As Saturday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres was nearing its end, A.J. Pierzynski, who was calling the game on Fox, took a little swipe at the Padres and their fans.
San Diego has won a pair of National League Pennants since joining the league. Since the second of those pennant wins in 1998, the Padres’ deepest playoff run came in 2022, when they reached the National League Championship Series. To get to that NLCS, San Diego defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 in the National League Division Series. During the ninth inning, on Saturday, Fox play-by-play man Joe Davis mentioned “The NLCS run in 2022.”
Pierzynski responded by talking about how the fans in San Diego treated that win.
“I was here for that when they beat the Dodgers in the Division Series,” he said. “That was Padres’ fans’ World Series. It shouldn’t be. But man, the reaction. ‘We beat the Dodgers.'”
“I was here for that when they beat the Dodgers in the Division Series. That was Padres’ fans World Series. It shouldn’t be. But man, the reaction. ‘We beat the Dodgers.'”
– A.J. Pierzynski
(H/T @TalkingFriars)pic.twitter.com/mXRDB3iVB0
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 14, 2024
Pierzynski is not entirely wrong. Petco Park was a madhouse erupted when the Padres sealed their 2022 NLDS win over the Dodgers.
After scoring five runs in the seventh to erase a 3-0 deficit, the Padres defeat the Dodgers 5-3 in Game 4 of the NLDS to win the series 3-1. pic.twitter.com/GtkGvhDuHZ
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 16, 2022
The question is, is this a bad thing?
They enjoyed one of the greatest regular seasons in MLB history in 2022, going 111-51. By contrast, the Padres went 89-73. The Dodgers were heavy favorites in that series. Los Angeles and San Diego are also division rivals and local rivals. The two cities are separated by approximately 120 miles.
Would the reaction have been as loud if the Padres had enjoyed more postseason success? Probably not. But we’re talking about an upset win in the postseason against a rival team and city. Most fans would be excited about that.
About Michael Dixon
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