After another unsuccessful regular season in 2014 the San Diego Padres were extremely aggressive in the offseason, acquiring an entire new outfield in former Los Angeles Dodger Matt Kemp, slugger Justin Upton from the Atlanta Braves and one of the most talented young power hitters in baseball, Wil Meyers. After missing the playoffs for the 8th consecutive season the Padres set out in the offseason to upgrade their offense and made a major statement in re-tooling their outfield. The revised outfield will team with young third baseman Will Middlebrooks and second baseman Jed Gyorko to potentially give the Padres an offensive attack to rival their outstanding young starting rotation. With incumbent catcher Yasmani Grandal now a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres acquired Derek Norris, an outstanding offensive catcher, from the Oakland Athletics. Norris should give the Padres consistent offensive production from the catcher position. The strength of the Padres last season was the starting rotation, led by Tyson Ross, Andrew Hahn, Ian Kennedy and Andrew Cashner. Ross, Hahn and Cashner all had earned run averages at and under 3.00, with Ross putting together a breakout season, finishing in the top ten in the league in earned run average. Andrew Cashner is the teams ace, putting together another outstanding season in 2014, while dealing with injury in the process. The big right-hander had a 2.55 earned run average.
Currently opening day ticket prices for the San Diego Padres on the secondary market have risen from an average ticket price of $130.00 in 2014 to $210.00 in 2015, a jump of 56 percent. The average ticket prices on the secondary market for Padres home games at Petco Park also rose from $38.00 in 2014 to $65.00 in 2015, an increase of 71 percent. The most expensive games of the 2015 season come when the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers visit Petco Park in San Diego. The rise in ticket prices on the secondary market is based on the increased expectations of the Padres, due in large part to their aggressive efforts in the offseason to build their roster and compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants in the National League West. With a dependable bullpen, one of the best starting rotations in baseball, and a new slugging outfield the Padres suddenly have big expectations. The key to their success will be the performance of Kemp and the evolution of Wil Meyers. Kemp had a tremendous second half last season, leading the National League in runs batted in after the All Star break. Meyers has prodigious power but battled inconsistency and injury last season. If he can recapture his form from 2013 the Padres could very well have the top slugging outfield in major league baseball.
The Padres will enter the 2015 season as one of the bigger stories in baseball and will be an interesting team to watch. If they can pull their offense out of the basement and if the young rotation continues their evolution they very well could give the Dodgers and Giants more than they can handle in the NL West.
BarrysTickets.com secondary ticketing market data has been used and trusted since 1985 by media outlets including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, AM570, ESPN and more. Barry’s Tickets is also an Official Partner of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers.
San Diego Padres Ticket prices are based on current secondary market ticket price averages and are subject to change.
BY: Chris M.
