Early last June, as the San Diego Padres were sputtering below .500 and the Chicago Cubs were visiting Petco Park, Peter Seidler proposed an idea for changing up the energy in the building.
Soon, the Padres chairman, general manager A.J. Preller and assistant general manager Josh Stein gathered down the right-field line and, with the help of traveling secretary TJ Lasita, burned a packet of incense. They carried it to the mound, then to home plate, where they were joined by Seidler’s wife, Sheel. They took off their shoes.
Later, the GM was asked by members of the Cubs — who were staying at a hotel overlooking the ballpark — whether he and the owner of the Padres had been the people they spotted on the field openly praying for offense.
“To which I said, ‘Goddamn right. We’re trying to do everything we can to win in San Diego,’” Preller recalled.
Preller told that story to laughs Saturday at Petco Park during a celebration of Peter Seidler’s life. Seidler, who purchased the Padres in 2012 and died Nov. 14 at age 63, did seemingly everything in his power to bring San Diego its first major professional sports championship, from spending record amounts of money to beseeching the heavens for a shift in fortunes. Although he died before he could realize his dream,…
