Greetings to all San Diego Padre baseball fans. A new attitude of enthusiasm is reigning over America’s Finest City in 2015. Since the Padres off-season moves have created much optimism, the fans are showing up at the Box Office in great numbers. I have experienced this first hand as an employee in ticket distribution. Our Box Office is experiencing brisk business this week due to the success on the field and the arrival of the Dodgers this weekend. On my Tuesday 10:00-5:00 shift the ticket lines were non-stop up until around 3:00. We had at least 6 windows open. Normally non-game days around 3 Ticket Sellers opening @10 and 1-2 additional @12:30. We all welcome the business and thank the fans for their support.
Now to the business of baseball.
Additions of Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Derek Norris, James Shields and Will Myers have put a core group of leaders with winning attitudes and clubhouse chemistry to add to our teams optimism. The addition of Closer Craig Kimbrel from Atlanta before opening day sends the message to other clubs that the Padres are serious about ending 5 seasons of sub .500 baseball. The architect of this, A. J. Preller, Director of Baseball Operations has done a masterful job of acquiring offensive talent without sacrificing the starting pitching to keep the team competitively balanced. The ownership has increased payroll, sending a message to our fans WE WANT TO WIN and make the playoffs. In the words of beloved Padre Tony Gwynn, the season is a marathon, not a sprint.We are all excited of the great start @ 10-5. We must remember, it is a long season of ups and downs. We must not suffer any catastrophic injuries to any of the starting pitching or every day key players.
Our bullpen must be strong as previous years and continue to keep the positive attitude throughout the highs and lows during the season. My opinion, this season could be very special to the Friar Faithful. We could win between 90-95 games if everything falls into place. The best is yet to come. Let’s all enjoy the journey and see whether it leads to the promise land of winning a World Series title. Keep the Faith fans. Look forward to serving all of you @ Petco Park this season. Al Avallone, San Diego Padres ticket distribution employee since 1969.