This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell’s Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill took home their 2024 Silver Slugger Awards on Saturday. But before they did so, they wanted to make it abundantly clear that those awards truly belonged to the entire hitting staff.
As the Padres made preparations for their current homestand, Machado approached team brass with an idea. Rather than the usual pregame ceremony, often featuring club executives, Machado wanted the hitting staff on the field instead to present the awards.
“They're the guys that are in the battle with us every single day,” Machado said. “As much as we get recognized, they gave just as much. They're with us 24/7. … Man, they're in there grinding with us as much as we're grinding out there on the field. As much as the Silver Slugger is for us as a player -- it's theirs, too.”
Manager Mike Shildt loved the idea, and sure enough, moments before first pitch on Saturday night, the Padres’ six-man hitting department took the field. From left to right in the above photo are sports science director Nathan Landau, assistant hitting coaches Mike McCoy and Pat O’Sullivan, Merrill, Machado, batting practice and hitting instructor Morgan Burkhardt, hitting coach Victor Rodriguez and special assistant Allen Craig.
“That's the way it should be,” Rodriguez said. “Because there are a lot of people that work with them, and sometimes they are not recognized. I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about the whole group.”
That group has worked wonders in San Diego. For years -- decades, really -- Petco Park was viewed as a place where good offense went to die. In the first 20 years of Petco Park’s existence, the Padres never had an offense that ranked higher than 10th in hitting over a full season, according to wRC+ (an all-encompassing hitting metric). Since the arrival of Rodriguez and his staff before the 2024 season, San Diego ranks fifth.
While it obviously helps to have hitters like Machado and Merrill, they both make the case that it’s more than just them. Rodriguez came up with the moniker “Petco Park hitting” upon being hired for the job. It’s an emphasis on a line-drive oriented approach that pays dividends in a ballpark that rewards that style of hitting. The mindset has been implemented to perfection, through the entirety of the hitting group.
“This thing is only going to work if we are on the same page, if we are together and we preach the same language and we are consistent,” Rodriguez said. “That's what we're seeing. We've all been in places where there are too many people with different voices, and usually that's not a good thing.
“Here, it works. Each coach has a different way of teaching, a different way of doing things. That's their own personal thing. But the message, the approach, it's the same.”
The message has resonated with these Padres hitters -- in part because of how well the staff prepares. Here’s what Machado had to say, speaking after the Padres’ victory on Saturday night:
“It's 8:30, the game's been over for an hour, and they're in there studying the next pitcher. Whatever it is, whether it's tips, approach, what this guy likes to do -- they're in there figuring out a gameplan for us. That helps us out tremendously. ... That goes unnoticed. Big time. Everyone sees the home runs and the great things that happen on the ballfield. But there's a lot more that goes on behind the scenes that these guys don't really get noticed for.”
On Saturday, Machado made sure they were noticed. The specific presenters of the two Silver Sluggers were also symbolic.
Burkhardt -- the longest tenured member of the big league staff, who works closely with Machado on a nightly basis in the batting cage -- presented Machado’s award. O’Sullivan -- who coached at various levels of the Padres’ system, including as Merrill’s Single-A hitting coach in Lake Elsinore -- presented the award to Merrill.
“That was so sick,” said Merrill. “Low-A hitting coach, and he’s been with me every year. So after three years, getting that with him, it’s pretty sweet.”
It made for a break from routine before Saturday’s game. Typically, that group spends the moments before first pitch in the bowels of the stadium, working with hitters who want a few last-minute swings in the batting cage.
Instead, they found themselves at the center of a sold-out Petco Park, holding a pair of Silver Slugger trophies.
“That was just an absolute class gesture on Manny's part,” said Shildt. “And well deserved for those guys.”