Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
SAN DIEGO — Padres fans didn’t even hesitate, booing Juan Soto the moment his name was announced in the pre-game starting lineups Friday night. The boos got louder with every step he took towards home plate, and were thunderous when he stepped into the batter’s box.
Soto hardly was solely responsible for the Padres’ embarrassing 2023 season that saw them fail to make the postseason. He wasn’t the one who vowed the Padres would win their first World Series after joining the team two years ago. Yet, he epitomized the fans’ frustration over their grossly underachieving 82-80 season.
Now that Soto is absolutely thriving in a New York Yankees’ uniform, putting up the kind of the numbers the Padres envisioned, the sellout crowd at Petco Park voiced their anger and frustration, loud and clear.
“It’s kind of tough for me because (the fans) were there every day for me,’’ Soto said before the game. “I know I tried my best. I played hard every game. But I didn’t play at my best, you know?
“And that’s one of the things I was kind of sad about, because I couldn’t show them how great I can be.’’
Soto was supposed to be the slugger that finally ended the Padres’ World Series drought, with expectations reaching surreal heights. Instead, the streak is 55 years and counting with no end in sight.
“For me, I think it’s just baseball,’’ Soto said, when asked to explain what happened. “At the end of the day, even if you have the best team on paper, you’ve got to go out and try to win games. But stuff happens.
“We didn’t have the luck on our side in 2023. We have some games when there was nothing we can do. But it is what it is. Now, it’s in the past.
“I just learn from it. Definitely, I learned a lot of things last year that is going to help me this year, and it’s going to help the group I’m around. I just take it and keep moving forward.’’
Soto, who was traded to the Padres from the Washington Nationals on Aug. 2, 2022, was never the difference-maker the Padres envisioned. They wanted to try one last year with Soto, but with financial woes that included a loan to help make payroll last fall, the Padres traded him to the Yankees on Dec. 6.
In New York, Soto has been the player the Padres thought they were getting to lead them to the promised land when they traded four prized prospects to Washington.
Soto, 25, entered Friday as the favorite to win the American League MVP award, hitting .312 with 13 homers and 41 RBI, with a .409 on-base percentage, .563 slugging percentage and .972 OPS. He has been one of the game’s most dangerous hitters with runners in scoring position, hitting .357 with a .619 slugging percentage, with three homers and 28 RBI. He added to his totals Friday night, launching a two-run home run in the third inning.
The Padres were waiting for the same production during his San Diego stint, but he hit .265 with a .893 OPS, with 41 homers and 125 RBI. Certainly good numbers, but short of expectations.
So the Padres shipped him to New York, and while players can wilt under the New York spotlight, Soto has thrived.
“He’s been pretty awesome,’’ Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “What I’ve enjoyed is what I believe is a really good teammate and a guy that’s been a really good person in our room.
“He’s about winning and all of those intangible things, the behind-the-scenes things, that’s what’s gotten me the most excited.’’
Several Padres players and coaches don’t share the same sentiments, with some questioning why Soto’s intensity and skills have accelerated since joining the Yankees. But everyone in the Padres’ clubhouse kept their public opinions positive.
“He’s been having a hell of a season,’’ Padres third baseman Manny Machado said. “So, I’m excited to see him again and see what he’s been doing first-hand. He was a big part of our last two seasons, here.’’
The Padres tried several times to sign Soto to a contract extension during his stay, but nothing ever came close to materializing before he was traded.
“Man, this is a great city, it’s a great fan base, a great team,’’ Soto said. “But at the end of the day, we just couldn’t get it done, and keep moving forward.’’
The Yankees will also try to sign him to an extension before he’s a free agent, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said last week. Yet, with free agency so close, there’s little chance he’ll consider signing before the Yankees and Mets engage in a potential bidding war that could top $500 million.
“I love it here, it’s a great city, it’s an unbelievable group in there,’’ Soto said. “I’m excited. I’m more than happy where I am right now.
“It’s just a great vibe we have in there.’’
It was the same mantra Soto expressed with the Padres, saying all the right things — how much he loved San Diego and that he didn’t want to be traded. Yet, the Padres knew they had no choice but to trade him if they wanted to slash their payroll and be competitive.
“I know that’s what he wanted, he expressed that publicly and privately that he wanted to be here,’’ Machado said. “The lines just never aligned.’’
Said Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., one of Soto’s closest friends on the team: “Now that we’re facing each other, we’re not friends anymore. No, I love Juan. He’s a great guy. He’s a great baseball player. …
“I’m definitely not surprised what he’s doing. I knew he’d rise to the occasion. He’s that type of player.’’
Certainly, Soto should become the highest-paid free agent not named Shohei Ohtani this winter. The Mets badly crave him, knowing he can be their version of Aaron Judge. The Yankees would love to keep him, seeing the impact he has made on this year’s 35-17 team. Who knows if someone else will surprise and jump into the bidding, knowing the paycheck will start at $500 million after he rejected a 15-year, $440 million offer in 2022 from the Nationals?
“We’re going to be open to everybody,’’ Soto says, “everybody. We ain’t closing any doors. Whoever wants to talk about deals and stuff, I’m open to deal with it.
“But that’s going to be in the future.
“Right now, I’m a Yankee.’’
Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST
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SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”
It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says.
The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.
Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.
Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.
Eric Wolfinger
“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments.
Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.
The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.
Kimberly Motos
About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”
Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.
Gage Forster
Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.
“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”
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