Incredible: Jayce Tingler, the former head coach of the San Diego Padres, has formally announced his return to the team.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have appointed Jayce Tingler, a former manager of the San Diego Padres, as their bench coach.
When Tingler led the Padres for two seasons, the 40-year-old went 116-106. After missing the playoffs in 2020, Tingler was fired as a result of the team’s collapse in the final stretch of this season.
Before moving to San Diego, Tingler played a variety of roles for the Texas Rangers for 13 seasons.
David Popkins was also brought on by the Twins to serve as the new hitting coach. In 2021, he was the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Class A affiliate.
Popkins, 31, is a North Park native and alum of St. Augustine High School.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Despite a terrible collapse in the latter part of the season that left them with yet another losing record, the San Diego Padres continue to believe they have a World Series-caliber team.
It won’t be manager Jayce Tingler who leads the Padres to the Fall Classic if they do advance that far.
Three days after finishing 79-83 and in third place in the NL West, 28 games behind San Francisco, the Padres fired Tingler on Wednesday.
Tingler, who came in second place in the voting for NL Manager of the Year just last season, will have the chance to stay with the company, according to general manager A.J. Preller.
Tingler’s demise was assured amid a startling collapse in which the Padres lost a one-game lead.
for the National League’s second wild-card spot on September 9 to having their seven remaining games eliminated from playoff contention. In 11 seasons, the Padres secured their tenth losing record.
Leading by superstars Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. and with Tingler as their rookie manager, the Padres have embraced the high expectations generated by their playoff run during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, according to Preller.
After dismissing Tingler, a friend from their time together with the Texas Rangers organization, Preller stated, “In the end, I felt like this was a change we needed to make in order to get us on that big stage.” “We believe that our squad is capable of playing through October and that we have a talented roster.” Today’s decision is a reflection of that.
“While I’m profoundly disappointed that our season ended far too soon, I know this team has a very bright future ahead,” Tingler said in a statement.
As with Preller, this season “is ultimately viewed as an aberration because we’re a World Series-caliber, competitive team going forward for the next several years,” according to owner Peter Seidler. We definitely hold ourselves to that standard, Seidler said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Before being hired on October 28, 2019, Tingler had only managed rookie-level ball and had stints in various Dominican leagues.
Prior to spending a year as the big league third-base coach, Andy Green, Tingler’s predecessor, managed four seasons in Arizona’s farm system without having any prior big league managerial experience.
“I think A.J. can handle this.”correct this time, but I’m not going to insist that it fulfill every requirement on the checklist,” Seidler remarked. “We’re going to hire the best manager we can find, and he’ll take us to new heights both in the upcoming year and beyond.”
In 2020, Tingler led the Padres to a 37-23 record and their first postseason trip in thirteen years. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who went on to win the World Series, swept them in the division series after they had defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in a wild-card series.
The Padres, who had a payroll of $175 million, came into this season hoping to win the World Series and played with confidence. However, a number of issues on the field and in the clubhouse emerged in the second half.
Tatis, who is still a strong candidate for National League MVP, struggled with a reoccurring injury to his left shoulder and was even temporarily moved to the outfield to reduce his risk of further damage.
Following their inability to acquire a starting pitcher before the trade deadline, the Padres saw Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Chris Paddack suffer injuries that severely damaged their rotation and left them without a backup pitcher.
The Padres attempted to trade first baseman Eric Hosmer at the deadline, which reportedly infuriated some players. Subsequently, rumors circulated that certain players had visited Preller to express their discontent with Tingler’s work.
On September 18, in an incredible dugout brawl, Machado had to be pulled apart by teammates and a coach after he swore and yelled at Tatis. Tatis struck out looking and then contested umpire Phil Cuzzi’s call, which sparked the altercation. Tingler wasn’t in the dugout when the superstars clashed; instead, he was ejected after he emerged to argue on Tatis’ side.
I am the first to fail. Seidler, a third-generation descendant of the O’Malley family that formerly owned the Dodgers, declared, “I’m going to look in the mirror and have an honest analysis of what went wrong and what needs to be changed.”
“As an organization, it’s very evident to me that there was a lack of unity this year, and that needs to change drastically,” Seidler stated.
Questioned “It wasn’t as professional as I would expect it to be,” Seidler remarked when asked if the clubhouse had turned toxic.
Seidler stated that ownership was dedicated to delivering a championship to a fan base that has experienced more than its fair share of defeat back in February, following the Padres’ awarding of Tatis the longest contract in baseball history—a $140-million, 14-year agreement. The $300 million, ten-year contract for Machado in 2019 and the $144 million, eight-year deal for Hosmer in 2018 were followed by the Tatis deal.
We arrived at the ballpark as a city. We need to step up our efforts to win a championship for San Diego because we’re third in the major leagues in attendance this year, according to Seidler.
