SAN DIEGO (AP) – The San Diego Padres have sacked Jayce Tingler, who led the biggest breakdown in franchise history just one season after finishing second in the NL Manager of the Year election.
General manager AJ Preller announced the move on Wednesday, three days after the Padres finished 79-83 and finished third in NL West, 28 games behind San Francisco. Preller said Tingler would be given the opportunity to stay with the organization.
What you need to know
- The San Diego Padres have sacked Jayce Tingler, who led the biggest breakdown in franchise history just one season after finishing second in the NL Manager of the Year election
- General manager AJ Preller announced the move on Wednesday, three days after the Padres finished 79-83 and third in NL West, 28 games behind San Francisco
- Tingler’s fate was sealed during a brutal free fall in which the Padres went from a game lead for second wildcard place in the NL on September 9 to being eliminated from the playoffs with seven games remaining
- Prior to his appointment on October 28, Tingler had no management experience at rookie levels and positions in various Dominican leagues
Tingler’s fate was sealed during a brutal free fall in which the Padres went from a game lead for second wildcard place in the NL on September 9 to being eliminated from the playoff competition with seven games remaining. The Padres achieved their 10th record loss in 11 seasons.
Tinger was 116-106 in two seasons overall.
Tingler had no leadership experience at rookie levels and positions in various Dominican leagues before he was hired on October 28, 2019 by Preller, a friend from their time together in the Texas Rangers organization.
Tingler led the Padres to a 37-23 record and their first playoff appearance in 13 years in the 2020 season shortened by the pandemic. They beat the St. Louis Cardinals in a wildcard series before being swept away in the divisional series by eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Led by superstars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado and with a salary of $ 175 million, the Padres kicked off the World Series endeavors this season and played with pride through a series of problems on the field until the second half and showed up at the clubhouse.
While still one of the front runners for NL MVP, Tatis has suffered a recurring left shoulder injury and has even been temporarily relegated to the outfield to reduce his risk of injury.
The Padres failed to land a starting pitcher at close of trading and then saw their rotation decimated by injuries to Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Chris Paddack as there was no depth to fill in.
There have been reports that some players were unhappy that the Padres were trying to swap first baseman Eric Hosmer on the deadline. Reports later surfaced that some players had gone to Preller to express their displeasure with Tingler’s work.
In a breathtaking dugout on September 18, Machado cursed and yelled at Tatis and had to be separated from teammates and a coach. The spitting came after Tatis went looking and then argued the call from umpire Phil Cuzzi. Tingler had been kicked out when he came out to argue for Tatis and was not in the dugout when the superstars clashed.
Tingler is the fourth coach Preller has sacked in his seven seasons. In June 2015 he fired the experienced skipper Bud Black and replaced him with the interim manager Pat Murphy, who was not taken over. Preller then hired the relatively unknown Andy Green, who had no management experience in the big leagues, despite serving as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ third base coach for a season after having worked in their farm system for four seasons.
Green was sacked with eight games remaining in the 2019 season after the team collapsed in the second half. He was 274-366 years old in total.
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