The Padres’ annual trip to Cincinnati this year begins in late August, so it could very well still be hot and humid and downright uncomfortable outside.
You’d have to be a big fan of Skyline Chili to look forward to a trip to Great American Ball Park to call it your favorite road city — unless you grew up looking forward to the couple of times a year you commuted two hours from North Star, Ohio, to the home of the Reds.
“Nobody’s going to say Cincinnati, but it’s home,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “I’ll see a lot of family. It’s familiar. I can pick out all the places I got to watch the games in the stands and now I’m on the field. It’s a good trip down memory lane and makes me appreciate where I’m at.”
It’s as good a reason as any for a Padre to circle a road trip on the calendar.
Jackson Merrill, for instance, grew up idolizing Dustin Pedroia, so the every-other-year trip to Fenway Park is one he looks forward to. It’s home-ish for Boston College product Michael King, too, so a few days in and around historic Newbury Street rivals his favorite West Coast attraction of Pike Place Market in Seattle.
The reason Ty France loves Boston: The heckling, believe it or not.
“Boston fans are mean,” the San Diego State product said with a laugh. “It’s always fun playing there.”
France isn’t often out on the town while on the road, but there are plenty of cities that offer fun away from the ballpark.
“I always enjoy going to New York,” second baseman Jake Cronenworth said. “It’s great to have an off day and go out and have a great dinner. The same with DC. DC has a ton of great food. Have a night out on the town and go to a great dinner with some of the guys.”
Kyle Hart #68 of the San Diego Padres pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the fifth inning at Petco Park on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Kyle Hart is of the same mind, but he prefers a three-day trip to New York’s Yankee Stadium or Citi Field over a four-day jaunt. There’s only so much traffic that a Midwesterner can handle.
“New York’s fun, but only for a couple days,” Hart said. “It’s a 45-minute drive to the field, if not an hour. That gets old.”
Nick Pivetta doesn’t want much to do with traffic, either. He has a 13.05 ERA in his career at Coors Field, but he’s still drawn to the Denver area for the fishing, hiking and golf.
Ramón Laureano also likes being out in the sun in Miami and Arizona — if he goes out. He usually doesn’t, unless he’s looking for a good burger or java.
“I don’t go out unless there’s a good city for a coffee shop, like Minnesota,” Laureano said.
The teams that drafted Jeremiah Estrada and Joe Musgrove — Chicago and Toronto, respectively — have it all in their cities. Musgrove didn’t make it to the big leagues with the Blue Jays, but “the people, the city, the food, the stadium” make the Rogers Centre in Toronto one of his favorite every-other-year stops. Estrada made his big-league debut with the Cubs and said he enjoys every return trip he gets as a member of the Padres.
“The city of Chicago is beautiful,” Estrada said. “I love the weather. I love how it can go from cold to hot. It has everything.”
Mason Miller feels the same way about Pittsburgh.
But because it’s home. He has yet to pitch there as a pro, so next week’s trip to PNC Park has been circled on his calendar for a while.
“It’ll be special,” Miller said. “I pitched there in high school. I grew up going to games there. As far as a sentimental meaning, that’ll be the top for me.”