NEXT STOP, PEORIA
Caravan bound for Arizona heralds start of most anticipated season in Padres franchise history
Call it the rollout before the sellout. Over the course of two hours Wednesday, workers loaded 20 pallets of baseball equipment onto two trucks parked in the loading docks along Tony Gwynn Drive.
The caravan pulled away from Petco Park in the afternoon, headed for the Peoria Sports Complex and the start of the most anticipated baseball season in San Diego history.
How popular are the 2023 Padres already? Consider: Tickets to Saturday’s FanFest at Petco Park sold out on Jan. 13. The team announced last week that it is capping seasonticket sales, in part so its growing fan base can visit Petco without first having to commit to 20 or more games.
Even spring training tickets are hard to come by. The team’s Feb. 24 exhibition opener against the Mariners is down to upper-deck and down-the-baseline seats.
The Padres will spend half of February and most of March in Arizona. On their to-do list: incorporate new shortstop Xander Bogaerts into an already stacked infield; move last season’s shortstop to second base and second baseman to first base; pick an outfield position for Fernando Tatis Jr.; address questions at designated hitter and in the starting rotation; and brace themselves for 162 games spent squarely in the spotlight. Above all, they must stay healthy — a task made trickier by this year’s World Baseball Classic and the Padres stars’ desire to shine on an international stage.
The equipment trucks will roll back into the loading docks on Tony Gwynn Drive just in time for the team’s March 30 opener against the Rockies.
Here’s guessing it’ll be another sellout.