate to choose,'” says his

wife, Alicia. Arm people with the information to arrive at their own decisions. Anything

stronger, he felt, might’ve sounded too hypocritical coming from him. “He was going to

start something, a program,” she says. “But he didn’t get the chance.”

Initially, in media reports at the time of Gwynn’s death, the link between Gwynn’s habit

and his cancer was questioned by two of Gwynn’s San Diego-based doctors: Prabhakar

Tripuraneni, the head of radiation oncology at Scripps Clinic; and Loren Mell, a

consultant of the Gwynns’ who is the chief of head and neck radiation oncology service at

the Moores Cancer Center. Even as they acknowledged that smokeless tobacco could

lead to plenty of health problems, “in the case of parotid cancers, there’s not a single,

unified cause that’s identified,” Mell told the San Diego Union Tribune in 2014. “He may

have chewed tobacco, but that’s not likely to be the cause.” But Mell is reconsidering that

position since reviewing a key piece of clinical research that has emerged as part of a

wrongful death lawsuit filed by Gwynn’s family in Superior Court last month.

Among other things, the complaint—which was filed by Alicia; his daughter, Anisha; and

his son, Tony, in San Diego Superior Court—alleges that Altria Group, Inc. (which used to

be known as Philip Morris Companies, Inc.) preyed on Gwynn and others from a young

age and groomed them into lifelong customers while hiding the toxic effects of their

products. “He never knew it,” Anisha said in a press release when the lawsuit was filed,

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“but they were using him to promote their dip to the next generation of kids and fans who

idolized him.” (Altria declined to comment to SI.)

For the nearly two years they’ve been in mourning, the family has avoided public

speculation about Gwynn’s true cause of death. With this lawsuit, however, the Gwynns

move to the front lines of a smokeless tobacco counteroffensive that has led to

prohibitions on the use of tobacco in ballparks in five major league cities and a California-

wide ban that will go into effect next year—six months after the All-Star Game at San

Diego’s Petco Park on July 12.

Some major league players have not welcomed these reforms. Ironically, Gwynn—who

feared being immortalized as yet another cautionary tale in baseball’s long and

ignominious smokeless tobacco narrative—might not have welcomed them either. But as

for his family, they don’t want anyone else to have to go through what they did.

Gywnn’s best drinking story dates back more than 35 years—to his bachelor party, which he spent among his Aztecs teammates, wincing down shot after shot. Nobody can remember him ever touching a cigarette. The only thing he disliked more than recreational drugs were performance-enhancing drugs—especially greenies, i.e. amphetamines, which he considered on par with steroids. Fast food and junk food were guilty pleasures. Smokeless tobacco, though, was something else.

Gwynn often referred to himself as a “tobacco junkie.” His preferred form of it was snuff,

which is finely ground from tobacco leaves, and his preferred brand was Copenhagen,

which like most snuff comes in a tin. At the peak of his habit he would go through 1 1/2 or

two tins a day. He relished the buzz from nicotine—which, according to the American

Cancer Society, is as addictive as heroin or cocaine—that snuff delivers into the

bloodstream through the cheek and gums.

While a 1964 surgeon general’s report led to a flood of research linking cigarette smoking

to afflictions such as heart disease and lung cancer, the impact of smokeless tobacco

hasn’t been explored nearly as extensively. One exception is a research paper published

in a 1986 issue of the medical journal Head & Neck, which studied the relationship

between types of tobacco use and the risks of head and neck cancer. Drawing from the

state of Florida’s cancer registry, it found that “users of smokeless tobacco experienced

11 times the risk of cancers of the mouth and gum as nonusers of any tobacco product.”

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Mell, who was pointed to these findings by the Gwynns’ lawyers, found the study

“certainly plausible,” but he says it would take much more research to make an

unimpeachable medical case against smokeless tobacco as a cause of Gwynn’s specific

form of cancer. “The awareness of that study doesn’t necessarily sway my opinion, which

was always just that there was no established link,” he says. “But that doesn’t mean that

there isn’t one. The absence of evidence isn’t the evidence of absence.”

Another issue the lawsuit raises is baseball’s historically cozy relationship with Big

Tobacco, which has counted Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig among its

pitchmen. While players were forbidden to shill for tobacco companies after the 1964

surgeon general’s report, violators were only fined. Tobacco companies spun smokeless

tobacco as the healthier alternative, and the dips and chews often came in a variety of

sweet, kid-friendly flavors like “warm winter toffee” and “midnight berry.” Chewing

tobacco is still advertised widely, including in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Warning labels

noting that the product increased the risk of cancer, gum disease and tooth loss didn’t

appear on the packaging until 1987. By then, Gwynn had been dipping for 10 years. He

was clipping coupons and sending away for free samples. And the tobacco companies

had launched a relentless marketing and advertising offensive that targeted African-

American men, the Gwynn family lawsuit alleges.

Baseball cards (or “tobacco trading cards,” as they were first called) featured a great

many chipmunk-cheeked players. These players could further be observed stuffing their

faces during games, in the dugout and on the field. Gwynn? He would step into the

batter’s box with a tin in his back pocket, then step out between pitches to expectorate off

to the side. It was all part of his plate presence. “When Tony became a big league

player,” says Alicia, “he’d get big long rolls of Skoal and Copenhagen at the ballpark for

free.”

For many young fans who bore witness to all this from a distance, there was no

separating appeal from risk. High school boys have proved especially impressionable.

Their use of smokeless tobacco has held steady at around 15% since 1999 even as

smoking rates in that cohort have fallen precipitously, according to a September 2015

national survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, a national movement to eradicate smokeless tobacco use didn’t coalesce until after Gwynn’s passing. Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco passed prohibitions against smokeless tobacco use at ballparks use that have gone into

43

effect this baseball season. Get popped in Chicago, which passed its ordinance this spring, and you’ll be out $250 on the first offense and up to $2,500 for the third. “We’re grown men,” Cubs pitcher John Lackey told reporters in March. “People in the stands can have a beer, but we can’t do what we want? That’s a little messed up.” Added his manager, Joe Maddon, “I’m not into over-legislating the human race.”

Spurring these reforms are nonprofit groups like the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

With each success, they put more pressure on the MLB Players Association to ratify a

smokeless tobacco ban. In fact, that would seem to be one of the sticking points left in

the negotiations over the next CBA; the current one expires after this season. (“You are

right about that,” says Bud Selig, the former MLB commissioner. “We discussed this with

the union over and over.”)

After Gwynn’s death, smokeless tobacco users around the league reconsidered the habit.

Two of Gwynn’s former Aztecs hurlers, Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg and Mets

reliever Addison Reed, made very public vows to quit.

Over the past few years, MLB has adjusted its own relationship with tobacco, working

toward reform with stronger measures than just using sunflower seeds or bubble gum as

a substitute. In 2015 it brought on a general internist, Michael B. Steinberg, as a

“smokeless tobacco cessation consultant.” Hard-won amendments in the current CBA bar

players from having smokeless tobacco on their person during games or from using it

during interviews or other official business. Even so, the league’s ability to enforce these

measures is murky under the CBA

The concern is that kids will be influenced by watching the pros. As it happens, though,

Gwynn didn’t acquire his chewing habit by aping any big leaguer. Curtis Burkhead never

made it that far.

SI.com's Ted Keith takes a look at Tony Gwynn's remarkable baseball career. Back in the late 1970s, Gwynn and Burkhead were the Aztecs’ odd couple. Gwynn was a reticent sophomore, Burkhead an outgoing freshman. Gwynn was an everyday player (at DH to start), Burkhead an off-speed pitcher. Chewing tobacco helped break up the waiting. Once, before a series, “probably Tony’s first road trip,” Burkhead says, “I walked by Tony in the bus and said, ‘Hey, if we beat these guys, you’re gonna have a dip with me on the way home.’ And he said, ‘O.K.’”

When the Aztecs triumphed, Gwynn dutifully extended his thumb and forefinger for a

pinch. “So he had a dip with me,” Burkhead continues. “Came home, and he started

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puking. But the next day he had a dip in.” That was the first time Gwynn tried chewing

tobacco. He was 17.

With no NCAA restrictions, smokeless tobacco was all the rage in college baseball. The

Gwynn family lawsuit says that during Gwynn’s time in at SDSU, from 1977 to ’81, the

campus was especially fertile ground for the tobacco companies, which operated through

proxies who lavished students with “free samples and promotional goods.” This despite

the best efforts of longtime Aztecs coach Jim Dietz, a tobacco reformist with a personal

connection to the issue. “My dad died of smoking in his 60s,” says Dietz, now 78. “It

always bothered me.”

Dietz, who was also of the belief that tobacco made his players lethargic, went out of his

way to pass along his feelings about the habit to the Aztecs. He enlisted the help of an

area dentist, who staged presentations on the perils of tobacco use and checked gums

for early cancer signs. “I tried to scare them,” Dietz says. “But you can’t scare college

kids.” Instead, he was the one getting scared straight—by his compliance officer.

“Coach,” the officer told him, “you gotta be careful with this because the NCAA might

consider it an extra benefit.”

It wasn’t until 1990 that the NCAA began banning smokeless tobacco use—first in

tournaments, then outright. Since 2003, any player holding tobacco risks ejection for

himself and his coach (who is also forbidden from dipping). It’s a virtual detox center

compared with the majors.

Without a formal tobacco prohibition in the MLB rulebook, baseball produced tragic

figures left and right. John Boggs, Gwynn’s longtime agent, remembers being with his

client at the ballpark and recoiling at the sight of Kurt Bevacqua, a Padres infielder and

dipping enthusiast who’d had a recent operation on his gums. “He had a piece of

aluminum foil that he’d stick in the front of his mouth,” Boggs says. “And in the aluminum

foil, the crease, was the smokeless tobacco. It wasn’t touching the part where he had the

surgery but it was there. I said to myself, Good god almighty.”

For years, Joe Garagiola, the big league catcher turned Today show panelist, made the

spring training rounds to warn players of the ills of chewing tobacco. Often he brought

along Bill Tuttle, a former outfielder who lost part of his jaw and cheek, along with his

teeth and taste buds, to a 40-year dipping habit.

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Nearly one-third of major league players still dip. On the Oral Cancer Foundation’s list of

sports figure who suffer from the disease, baseball players dominate, with Gwynn in the

leadoff position. His impact on the smokeless tobacco fight is undeniable—so much so

that his legacy as a coach, a family man and a local icon is at risk of being

overshadowed.

After making 15 All-Star teams and winning eight Gold Glove and seven Silver Slugger awards, Gwynn could have easily coasted on his reputation when he started coaching. Instead, he spent his first season at SDSU, in 2002, apprenticing under Dietz as a volunteer hitting coach. There were many aspects of being a manager that he did not know, like how to build a mound or when to remove a pitcher. But Gwynn was happy to learn.

In 2003, he took over the head job with a grand vision: To remake both San Diego State

into a premier baseball school and the city of San Diego into a college baseball

destination to rival Omaha. He was sure he’d caught a glimpse of that future on a cool

night at Petco Park in March of ’04, when his Aztecs shut out Houston in front of 40,000

spectators—still the biggest crowd to watch a college baseball game.

Gwynn enjoyed working with college kids, who weren’t as stuck in their ways as the pros.

His recruiting visits often played out like fan meet-and-greets. “The awkward moments

would be at the end,” says Mike Martinez, Gwynn’s long-time deputy and eventual

successor, when recruits would ask for a picture. Gwynn’s typical response: “Sure!

Absolutely! You should’ve asked me before we started!”

Gwynn had an open door policy for big leaguers like Prince Fielder and Adam Jones, who visited him on campus during the off-season for private hitting instruction. Once, Landon Burt, a former Aztecs player who was Gwynn’s assistant in the last years of his life, was helping him organize his office and happened upon a sheaf of nature tableaux rendered in crayon.

“Who made these?” he asked. “It looks like a five- or six-year-old drew this.”

“Oh,” Gwynn said. “Those are Muhammad Ali’s. He sends me those every month. It’s part

of his therapy.”

Gwynn coached his players to be students of the game. Expanding on his own learning

experience in the bigs, he made supercuts of the Aztecs’ at bats, burning out more than a

few DVD players in the process—a habit that astonished his younger brother Chris, who

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spent 10 years in the majors. “I was like, Man, I didn’t even get that in the big leagues,”

he says. “He really cared about those boys.”

After six years of uneven results, SDSU took its biggest leap under Gwynn in 2009,

winning 41 games and advancing to the third round of the NCAA tournament. Leading the

squad was Strasburg, then a junior pitcher who had gone from being one of Gwynn’s

least-motivated players to the No. 1 pick in the MLB draft after posting a 13–1 record and

a 1.32 ERA. Gwynn was so proud. The next summer, around the time Strasburg threw his

first strikes for the Nationals, Gwynn felt a lump in his right cheek.

*****

The closer Gwynn got to death, the more he embraced his old habit. Doctors ordered him

to stop chewing for the sake of his long-term health, but Gwynn could never go too long

without getting a fix. Online, he researched fake chewing tobacco—which often includes

ingredients like corn syrup and ginseng along with various artificial additives. “It smelled

like the Cope, and I think that’s why he liked it,” Burt recalls. “But one day I’m going

through his locker and I find the fake stuff, open the can, smell it. I knew the Cope smell,

and I knew the fake smell. I knew Coach had taken some of the fake stuff out and put

some of the real stuff in to [dilute] the concentration.”

To be certain, Burt called over one of the big leaguers in preseason training with the

Aztecs at the time: Tony Jr., a onetime snuff user who quit after his father’s first cancer

diagnosis. He confirmed the worst. Incredulous, Burt stepped up his spy game. “I would

catch him in the dugout trying to put a real dip in,” he recalls, “And I would go up to him

and be like, ‘Hey man, what are you freakin’ doing?’ And he’d be like, ‘Leave me alone.

I’m a grown-ass man.’”

. Chewing tobacco was bound to be tough for Gwynn to kick. According to the National Institutes of Health, holding an average-size dip in the mouth for 30 minutes yields as much nicotine as smoking three cigarettes. Near the end, Gwynn would walk into convenience stores around his house at night trying to buy dips. The clerks would try to talk him out of it, but he’d laugh them off. “You could see that he really needed some," says Burt. “He was just so frustrated with his cancer and being sick. He could be at the bottom, tired, no energy, nothing. And [he’d] just put a little pinch of that stuff in his mouth, and he was instantly perked up, ready to go.”

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During a series at UNLV a month into the 2014 season, Gwynn didn’t last much beyond

the first batting practice; he spent the balance of the trip in his hotel room. “He was just

weak,” Alicia says. “His equilibrium was off. His lungs were starting to fill up.” After that

series, she continues, “We were back and forth to the hospital.” One stay stretched on for

a month. As he convalesced, he would call Martinez to go over Aztecs lineups and follow

road games on an iPad. When they won, Martinez would call Gwynn from the bus so

players could serenade him with the school fight song. “That kept him going,” Alicia says.

“He was so happy when they won.”

That year, the Aztecs went 42–21 en route to the Mountain West title. They went into the

off-season eager for their coach’s return. It seemed imminent. On June 11, SDSU

announced that Gwynn had agreed to an extension. Less than a week later, he was dead.

In February, SDSU hosted the first annual Gwynn Classic, the preseason tournament that

Gwynn had always dreamed of bringing to San Diego. (The proceeds went to the family’s

nonprofit, the Tony and Alicia Gwynn Foundation, which provides financial and

educational resources to under-served kids.) Many of Gwynn’s former Aztecs teammates

turned up for the occasion, including Gary Henderson and Ron Hill—respectively, the

skippers for Kentucky and the University of San Diego, which co-hosted the event. Front

and center was the Gwynn family. Anisha sang the national anthem. Tony Jr. threw out

the first pitch. Alicia presented the MVP award.

Three months later, the family would file their lawsuit against the tobacco companies,

seeking closure through a jury trial. But for now, they were honoring his memory in the

most appropriate way: on a college baseball field.

All the while, Burkhead watched from the stands, with a dip in his left cheek.