A series of calculated moves helped position the Padres to host a playoff seriesGETTY IMAGES
The Padres qualifying for this season's playoffs was "not the result of a single, bold stroke" but "gained shape through bold stroke after calculated bold stroke, lined up like dominoes waiting to be tipped," according to Bryce Miller of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. In '16, the Padres spent nearly $80M in the international market and had a farm system that "rocketed from No. 20 in baseball to No. 3 in one year." With other "heavy hitters sidelined and a new deal with new rules looming, the Padres shot the gap and blew past their spending history in what a MLB official said at the time would rank among the top three expenditures in history." Padres Exec Chair Ron Fowler said, "The decision to play in the international market in ’16 was a key part of it. That was the first time this organization truly put on its big-boy pants and spent a lot of money. I know we shocked some people." Fowler "famously said on the day after last season ended 'heads will roll' if things did not change" in '20. Miller: "Change, they did." Fowler on what he intended with the colorful challenge explained, "There was hyperbole in the statement, but it was throwing down a challenge to the organization and leadership group I knew was up to the task. They didn't expect anything less" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/30).
