2022 San Diego Padres Will Benefit From Having Bob Melvin as Manager

The San Diego Padres surprised the baseball universe with the hiring of Bob Melvin away from the Oakland A’s as team manager. The roster of the 2022 Friars will benefit greatly from this move.

The Padres were one of the biggest disappointments of last season. The organization needed a veteran manager like Melvin who will offer leadership to a young team that desperately needs some guidance. It was evident the club could not handle the pressure of being a projected playoff contender. Melvin can guide this team through such adversity as he has seen almost every possible situation baseball has to offer.

Melvin’s Relationship With Players is Key to Success

The Friars’ new skipper comes with plenty of managerial (1346-1272 career record) experience as he has been at the helm of a major league ballclub (Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, and A’s) for 18 seasons. Plus, Melvin was named Manager of the Year three times in his career.

Melvin is lauded throughout the game for taking a chance on a ragtag group of players and molding them into a contending team. Think of him as the “MacGyver” of major league managers. This approach might be frowned upon by some of his contemporaries. But Melvin creates a bond with the players that last until the final out is recorded on the season.

His success has a lot to do with the ability to let his players find their own identity on the baseball field. He does not hold any preconceived notion of their skill level. Nor does Melvin expect his team to play a certain style of baseball. No, all he wants from his players is to play hard for nine innings each night. Melvin has an open line of communication with everyone on the roster as this puts them in a position to succeed in key situations.

Lack of Experience Doomed Tingler with San Diego Padres

The removal of Jayce Tingler was expected after the team’s collapse in the second half of last season. The Friars finished with a 79-83 record. It marked the 10th time in the last 11 seasons that the Padres played under .500 for a 162-game campaign. The Friars have too much talent on the roster to underachieve to this level.

There were cracks in the foundation. The frustration of the poor play culminated with a dugout dispute between Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. in St. Louis. Emotions were high. The Padres were in midst of losing eight of their last 11 games. A veteran manager would have taken control of the situation and not let the confrontation linger in the clubhouse.

Instead, Tingler declined to comment on the incident after the game. He allowed it to fester among the players until the Padres came home from the road trip. Machado and Tatis Jr. held an impromptu press conference to explain the cause of their actions.

Tingler was nowhere to be found. He should have been standing right next to his players, acting as a traffic cop to control the line of questioning from the press. It was the final sign that Tingler was over his head as Padres’ manager.

The Friar Faithful knew a housecleaning was coming and Tingler was the first to be swept away. The fans felt he was an extension of the front office. Tingler rarely went against Padres general manager A.J. Preller’s analytics-based wishes. His in-game moves had the look of being pre-determined with little regard to what was taking place on the field.

The San Diego Padres hired a manager that has a voice and is willing to put his fingerprints on improving the ballclub. In 2022, the Friar Faithful will not be disappointed with Bob Melvin or his managerial style.