SAN DIEGO -- Jayce Tingler has been fired by the San Diego Padres. He was responsible for the worst collapse in franchise history, just one season after being voted National League Manager of Year.
A.J. Preller is the president of baseball operations and general manger. Preller made the announcement Wednesday, three days following the Padres' 79-83 finish in the NL West. They were in third place, 28 games behind San Francisco Giants, and Preller had announced the move. Tingler will have the chance to stay in the organization.
Preller stated that Jayce had done a lot in his two seasons with Padres. He led our team through an unprecedented pandemic, and into the postseason for first time in 15 year." Preller said, "I have immense respect for him as coach, colleague, and friend." We felt that change was needed to finally reach our San Diego championship potential after much thought and reflection over the past few weeks.
Tingler's fate was sealed in a brutal free-fall that saw the Padres move from a one-game lead for NL's second wild card spot on Sept. 9, to being eliminated from playoff contention with seven remaining games. The Padres lost their 10th consecutive season.
Tingler was overall 116-106 in the two seasons.
Tingler had no prior managerial experience beyond rookie-level baseball and stints in various Dominican Leagues before Preller hired him on October 28, 2019, a friend from their Texas Rangers time.
Tingler led the Padres to a 37-24 record during the 2020 pandemic-shortened season, their first playoff appearance since 13 years. They defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in an opening round wild-card series, before being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division series.
With a payroll of $175million and superstars Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado leading the Padres, they entered the season with World Series ambitions and played with swagger, until a few problems surfaced in the second half.
Tatis is still a front-runner for NL MVP. However, he was plagued by a recurring left-shoulder injury. Tatis was even moved to outfield to reduce his injury risk.
The Padres were unable to acquire a starting pitcher by the deadline, and their rotation was decimated by injuries sustained to Yu Darvish and Blake Snell. There was no depth to replace them.
Reports indicated that some players were upset that the Padres attempted to trade Eric Hosmer, first baseman, before the deadline. Later reports revealed that players went to Preller to express their dissatisfaction with Tingler's job.
On Sept. 18, Machado cursed at Tatis, and was then separated from Tatis by his teammates and a coach. After Tatis made a striking out look, Tatis argued Phil Cuzzi's call. Tingler was ejected after he came out to argue for Tatis and wasn't there when the stars clashed.
Tingler is the fourth manager Preller fired over his seven-plus years. In June 2015, Preller fired Bud Black, a veteran skipper. He replaced him with Pat Murphy, an interim manager who was not retained. Preller hired Andy Green, a relatively unknown manager with no managerial experience in the big league. However, he had previously been third-base coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks for one year after having managed for four seasons in their farm program. After the team's collapse in the second half, Green was fired. There were eight games remaining in the 2019 season. He was 274-366 in total.
This report was contributed by The Associated Press.
