SAN DIEGO– The email was sent to Padres ticket holders at 9:05 AM on Thursday morning, nearly two years after revered owner Peter Seidler passed away. John Seidler, who was appointed chairman of the Padres after his younger brother’s death, was exploring a sale of the team. 

“To our Faithful Fans,

I want to share with you that the family has decided to begin a process of evaluating our future with the Padres, including a potential sale of the franchise. We will undertake this process with integrity and professionalism in a way that honors Peter’s legacy and love for the Padres and lays the foundation for the franchise’s long-term success. During the process and as we prepare for the 2026 season, the Padres will continue to focus on putting every resource into winning a World Series championship. We remain fully committed to you, this team, and the San Diego community. We’re also committed to finding a new steward for the franchise who shares Peter’s vision: continue to field a consistently competitive team and win a World Series championship for San Diego. We have every expectation that the new owner will build on the momentum we have built together and operate the franchise and ballpark in a first-class manner, the way our current leadership team does.”

Although this letter undoubtedly came as a shock to Padres fans, who enjoyed back-to-back trips to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and set a Petco Park attendance record in 2025 with 3,437,201 fans, second only to the Dodgers, it was a largely predictable outcome to league insiders, following Sheel Seidler’s lawsuit against the Seidler brothers, challenging their claim for control of the team. 

Sheel’s lawsuit claimed Peter wanted her to be the control person of the team upon his death, with control eventually passing down to their three children. 

To @Padres fans, I want you to hear directly from me. Peter and I had a mission to bring championship baseball to San Diego. That remains my commitment to you. Read my full statement below. pic.twitter.com/YW605jZ0P8

— Sheel Seidler (@sheel_padres) January 6, 2025

She also alleged that the Seidler brothers could look to sell and or relocate the team, a claim that was denied by Padres CEO Erik Greupner in spring training.

So now what, for a nervous fan base that’s been through some painful ownership changes, from John Moores’ costly divorce to Jeff Moorad’s atrocious “it will start with a three” payroll mandates? Yes, three as in three million and not three hundred million? Now what, for an irritated fan base wondering why general manager A.J. Preller has yet to be extended, why exactly Mike Shildt suddenly resigned, why the Padres hired another first-time manager with no coaching experience in Craig Stammen, why they didn’t have any contract talks with free agent Michael King, why the Padres chairman refuses to make himself available to his fan base and local media?

Now what, for a nervous fan base wondering why they’re reading about the possibility of “needing” to trade superstar Fernando Tatís, one of the most electric players to ever come through San Diego, because of payroll issues? Now what, for a fan base wondering if they can afford Gavin Sheets, due to other obvious roster needs? Gavin Sheets! 

Now what, for a fan base that dared and grew accustomed to believing through the late, great Peter Seidler, that anything was possible, that the Padres could compete for the biggest stars in MLB, that winning was all that mattered, that fire sales were a thing of the past, that “one year soon, the baseball gods will smile on San Diego?”

One can only hope that the right thing will be done by the fans of San Diego, that the stewardship of this team will pass on to someone who understands the importance of a community trust at at long last, fulfills Peter Seidler’s vision for San Diego, which he outlined in one of his final spring training interviews. 

“We have a very sports-oriented and hungry fan base, “said Seidler in February of 2023. We believe if we continue to build that trust, they will continue to come. It’s about winning and being exciting and our fans young and old knowing they’re going to be able to watch great, exciting players year after year. When we talk about risk,  there’s a risk to doing nothing. We’ve chosen to really focus on the players and what’s spawned out of that is this amazing relationship between our player and our fans.”

The last few years of baseball in San Diego has been epic, frustrating, disappointing, hopeful, star-studded and thrilling, everything Peter Seidler envisioned when he handed out hundreds of millions of dollars to star players. Here’s hoping the next owner understands what being a sports owner is all about. 

Get this right, baseball.Â