AZOCAR’S BIG MOMENT MEANS ALL PITCHING IN
Youngster soaking up everything he can from veteran Padres players
“It is nice when you have those guys like Robbie (Cano) and Manny (Machado) and all those guys that you (can learn from) every day.” Jose Azocar Padres utility player
Robinson Cano thought maybe Jose Azocar just didn’t have anywhere else to be, that he was killing time hanging out in the batting cage before a game on the recent road trip.
Then someone asked Azocar what he was doing.
“I’m watching Robbie,” Azocar replied.
Cano nodded as he recounted the story Tuesday.
“I was like, ‘That’s smart,’ ” said Cano, who signed with the Padres on May 13. “I used to do the same thing. Sometimes you don’t need to go ask people. You can watch.”
Azocar does both. And Cano offers plenty. The rookie can often be seen sitting next to the eight-time All-Star.
“It is nice when you have those guys like Robbie and Manny (Machado) and all those guys that you (can learn from) every day,” Azocar said. “You go to the cage and just spend a lot of time because you want to hear what they are saying, because they’ve been in this game for long. You try to pull like small things that they say and try to (do) them in the game.”
And that helps explain one of the most exciting moments for the Padres so far this season. It might actually prove to be among the most identifying 2022 Padres moments.
Azocar’s contribution might rank down the list from Manny Machado’s MVP campaign, sure. But a sparingly used rookie coming through with a walkoff single with two outs in the 10th inning to give the Padres a 3-2 victory over the Brewers on Monday night goes a ways toward summing up this team at this time.
“I’ve been on different teams,” said Cano, who has played for the Yankees, Mariners and Mets over his 17 years in the major leagues. “Being on this team, everybody on this team is on the same page. You see how happy they are to be in the big leagues. You don’t hear guys complaining, ‘Why am I not playing today? Why not this? Why not that.’ Everybody is
D5 Andy Ashby will be rooting against the Padres today.
happy, ready to play. That’s what I love here.”
Players talk virtually every day about the faith manager Bob Melvin expresses in them and playing time he spreads around and what it means.
“The manager is making us feel like a part of the team 100 percent,” Azocar said Monday night. “So when you get the opportunity you need to do it.”
The manager certainly considered replacing Azocar and sending Austin Nola to the plate as a pinchhitter. Melvin referred to Nola as having “a plan” at the plate. Nola also hits the ball hard and puts the ball in play about as often as any player in the major leagues.
But Melvin has seen progress in Azocar’s discipline and confidence and noted the rookie was “comfortable” in his ninth-inning at-bat, which concluded with a single. Azocar had entered the game pinchrunning for designated hitter Luke Voit in the seventh.
“It’s a decision,” Melvin said. “He hasn’t been up in spots like that before. His first at-bat had a lot to do with getting that second atbat.”
The 26-year-old Azocar, who spent nine years in the minor leagues, made the Padres roster in large part because of his defense. He did not start any of the Padres’ first 11 games but did play in nine of them, as a defensive replacement and/or pinch-runner.
He has started 10 games since, all but two against left-handed starting pitchers, and entered Tuesday batting .250 with a .320 onbase
percentage. He is 5for-13 with a walk during a four-game hitting streak.
Melvin works hard to keep every one of his players involved. His belief is it keeps them engaged and ready and makes even the 26th man feel important. It has manifested itself before, though perhaps never as clearly as Monday night.
Melvin substitutes as much as any manager in the majors. He plays matchups but also goes on feel. He trusts his own instincts and makes his players believe he trusts them.
“He gave me the opportunity to go in the box and do my thing,” Azocar said. “That’s what happens when you have a manager like that. They believe in you, so they give you an opportunity all the time.”
Melvin, a bench player in a time (1985-94) when most starting position players rarely missed games and backups started maybe once a week and perhaps got a pinch-hit opportunity between those starts, clearly has an affinity for Azocar.
“Thrilled for him,”
Melvin said after the game.
“That’s the guy I need in that moment,” Azocar said. “He gave me the opportunity to do my job. I think he approved of me.”
Cano was one of a few Padres veterans who noted Melvin made the decision to pinch-run for Voit, knowing Azocar likely would also bat later in a tight game. Managers generally like veterans in big spots.
“The best thing Bob has is he trusts everyone in here,” Cano said. “Any other manager, I don’t think you’d see him take Voit out.”
To them, it was something to add to the list of things they believe about Melvin. But they also like what they are seeing in Azocar.
“He’s a really good player,” Jurickson Profar said. “He’s a very fun player. He’s always ready. He’s a great teammate. The role he is in ... it’s very tough. But a guy that can handle that, that’s him, always ready to help the team. If the team is going to be successful, we need a guy like him.”