The San Diego Padres season ended on a sour note in 2025. Losing two out of three to the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card series, the team then lost its manager when he retired 11 days after the season ended. Citing mental, physical and emotional exhaustion, manager Mike Shildt left the team and subsequently took a job with the Baltimore Orioles in their player development department.<\/p>\n
After his retirement from managing, news came out about several issues that were common between Shildt\u2019s two opportunities to manage in the major leagues. His temperament with his coaches and front offices was portrayed as volatile and there wasn\u2019t anyone who watched the team closely that didn\u2019t notice his short temper with media during his press conferences.<\/p>\n
Despite these issues, Shildt was a successful manager and won 90 games or more in his two seasons with the Padres. Players cited their good relationships with him and how they felt he had their backs throughout his time with the organization. But the tensions and constrained environment could not have been good for the overall vibe with the team. It isn\u2019t hard to assume that the choice of Craig Stammen as manager by president of baseball operations A.J. Preller was partly a reflection of wanting someone whose temperament and personality he knew well.<\/p>\n
So what will be the new philosophy for the team be going forward?<\/p>\n
What will Stammen bring to the environment that takes a talented group of players and helps them take the next step that is needed to win a World Series championship?<\/p>\n
During his first presser of Spring Training on Tuesday, Stammen was asked about his organizational philosophy for the team. His response shows his sense of humor as well as his desire to build on what the team has already accomplished and then add his own contributions.<\/p>\n
\u201dScore as many runs as possible, that would be a good philosophy,\u201d Stammen said, with a big grin. \u201cWe\u2019re going to talk about hard work, we\u2019re going to talk about togetherness and we\u2019re going to talk about, you know, adding days together that add up to a big picture. So, being really good at the small things, being \u2018extraordinary at the ordinary\u2019 – if you want some buzz words. Those are the things I believe in and the things I\u2019m going to try to impart on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
This does sound a little similar to Shildt\u2019s \u2018winning on the margins\u2019 philosophy but if you add the comments of new hitting coach, Steven Souza, to what Stammen stated you get a more complete picture of what they want the offense to be like.<\/p>\n
Steven Souza outlines his goals<\/p>\n
\u201dFirst of all, it\u2019s nice to have a talented roster like this. You\u2019re only as good as the players you have and the culture you create,\u201d Souza said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of really good players in this offense that do a really good job at a lot of different things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201dControlling the zone, hammering mistakes, being able to make the pitcher do something different out there,\u201d Souza said.<\/p>\n
Souza went on to expand on his thoughts by adding, \u201ccreate traffic, when that happens, is a huge part of the success going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that slug was an issue last season but emphasized having a dialogue with the hitters to give them a different creative avenue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe offense needs to be able to play the game that we need to play,\u201d Souza said, stating that hitting in Petco Park might mean spraying the ball around, but a different environment would call for more slug.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot limiting this roster to one type of team, I think that\u2019s what I want to do. Controlling the zone is part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said that he wants the hitters to feel free to do what works for them. The dialogue and communication will stress that the hitters need to feel free to be themselves.<\/p>\n
Communication and relationships are the two words most often heard from both Stammen and the players who spoke to the media at Padres FanFest on Jan. 31 at Petco Park. Many of the guys he will manage this season also played with Stammen when he pitched for the Padres.<\/p>\n