On Tuesday, the baseball world was hit with some very sad news. Early in the day, the San Diego Padres announced that their owner, Peter Seidler had passed away at the age of 63.
Seidler became a part owner of the Padres in 2012, serving alongside then-chairman Ron Fowler. Seidler became the Padres chairman in November of 2020.
As chairman of the Padres, Seidler was never afraid to spend money and make big moves. He helped add pieces such as Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Manny Machado, Ha-Seong Kim, Xander Bogaerts, Juan Soto, and others.
The news was met with much sadness in the San Diego community, and the Padres made sure to honor their late owner.
On Tuesday, after the news broke, Darvish paid tribute to Seidler by placing flowers at the Padres owner's memorial outside of Petco Park.
Yu Darvish honors Peter Seidler
Seidler touched many lives in the San Diego community, including those of his players. Here, Darvish paid a touching tribute to the late Padres owner.
Under Seidler's watch, the Padres reached the postseason in 2020 and again in 2022. The team lost the NLDS to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 but made a surprise run to the NLCS in 2022 before falling short against the eventual National League champion Philadelphia Phillies.
Seidler had big goals for the Padres, as evidenced by the many major moves he made in free agency and in trades. Sadly, the Padres never won a World Series under his watchful eye, but he was able to transform a franchise that had a long history of losing and not much to cheer about for several years.
San Diego missed the postseason this year, finishing with a record of 82-80 in what proved to be Seidler's final year as the team's owner.
But it's clear that Seidler was well respected in San Diego by his players, fellow executives, and Padres fans. Darvish clearly felt the same way and honored the late Padres owner in touching fashion.
