Mr. Stats’ Notes: Shared history for Padres, Nationals

In a public letter to Nationals fans from the Lerner family, published in the 2022 Nationals Media Guide, Washington’s principal owners wrote: “What more can you say about Juan Soto? He has become a pillar of our organization and one of the best players in Major League Baseball right before our eyes. Not only does he have incredible talent, but his attitude, energy and enthusiasm are infectious.”

On Sunday, in a game streamed live on Peacock beginning at 12 pm ET, Juan Soto’s attitude, energy, and enthusiasm will once again be on display at Nats Park in D.C. But now, he is a pillar of a different organization: the San Diego Padres.

The Padres believe that to win a World Series, you need elite players. To get elite players, you need an elite set of prospects, and elite talent evaluators. San Diego put all their chips in the middle of the table at the trade deadline, acquiring Josh Bell, Brandon Drury, Josh Hader, and the uber-talented Soto.

Is that good? Only if you don’t mind adding a player (Drury) whose slugging percentage (min. 400 PA) is among the top 11 in the sport, actually tied with Padres’ superstar Manny Machado.  Only if you don’t mind taking on the closer (Hader) with the most saves in the sport since 2019. Only if you think a cleanup hitter having a career season (Bell) could improve on San Diego’s woeful production from the No. 4 spot in the order so far in 2022 (.215/.292/.346, with 11 HR through Wednesday). And of course, adding Soto, one of the top talents in the game.

Of course, a cynic might say what do the Padres know about winning a World Series?

It is that time, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to travel back in the WABAC (Way-Back) Machine to examine the Padres’ history — and how they’ll