SB Nation - Tony Gwynn

Season Ticket Holder Night at Petco Park

jbox — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:44:48 -0000

Jon and I snuck into the Season Ticket Holder event tonight at Petco. There was a huge line at the entrance, probably 300 people or more, all wearing Padres gear. The reason for the line was that every Padre that lives in San Diego in the off season was out front shaking hands and talking to all the Season Ticket Holders. Bud Black, Heath Bell, Tony Gwynn Jr., Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff, David Eckstein, Everth Cabrera and Kevin Correia.

As we approached the entrance I saw President and COO Tom Garfinkel, so I gave him a wave and in return he gave me a hearty handshake. We wished each other a Happy Holiday season and moved on through the line.

I gave Everth Cabrera a good handshake and told him I was a big fan, he thanked me. Then I saw Brett and Josh from Padres Media Relations and we exchanged pleasantries. Last we spoke of them Dex was calling Josh a "bastard" in jest because he's a Red Sox fan, I'm glad they didn't take it out on me.

Next on the left was Kevin Kouzmanoff. I'll tell you something I'm not the biggest fan of his, but he was super friendly and seemed really sincere when he thanked us for coming out and he was glad to meet us. He's got to be the most popular player on the team right now, he was cheered every time his named was mentioned tonight. People were walking around with "Keep Kouz" signs, he's a phenomenon.

Padres Employees and Players applaud the Season Ticket Holders

As we entered the gates, it was really surreal. There was just about everybody from the Front Office lining the sides of our path applauding us and thanking us for being Season Ticket Holders. I mean these employees were looking us right in the eye and saying it sincerely. I'll tell you something I was really moved. They had been doing it for about an hour and they still seemed just as genuine and thankful as if we were the first people through the gate. I felt kind of ashamed for walking through and not being a Season Ticket Holder, but I was glad that I could see it.

At that point Dex called and I'm like "I'm shaking hands with David Eckstein right now, hold on" and then he tells me that he probably won't be able to get out of work to make it down to Petco. I'm like "Sorry, I missed that last part because I was shaking hands with Adrian Gonzalez." I swear to you he has the softest hands I've ever felt. It was like spanking a new born baby's butt with cotton candy. It was that soft.

As soon as we walked in, there were people from concessions offering us free food and drinks. All the Padres gear was 40% too. We shopped for some Padres caps then grabbed some free pizza, drinks and pulled pork sandwiches.

Moorad wants to bring an All Star Game to San Diego

Once we found our seats Mark Neely came out to emcee the event. He first introduced Chairman and Owner Jeff Moorad. Moorad said a few words and I was kicking myself for not having a camera, a phone or anything to take notes with. Seriously I'm the worst blogger. He did say that his second biggest goal was to bring an All Star Game to San Diego, following only a World Series title in importance.

Moorad also mentioned that he understands how connected fans get to their favorite player, his favorite is Everth Cabrera. I wonder if that gets awkward at all. I imagine it something like Michael Scott's crush on the temp, Ryan, in The Office.

Throwback Thursday, Batting Practice Viewing and Lower Beer Prices

Next up was Tom Garfinkel, who told a joke about Hoyer wearing a jacket that made him look like Ron Burgundy. Nobody laughed. Garfinkel made some announcements: Every Thursday Game is now "Throwback Thursday" the Padres will be wearing Brown and Yellow and the Park will only be playing organ music! "No YMCA!" I was so excited I was clapping my little heart out. I remember when I had that idea back in 2006.

Garfinkel then announced that Dick Enberg would be the new TV voice of the Padres and that Enberg couldn't be at the Park tonight because he was being inducted into the Broadcaster's Hall of Fame. A video message of Enberg showed on the screen and he thanked the Padres fans and told them that he took this job because his first love was always baseball and he's always followed the Padres. He also gave us a preview of his home run call "Touch 'em all!" Jon wasn't impressed with the call.

Garfinkel also announced that Season Ticket Holders would be able to enter the park a half hour early to watch batting practice. That's what they call "added value" in the bizness.

Then to finish off on a strong note he announced to much applause that they would lower beer prices by a considerable amount, along with hot dogs, drinks other concessions.

Next up was Jed Hoyer. He came out and went through his standard schtick about how the weather is different between Boston and San Diego and that he can't believe he was standing outside without a jacket on. The crowd ate it up. We love hearing about how great San Diego is.

Bud Black came out next and said a few words. Neely introduced him as being a very even keeled manager, Mr. Steady. Black said a few words but I nodded off to the sound of his voice so I missed them.

Question and Answers

The first question was about people who didn't have Cox and couldn't view the Padres game. Garfinkel and Moorad said this issue was one of their biggest priorities and admitted that they are still under contract with Cox for another two years. They were negotiating to see if they can work something out for 2010. Moorad thinks it's ironic and sorta funny that John Moores can't watch Padres game from his home in Rancho Santa Fe.

There was another suggestion that there be a day where Season Ticket Holders can all donate their tickets to the Military so that they can have nice seats for a game. Ticket Holders said with applause that they'd like to do this. Garfinkel said he'd make it happen.

Another guy complained that there should be a net over the centerfield fence protecting the babies and children digging in the sand box beyond the fence. The Padres don't think it is necessary at this time because nobody has been hurt yet. Instead they will only get players that cannot hit home runs.

Moorad mentions Gaslamp Ball

Another lady asked a real general question about if they thought there should be a salary cap in baseball. Moorad
decides to field that question and starts off by asking if there is any media in attendance. He looks around and says "This is off the record to the media... and to Gaslamp Ball" At the mention of us, Jon starts cheering and clapping, he's the only one. I honestly didn't even hear his answer to the question because we were laughing and tickling each other at the very mention of the site. Can somebody tell us if he was in favor of the cap or not? I think he was not in favor, who knows.

Somebody else got up and said that it's nice to have Jed Hoyer because he's easy on the eyes and that his wife had a crush on him. He questioned Hoyer about what he was going to do to keep Gonzalez in San Diego? His question got the most cheers of the night. Hoyer blushed at being the focus of the crush and talked about what a great player Adrian is.

That's all I really remember but I didn't have a pen to take notes. The Padres then raffled off the players jerseys and let the fans walk out on the field. Jon and I frolicked on the grass.

I talked to Warren from Media Relations and was introduced to Padres VP Dan Migala who was friends with Dex back when he was in North Carolina. He claims that he and Hoyer invited us to get beers but that Dex never replied to his email. He was also proud to be the target of some ribbing on Gaslamp Ball.

On the way out we grabbed a ton of leftover souvenirs from the season that will probably fill my trunk for the rest of the year. Really fun night.

NL West in Review: Center Fielders

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:00:29 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Don't forget about this guy.

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Matt Kemp was a beast this season, but that doesn't mean the Dodgers had the best CF spot last season. For the second straight week, Los Angeles surprisingly gets pushed to second place by a team without a primary starter.

San Diego started the season with Scott Hairston and Jody Gerut platooning in center field, but by the All-Star break, both had been jettisoned, with the only returning position player being their new center fielder who had been in AAA all season to that point.

But don't let Petco Park and the constant new faces fool you. The Padres were strong in center field last season.


Teams	Players	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA*	WAR
1. San Diego	6	.292	17	65	.356	.445	.358	5.37
2. Los Angeles	4	.292	24	98	.350	.472	.371	4.97
3. San Francisco	4	.266	17	79	.305	.419	.332	2.76
4. Colorado	4	.269	17	58	.345	.451	.341	2.14
5. Arizona	5	.219	17	61	.288	.379	.291	-1.18

Hairston saved almost all his San Diego offense for his CF starts, posting a ridiculous .458 wOBA in 148 PA. His eventual replacement, Tony Gwynn Jr, had the best OBP in the division outside of Hairston matched with fantastic defensive play. That was enough to supersede the Dodgers, who had neutral defense and just a 13 point wOBA* edge. This can teach us two things - it is indeed a team game, and don't discredit the Padres' offense, as Petco Park can mask a lot.

All the proof and stats are under the fold.

Here's your visual breakdown, with the CF positional RAR set at +2.5. The Dodgers' team UZR is indeed included; however, it is equal to exactly zero:

The bottom three slots of the NL West's 23 center fielders are occupied by Diamondbacks. For the full player rankings, click here.

With three years and $36million remaining on that bad contract, Rowand is sufficiently entrenched in center field in the near future. He had a complete no-trade clause last season, but has a "limited no-trade clause" each of the three years. I'm fine if he stays in San Francisco until 2012.

Black Friday suggestions for Padres fans!

Dex — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:23:05 -0000

If you're not out shopping right now, you're either avoiding the Black Friday crowds, or you're home now from the maniacs at the mall and you're trying to relax by reading up on one of the more frustrating baseball teams in existence, in which case, I wonder about your sanity. Maybe you were one of the maniacs at the mall.

In any case, you may be looking at this and you may realize that you actually wanted to buy something for somebody, but you forgot all about it and now you want Gaslamp Ball to bail you out.

Fine!

If I were you... Here's what I'd consider getting them...

If I were you and you and I were Tony Gwynn:
A copy of Bert Sugar's Baseball Hall of Fame: A Living History of America's Greatest Game. Just a little something for people who offer me up weight loss advice and exercise equipment. Who's the Hall of Famer? Who's in this f__kin' book, homey? Is it you? Oh wait no. It's me.

If I were you and you and I were Anthony Keith Gwynn Jr.
A copy of Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame by Bill James. Nice job being in the Hall of Fame, dad. Oh wait. Did you hear that they got Shilling's sock in there? That must feel good to be in the same place as that. That and Kouzmanoff's glove. And Ty Cobb's false teeth. Real treasure trove of wonders you got there.

If I were you and you and I knew somebody who had a Wii and I didn't want to spend any money on them and I too had a Wii
Fire up your Wii and gift a baseball game. You have to know their code. Your choice of of Baseball, Baseball Stars 2, World Class Baseball and Bases Loaded. Get Baseball Stars 2 if you like the person. Bases Loaded if they're the nostalgic type. Baseball if you want to show them that you didn't really want to spend any money on them and World Class Baseball if you want to say, "Remember when you bought a TurboGrafx 16? This is the kind of crap you were playing, while the rest of us were playing Super Mario Kart."

If I were you and you and I were going to buy something kinda expensive and you wanted to throw some affiliate dollars towards Gaslamp Ball
I heard a Kindle Wireless Reading Device will guarantee sex from a loved one every night for like 3 months. I use a Apple MacBook Pro MB991LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop to blog and work and blog.

If I were you and you and I were going to buy something for the Padres grounds crew
Get some friends and chip in for a Swisher ZT2350 50-Inch 23 HP Zero Turning Radius Riding Lawn Mower. Best value for the money.

Poll

Did you go shopping on Black Friday?

Yes. I only go to Wal-Mart on days that I can potentially be trampled.

4 votes

Yes. Online. I only go online on the days that Amazon takes 30% longer to load.

2 votes

Yes. By virtue of reading this obvious affiliate marketing shill on Gaslamp Ball.

29 votes

35 votes | Poll has closed

Around the Mission: 11/24 Padres Links

jbox — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:15:26 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

7 months ago: San Diego Padres right fielder Brian Giles dives as he tries to make a catch on a single hit by Colorado Rockies' Aaron Cook during the sixth inning of a baseball game on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 in San Diego. Giles made the stop keeping the hit from extra bases. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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PADRES: Giles is eager to prove he still has it
"With my knee feeling the way it is, I'm excited," Giles said by phone late last week. "I think I can offer a lot. I can't change those opinions. Physically, I've been as durable as anybody in the game."
Offseason economics put the Boston Red Sox in a curious position - ESPN Boston
it seems extremely unlikely that the Padres will even discuss Adrian Gonzalez (and the $10 million he makes over two years) unless the Red Sox empty their farm system of Ryan Westmoreland, Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo and Stolmy Pimentel and essentially become free-agent market mercenaries every winter after 2011.
insidethepadres: DePo
"He's a resource on both the baseball and the business side,"
Season-ticket holders seize opportunity | padres.com: News
"When they sent the renewal, I took out my Sharpie and wrote 'NO FAITH' in these huge block letters,"
The Sacrifice Bunt: The Sacrifice Cheat Sheet: Centerfield
the correct answer is to go with Tony Gwynn, Jr. for less than half of a million dollars
The Official Blog of Matt Antonelli
Hat tip to Sac Bunt
Anthony Gwynn: A $12M player? :: Friar Forecast
I am not convinced Gwynn is truly such a great fielder.

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:04:13 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Ryan Braun celebrates with Prince Fielder after Braun hit a two-run home run against the Nationals in July.

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Some things to read while not crossing the line.

Ryan Braun was a unanimous pick for The Sporting News' Postseason NL All Star Team (FanShot). Prince Fielder was left off the team to make room for some guy named Pujols.

As it turns out, though, it's not all good news for Braun. As noted in this comment in yesterday's Mug, Braun missed the cutoff for becoming arbitration eligible as a Super 2 player by just 12 days. If Braun had qualified, the Brewers would have owed him an additional $6 million over the course of his contract.

There's not much else for Brewer news today, so let's jump straight into the minor league notes:

Project Prospect has a look at four major Top 100 prospect lists issued before the season, the differences between them and what they say about their respective publications. Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar and Jeremy Jeffress each appeared on all four lists. Angel Salome appeared on three.
Behind their pay-wall, Baseball-Intellect has some video and a scouting report from a Jake Odorizzi game in Helena in July. I haven't seen it myself, but if you're a subscriber (or have some time to kill and $3 to burn), then it might be worth a look.

Clearly, the Brewers have some holes that need patching this offseason. Tyler Maas of Bugs & Cranks thinks they could fix one of them by cloning Bob Uecker.

In the meantime, since the Brewers have yet to perfect the cloning technology, they're looking to hire a retail merchandising assistant.

Bobby Valentine sat down with reporters yesterday after interviewing for the managerial vacancy in Cleveland, and told reporters he doesn't know anything about the team, the AL Central or the American League. As one might imagine, that's raised a few red flags...but I also think Ken Macha might have said something similar if asked the same question after his interview in Milwaukee last year.

Speaking of people whose stock might be falling, Nationals Enquirer has a look at some of the red flags surrounding likely #1 overall pick Bryce Harper. If the Nats don't select Harper first overall, it's possible his salary demands and other factors could lead to him falling precipitously in the draft, and he could be a candidate for the Brewers. This topic also came up in yesterday's Mug comments, where Jeff made a great point:

One problem with Bryce is that he’s really young. By opting for community college, he’s getting himself into the draft a year earlier than high-school picks.

That’s good for him in the long run, but remember that the team that drafts him only cares about his first six years in the bigs.

Now, maybe Harper will be like A-Rod, show up and mash, but if he forces his way to the big leagues by age 19, he’s a FA at 25, with his prime ahead of him. "The potential to be one of the greatest players of all time" is only relevant if you’re buying some of his seasons of greatness.

The bloom is off the rose in San Diego, where Gaslamp Ball is now refusing to refer to Anthony Gwynn Jr. as "Tony" until he finishes a full season batting .300. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but it's a slow news day.

Since today's Mug is short, you'll probably have some time to kill once you're done reading it, and if you do, I highly recommend this Sporcle quiz asking for each team's career leaders in hits, home runs, wins and saves. I got 57.

Happy birthday today to David Riske, who turns 33.

Drink up.

Gaslamp Ball Proclamation: Tony Gwynn to only be referred to as Anthony Gwynn Jr. until his first .300 BA season

Dex — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:21:39 -0000

Gaslamp Ball will occasionally provide endorsements and judgments in the world of baseball and beyond. Should Gaslamp Ballers need to cast a vote or require an official opinion, look for Gaslamp Ball Proclamations first to see what our official stance is. Thank you.

It has come to our attention that there are those who refer to Anthony Keith Gwynn Jr. as "Tony Gwynn Jr." or even "Tony Gwynn" despite the fact that the real Tony Gwynn is a Hall of Fame, career .338 hitter, while Anthony Keith Gwynn Jr. is a player who looks a little bit like he's constantly leaning forward in the batters box.

Starting now, Gaslamp Ball will refuse to refer to Anthony Keith Gwynn Jr. as "Tony", until he earns the praenomen by completing a full major league season with at least a .300 batting average. Until such a feat has been accomplished, Gaslamp Ball will only refer to the current Gwynn on the Padres roster as "Anthony", "The Lesser Gwynn", or potentially "Tony Two Hundred".

San Diego Padres Predictions from the Bill James Handbook 2010

Dex — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:41:12 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

"I was looking at the Mayan calendar, and 2010 is our year. 2012, not so much." (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Browse more photos »

I've got a sneak peak at the new Bill James Handbook 2010 and I want to go through and check out what we can look forward to next season. Bill James has been putting these handbooks together forevs and I always look at them with an eye towards who might do what, but also an eye towards pretending that I have an even better predictive model using the guts of a chicken splayed out over a burning Ouija board.

Let's check it...

	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	RC	RC27	BB	SO	SB	CS	SB%	Avg	OBP	Slg	OPS
Alfonzo,Eliezer	31	64	189	49	10	0	7	19	25	23	4.27	6	48	1	0	1	0.259	0.286	0.423	0.709
Blanco,Henry	38	82	228	51	11	0	6	22	23	23	3.38	20	52	0	0	0	0.224	0.286	0.351	0.637
Blanks,Kyle	23	142	524	145	23	3	25	79	93	89	6.07	66	140	3	2	0.6	0.277	0.362	0.475	0.837
Cabrera,Everth	23	145	545	146	29	11	3	90	44	74	4.68	67	117	37	12	0.76	0.268	0.353	0.378	0.731
Eckstein,David	35	128	444	120	21	1	3	57	35	49	3.91	34	40	4	2	0.67	0.27	0.337	0.342	0.68
Giles,Brian	39	92	292	77	17	1	7	40	36	43	5.18	47	36	2	1	0.67	0.264	0.371	0.401	0.772
Gonzalez,Adrian	28	161	614	171	37	2	35	97	106	117	6.87	87	127	1	0	1	0.279	0.372	0.516	0.888
Gonzalez,Edgar	32	63	112	30	6	0	3	13	13	15	4.7	11	22	1	1	0.5	0.268	0.344	0.402	0.746
Gwynn,Tony	27	88	212	56	8	2	1	29	14	24	3.9	22	32	10	4	0.71	0.264	0.336	0.335	0.671
Headley,Chase	26	149	528	150	36	3	17	72	72	87	5.94	63	129	8	3	0.73	0.284	0.365	0.455	0.819
Hundley,Nick	26	84	264	60	14	1	10	30	38	31	3.93	25	64	3	1	0.75	0.227	0.297	0.402	0.698
Kouzmanoff,Kevin	28	144	512	141	32	2	20	59	84	74	5.17	29	95	1	1	0.5	0.275	0.327	0.463	0.79
Rodriguez,Luis	30	95	244	62	13	1	2	27	20	27	3.84	28	21	1	1	0.5	0.254	0.331	0.34	0.671
Salazar,Oscar	32	88	246	72	16	1	9	31	40	40	5.94	18	33	1	1	0.5	0.293	0.341	0.476	0.817
Venable,Will	27	120	395	99	18	2	13	53	48	50	4.36	34	95	7	2	0.78	0.251	0.313	0.405	0.718

OK. So what does all of this mean? I'll tell you. It means we're effed.

I mean, maybe we aren't effed-effed, but still. Didn't this team feel faster in August and September? Didn't it feel more powerful? Was that just an illusion?

If this is the projection for our hitters, what does our starting lineup looking like at this point?

Is that really it? Doesn't it look weird to look at?

Bright Spots:

Everth Cabrera and Kyle Blanks both are predicted to up their production and both are young dudes. Everth is especially exciting for his speed and Kyle is exciting for the power. It's like Mantle and Maris! Blanks will probably end up protecting Adrian before the year is out, but probably not to start the season.
Adrian Gonzalez, while not predicted to put 40 over the fence next year, is still slated for another 100+ RBI season with close to 100 runs. Also, the doubles total bodes well for producing runs, but not so well for the needy children, dependent on these sadistic charities who will only donate money when Adrian puts a home run charge in the ball.

Mehs:

Kevin Kouzmanoff's numbers look kinda nice and I'm sure he'll total pretty close, but (sorry Kouz fans) I'm also thinking that a lot of the numbers will be put up in garbagy, unclutchy ways.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a catcher?
Something about Tony Gwynn's line looks really depressing.
Brian Giles is still on the team? How is he predicted to have so many ABs? Am I reading this right?

Tomorrow, let's look at pitchers. That should be scary fun.

In the meantime, the handbook is available for preorder. It would be rad of you to purchase the book through us. Maybe let's take some time right now to make really super bold predictions and then rub them in Bill James's face when ours turn out terrific.

Gaslamp Ball Chat Transcript

jbox — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:25:46 -0000

jbox: Who do you think is the most overrated Padre?

Dex: Tony Gwynn Jr.

jbox: I think I'd say Chris Young or Kouzmanoff, but I'll go with Chris Young. I think people only think he's good because he's tall. If he was a human instead of a clinical giant, he probably wouldn't always be injured and nobody would think he was a number one starter.

jbox: Which Padre do you look at and think "man I bet that guy smells"?

Dex: Heath Bell.

jbox: That's who I was going to say too.

Dex: If you had a box with a button in it and told each of the Padres that they could push the button and they would get a billion dollars, but somebody they didn't know would die, who would push the button first?

jbox: Chris Young. When that whole PED thing was happening he was the only one talking about how it affected his paycheck.

Dex: I think it'd be Adrian Gonzalez. We'd finally see his true colors and/or he'd consider that person a martyr as he donated the billion dollars to help needy children.

Dex: Same question, but the button added 3 inches to the persons manhood.

Dex: I think David Eckstein. His wife is too hot and famous for a little dude, anything to keep her around

jbox: I'd say Giles if we still consider him a Padre.

Gary Carter New PBAU Baseball Coach

craig — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:32:15 -0000

Since Palm Beach Atlantic sent this to me and it is about baseball along with being South Florida related, it deserves a post.

Hall of Famer Gary Carter will take over the reins as the head of the Sailfish.

Palm Beach Gardens resident and baseball Hall-of-Fame catcher Gary Carter today was named head baseball coach for the NCAA Division II Palm Beach Atlantic University Sailfish.

Carter played for the Montreal Expos from 1974 – 1984 and the New York Mets from 1985 – 1989, where he was a member of the 1986 Mets team that won the World Series. Carter spent a season each with the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers before finishing out his 19-year playing career with a final season in Montreal. He was named to the All-Star Team 11 times, twice selected as Most Valuable Player. A winner of three Golden Glove Awards and five Silver Slugger Awards, he is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and the New York Mets Hall of Fame.

In 2003, Carter began a second successful career in baseball as a manager. He was named Gulf Coast League and Florida State League Manager of the Year in 2005 and 2006 respectively, and won the Florida State League championship in 2006 with the St. Lucie Mets. Carter led the Orange County (Calif.) Flyers to a championship in the Golden Baseball League and was honored as that league’s Manager of the Year. He managed the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League for the 2009 season.

Carter was inducted into the baseball HOF in 2003, which only reminds me that the Expos have a player in the hall, yet we still don't. But enough about that, in time we will.

Carter should be a good addition to PBAU. When Tony Gwynn took over the coaching job at SDSU players starting coming out of the woodwork wanting to play for him. It could happen for Carter too.

Of course we wish the Mr. Carter and the baseball program at the university, all the best.

Here is the video of the announcement. PBAU announces Gary Carter as Head Baseball Coach.

The "Park at the Park" delivered pretty much as promised

jbox — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:16:34 -0000

Artist's rendering or the Park at the Park from 2000.

View full size photo »

A couple years ago I took a look at a artist's rendering of the Park at the Park from back in 2000. I just came across an article about the features that the Park at the Park was supposed to have. I thought I'd just go through them and show which ones were delivered and which ones were not.

Padres Complete design of "Park at the Park"

Park Feature	Description	Delivered	Comment
K Street Corridor	K Street will be preserved as a pedestrian thoroughfare, approximately 30 feet wide and more than 700 feet long, that extends through the heart of the Park at the Park. It will link the entrances to the park at 7th Avenue, near the Gaslamp Quarter, and 10th Avenue, near the Kids’ Entertainment Zone, in a kind of street fair.	Yes	Few would consider this area the heart of the park, since it has no view of the field, but it is there. It also never really became a "street fair".
Picnic Hill	This gently sloped lawn area will accommodate more than 2,000 fans for games and has outstanding views of the large video board on the back of the "Batter’s Eye."	Yes	It does have an outstanding view of the video board.
Lawn Amphitheater	This terraced, grassy seating section for approximately 900 fans will have fixed benches for viewing the game.	Yes	It's there, but the view isn't great and the seats aren't comfortable.
The Beach	Located between the front row of the Amphitheater seating section and the right-center field fence, this sandy area will have beach chair seating and a court suitable for beach volleyball games.	Yes	Can you imagine that they thought this area would be used to play beach volleyball? Stop the baseball game there's a volleyball on the field. Also I think only children are allowed in the sand now and there are no beach chairs allowed.
Picnic Terraces	Directly above the Padres bullpen will be a terraced area with picnic table seating for approximately 200.	Yes	The picnic tables are there but I think these seats are only used for corporate events.
Ballpark Cruise	Take a stroll completely around the ballpark, a 360-degree tour, on this unique and comfortable concourse.	Yes	Everything is fine until you hit the endless wheel chair ramp.
Padres Hall of Fame	Located adjacent to the renovated Western Metal Supply Co. Building, the Padres Hall of Fame will showcase great players and moments in San Diego’s baseball history.	Yes	More needs to be done with this Padres Hall of Fame. This would be a great place to connect the past with the present.
Little League Infield	Complete with 60-foot base paths and a full-size pitcher’s mound, this will be a "Field of Dreams" for youngsters (and young-at-heart grown-ups) right next to a major-league ballpark.	Yes	This is more of a wiffle ball field than a little league park. No grown ups allowed even if you are "young at heart".
Tot Lot	This outdoor play area for tots and toddlers will serve the redeveloped East Village neighborhood year-round.	Yes	This area is great for toddlers.
Kids Zone	Just under the right field stands at the corner of the Park, kids can enjoy the best games and baseball activities year-round.	Yes	I know they have a kids concession stand there and sometimes a clown doing face painting but I'm not sure if there's much else.
Randy Jones Barbecue	An expanded version of the popular barbecue stand operated by the Padres’ first Cy Young Award winner and Hall of Famer will be located on K Street behind the Batter’s Eye. It will include a picnic area with outstanding views of a video board.	Yes	Outstanding views of the video board means you are looking straight up like you're sitting in the front row of a movie theater.
Color Video Board	A 15-by-20-foot video board, located on the back of the Batter’s Eye, will show live game action and special programming on game and non-game days.	Yes	Just as promised.
Padres Bullpen	The Padres’ bullpen, just beyond the fence in left-center, will let fans see Trevor Hoffman and his bullpen mates up close.	Yes	You can't see the pitchers up close and you'll likely get yelled at for loitering too long by park security.
Autograph Alley	The Padres’ Bullpen will double as a built-in site where fans can seek autographs before the game and kids can approach their heroes.	No	No contact or communication is allowed between players and fans.
19 Palms	19 palm trees will honor Ted Williams, the first to ever wear 19 for the Padres (1936), and Tony Gwynn, who will be the last.	No	No palm trees for Teddy Ballgame or Tony. At least Tony got his statue.

Lucchino said. "The Park at the Park will be a place where families can make watching baseball, including batting practice, part of an affordable, full-day outing. It will remind fans of baseball’s pastoral roots, but they will have easy access to modern amenities and comforts.

Padres do not allow fans to watch batting practice.

Lawn chairs, picnic tables and blankets will be available. Gates will open early and close late.

Fans cannot bring lawn chairs to the game and picnic tables are not available. The only way to get a blanket is if Pad Squad Andre brings you one.