'It's a tribute to him': How the Padres' sale comp...
Key takeaways
- The team would sink back to mediocrity -- or worse.
- And in this week's owners meeting, Seidler's bold choices will be handsomely rewarded.
- "It's a lot, it's a lot," Padres third baseman Manny Machado said.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
Stars such as Fernando Tatis Jr. have made Petco Park one of baseball's hottest tickets. Denis Poroy-Imagn Images Buster Olney Jun 3, 2026, 07:00 AM ETClose Senior writer ESPN Magazine/ESPN.com Analyst/reporter ESPN television Author of "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty"Follow on XMultiple Authors Email Print Open Extended Reactions In his time as owner of the San Diego Padres, the late Peter Seidler spoke frequently with his general manager, A.J. Preller, about the repeated cycle of frustration the city's sports fans had experienced. "All the time," Preller said recently.
Often, the Padres developed or collected stars, and with the notable exception of eight-time batting champion Tony Gwynn, they would trade players when they became more expensive or stand down as they departed as free agents. The team would sink back to mediocrity -- or worse. It was like the fans were Charlie Brown and the Padres were Lucy, snatching the football away and yanking hope when it seemed there was a chance for glory. And for San Diegans, the roots of resentment weren't tied to just the baseball team. The city's NBA franchise, the Clippers, moved to Los Angeles in 1984, and then in 2017, the Chargers chose a new stadium deal over a fanbase that had supported them for more than five decades and jumped to L.A.
But Seidler, Preller and others in the organization changed the trajectory of the Padres, constructing a new perception of the team, even while absorbing waves of industry criticism and skepticism about San Diego's spending. And in this week's owners meeting, Seidler's bold choices will be handsomely rewarded. The Padres -- the team that occupies a relatively tiny corner of the California media market -- will be officially sold to Jose Feliciano and Kwanza Jones for a stunning $3.9 billion, by far the largest value for an MLB team in history (the New York Mets sold to Steve Cohen for $2.4 billion in 2020). The Padres' valuation is about five times greater than the franchise's sale price in 2012, for $800 million.