TWITTER
The Padres' social media team, in celebration of Mother's Day, "opted to do away with their '@Padres' Twitter handle for a day in favor of '@Madres,'" according to Andrew Joseph of USATODAY.com. However, the team "changed their actual handle," not just their display name, and "evidently, someone forgot to lock down the handle on a separate account." This presented Ricky Padilla, who plays baseball at Calvin College, an opportunity, as he "immediately took notice to the available @Padres handle and claimed it for himself." The Padres' Twitter bio indicated that there was "some coordination for the promotion with Twitter and Budweiser," but the account "wasn't locked quickly enough to keep the @Padres handle on hold for the club." Eventually, the team was "able to regain control" of the handle (USATODAY.com, 5/12).
IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT: YAHOO SPORTS' Jay Busbee noted Padilla "answered a few fans' inquiries as the @Padres, and offered one a couple tickets that he almost surely does not have to offer." It is "likely that Twitter itself stepped in and vetoed" Padilla off of the account (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/12). In San Diego, Kirk Kenney noted Padilla "enjoyed about 210 minutes of fame." Padilla said, "It ended up blowing up a lot more than I thought it was. Way too many messages." After Twitter restored the @Padres name to the team, the club tweeted, "Hi Ricky, thanks for keeping @Padres safe this morning. We'd love to invite you and your Madre and Padre to a game when the team is back in town" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/13).
