The last time the San Diego Padres reached the World Series, it was 1998, and they had the misfortune of running into the history-making, 114-win New York Yankees. That series resulted in a triumphant sweep for the Yankees, and the Padres franchise soon tipped into a dormant period that lasted until A.J. Preller, the San Diego president of baseball operations emboldened by ownership, started gobbling up star players a few years ago.
San Diego’s first attempt at shooting the competitive moon under Preller fizzled before it ever sparked, but the reboot had legs. The original signing of Manny Machado and the emergence of Fernando Tatis Jr.