No Joy in Padreville as Magic of ’84 Turns Sour

The fall the San Diego Padres have taken over the last two seasons is sad in ways that go beyond the ball field. Just two years ago, the Padres were the toasts of the town as they cruised toward the team’s first National League pennant. The 1984 season was more than just successful--it was magical. The Padres’ will to win inspired a community whose psyche had been badly damaged by the massacre of 21 people at a San Ysidro McDonald’s and by a string of other local tragedies.

But this year things are different, as the Padres loiter in or near the cellar. The boys of summer ’84 with their indomitable spirit have become the babies of ‘86, as much in need of a team leader as a double-play combination. The management that basked in a spotlight seldom accorded the front office seems to have lost control--in fact, seems to be a significant contributor to the disintegration.

Team owner Joan Kroc and President Ballard Smith no longer appear to have any perspective on what a sports team can and cannot do--and on what an organization’s management should and should not do. Much of the unhappiness on the Padres this season can be traced to an unwise decision to eliminate beer from the clubhouse after ballgames. This provoked anger among the players, notably Rich Gossage, who made some intemperate public remarks about Smith and Kroc.

Relations between management and players went steadily downhill from there, with Smith fueling the fire by saying the club would only agree to one-year contracts in the future and declaring that the team would never sign a free-agent player who had ever had a drug problem. When Gossage continued to make tacky comments about his bosses, Smith suspended him for “insubordination.”

Kroc and Smith cannot be faulted for their outspoken stand against drug use and alcohol abuse. But they go too far in trying to create a squeaky-clean image for their team. If others followed their example, it would lead to a blacklist of every player who had ever owned up to having a drug problem.

Then there is the situation with Gossage. Unable to stand his criticism, Smith put him on ice for speaking his mind. Apparently on the Padres, public criticism can go only one way.

Smith must have forgotten that until this season, he employed a manager, Dick Williams, who constantly criticized players--by name--to the sportswriters. Indeed, Smith himself recently singled out Kevin McReynolds for a public scolding.

The season is nearly over now, and some cooling off should follow. We hope Kroc and Smith use the off-season to examine their own roles in the collapse of their team’s performance and morale.

Baseball fans know that success on the field comes and goes. Occasionally, as in 1984, sports can play a positive role in the community beyond its immediate entertainment value. Fortunately, when a team has a bad year it does not produce the opposite effect.