Padres Rookie Manager Met Plenty Of First Year Challenges

The San Diego Padres took a big risk when they hired rookie manager Craig Stammen for any number of reasons. Stammen had no on-field experience as a manager, as he’d been a front office guy when GM A.J. Preller talked him into taking the job. 

The results were impressive, even if there were some warts and flaws that showed through. There were times during the midseason when it looked like Stammen would fail, but he did conquer some formidable challenges, as AJ Cassavell of MLB.com noted. 

Start with the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 4th weekend. The Padres lost what the writer described as a “brutal” game on an error by second baseman Jake Cronenworth that led to a go-ahead grand slam, and starter Michael King was upset about being lifted from the game. 

The clubhouse was shaken, per Cassavell, but Stammen weathered the storm. The Padres were in the middle of an eight-game losing streak, but Stammen preached optimim and being positive, and the message took, with a huge dose of help from third baseman Manny Machado. 

The big move Stammen made shortly after that was with the rotation, which was bad and getting worse. Stammen saw that, so he turned almost his entire staff into a bullpen and labeled it “pitching chaos.” 

That worked, too. It wasn’t easy, and it didn’t last long, but it helped the Padres get back on track and start getting wins again. 

The manager also had some tough individual moments in which he recognized that he was the problem, not the solution. He trusted his pitchers for too long early, and a couple substitution moves either backfired or didnt get executed properly. 

Stammen didn’t run from this, as Cassavell pointed out. He showed the ability to overcome his mistakes and correct his decisoin errors quickly, and that’s the mark of a manager who will have a succesful career. 

Preller deserves some credit here as well. His move was initially panned, as it came right after the Padres had interviewed future Hall of Famer for the job. But as Cassavell pointed out, Preller’s last three hires also made the playoffs, so he’s doing a lot right. 

Stammen will have a completely different team to manage next season, which will perhaps be his biggest challenge of all. But the one thing we know from this year is that he’s more than equipped to handle it well.