San Diego, CA
Bryce Miller: Questions answered, Padres send entire outfield to All-Star Game
Far out, this Padres outfield.
Who could have predicted the entire group, from foul line to foul line, would be named to the All-Star Game?
How is it possible — fathomable — that the biggest collective question mark on the team as spring sprung would become its muscle-flexing strength?
As shadows began to creep across the left field-side sections of Petco Park on Sunday, fans learned that rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill would join National League starters Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr..
Rewind to the early months of 2024, when the hand-wringing over the outfield left those hands red and raw. Sure, Profar seemed like a versatile depth option, but he couldn’t be the everyday left fielder.
Right?
Was President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller really going to roll a set of oversized dice on Merrill in center, a premium position with a guy who had played just 46 games in Double-A … without a sniff of Triple-A?
And even though Tatis won a platinum glove during his debut in right, he still was more wired to play shortstop.
It did not seem like an outfield plan as much as a stab in the dark after a few too many spiked eggnogs at the company Christmas party. It came off as survival mode in a season where the Padres were counting pennies as competitive balance tax penalties loomed like storm clouds.
Then a funny thing happened on the way to simply getting by. Profar hit and hit and hit some more. As soon as he settled into his cleats, Merrill began to do the same.
All-Stars in the outfield? More like an outfield full of All-Stars.
“No one was seeing that necessarily at the beginning,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said.
Um, no. They weren’t.
It’s hard to know whether to start cutting a bonus check for Preller’s fine footwork or write it off as being cornered by options and economics, shrugging shoulders at how it all worked out.
No one was saying, “Man, the Padres have the best outfield in baseball.” It was more like, “The Padres have an outfield. Maybe. For now.”
Instead of white hot, the consensus had been to brace for a white-knuckler.
FanGraphs’s overarching metric of a player’s total worth, wins above replacement (WAR), has the Padres’ trio ranked Nos. 6-8 in baseball.
The Yankees claim the top two with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, but no team has an entire group ranked anywhere close.
Not only did the Padres put together an outfield, they assembled three guys who became so dependable, so bankable as a unit — Tatis injury pending — that it buoys hope this team might have enough to reach the playoffs.
Those question marks became exclamation points.
“It’s pretty cool,” Merrill said of the entire outfield making the game. “I think definitely ‘Tati’ and ‘Pro’ really deserved it. I’m really appreciative that they took me under their wings. It kind of made me more comfortable and able to play the way I have.”
Pick the more improbable storyline.
Is it Profar, an All-Star for the first time in his 11th season? His .408 on-base percentage leads the entire National League. His .906 OPS is the best of his career.
Profar’s average OPS+, part of the analytics soup that compares players to an average big leaguer, with 100 being the baseline, has been a 97. This season? A head-shaking 155.
The career batting average of .245 has ballooned to .315.
He was, as bizarre as it now seems, sitting unsigned in February. At $1 million plus bonuses, he became baseball’s equivalent of a winning Powerball ticket.
Or is it Merrill, the guy who climbed on a rocketship and zoomed past Triple-A, barely 21, who made the toughest leap in the game without as much as a hiccup?
Merrill began Sunday at No. 3 in baseball for home runs since June 12 (9), fifth in slugging and tied for in extra-base hits. Just-hitting-stride type of stuff.
The confidence, the swagger, the production while holding down the toughest and trickiest outfield spot astounds daily. A season ago, he was in the Futures Game … as a shortstop. The future came fast.
When Tatis returns to the lineup, the group could become a high-performance engine, not an afterthought.
“‘Pro’ was out there for a lot of clubs to sign and signed late …,” Shildt said. “(Merrill had) a little bit of time in Double-A, Triple-A’s a rumor, comes here and immediately changes positions in spring training and goes and makes an All-Star team.
“That’s pretty special.”
It’s the first time in franchise history that the Padres placed three outfielders in the All-Star Game. Merrill became the first Padres rookie to make the cut and will be the youngest player in the game at Arlington, Texas.
The last time players this young made teams, it was 2013 with Bryce Harper, Jose Fernandez and current teammate Manny Machado.
When Merrill’s selection was announced at Petco, he offered an understated wave from the dugout rail.
“The buy-in,” said second baseman Jake Cronenworth, a two-time All-Star himself. “Sometimes guys get moved to position where they might not be comfortable, but he’s gone out and made a point to get better every night and put himself in position to succeed.
“In spring training, from Day 1 when he got there, it seemed like he wasn’t upset about it. He wanted to go out there and the best center fielder his possibly could.
“It’s just his maturity, the way he works every day. Your age doesn’t matter. When you show up and put the time in, you get rewarded for that.”
Merrill finally relented, admitting a bit of satisfaction.
But only a bit.
“Everybody kind of went crazy,” Merrill said of the news, which was shared during a team meeting. “And I was like, sitting there, smiling. It was really surreal. Just kind of take it in for a sec, but I’m just grateful for everyone around me.”
When Merrill looks to his left and his right, can you blame him?
San Diego, CA
Automated license plate readers and public surveillance cameras are coming to Imperial Beach
The city of Imperial Beach will soon install four Automated License Plate Readers and two additional “public safety cameras” in hopes of improving public safety.
On June 3, Imperial Beach city councilmembers voted to enter into an agreement with the San Diego Sheriff’s Office to place four license plate readers manufactured by surveillance giant Flock Safety at four proposed intersections, and they will also install two cameras in the city to monitor for criminal behavior.
The cameras, part of a two-month pilot program, seek to improve public safety in the South Bay coastal town.
The four proposed locations for the license plate cameras are Imperial Beach Boulevard and 13th Street, Palm Avenue and 13th Street, 13th Street and Elm and 9th Street and Elm Ave.
The proposed locations for the public cameras are on the median of Palm Avenue and 8th Street, Palm Avenue and Seacoast Drive and Imperial Beach Boulevard and Seacoast Drive.
For the license plate readers, city staff said they have proven their usefulness in cities and unincorporated areas throughout San Diego County for years.
“[License Plate Reader] technology has contributed to multiple arrests, including identifying suspects’ vehicles involved in retail thefts, gas station thefts, and vehicle burglaries. [License Plate Readers] have also assisted in identifying a suspect vehicle in an international hit-and-run homicide in Lemon Grove and a vehicle involved in a [pellet] gun case in Encinitas,” reads the city’s staff report to the city council.
City staff said the Sheriff’s Office recommends a total of eight license plate readers, but the city opted for four.
“This is a pilot program. We have to consider the trade-off of privacy for security,” said public speaker Vivian Dunbar. “People have been falsely arrested and falsely identified through the use of these cameras.”
Imperial Beach Mayor Pro-Tem Jack Fisher said that while he understands the privacy concerns, the benefits outweigh any negatives. “This is one of those programs where IB is not leading the charge. A few weeks back, everyone was aware of the tragedy that happened at the Islamic Center of San Diego and the license plate readers were key in tracking those individuals down. It’s good for us to do our part.”
Added Fisher, “The era of big brother has passed, if you have a cell phone, you know there is already tracking.”
The council unanimously voted in favor of the pilot program.
Utility man Samad Taylor was selected to the Major League roster from Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move.
Tuesday night was a tale of two parties. Two election night parties.
At Liberty Station’s Stone Brewing, a small coterie of Democratic elected officials and functionaries and a larger coterie of news media shuffled around trying to make sense of the lackluster returns trickling in.
Meanwhile, at downtown’s US Grant Hotel, a much more spirited collection of Republican operatives and supporters laughed and drank in a blindingly-lit convention room, backed by a pianist’s rendition of “Billie Jean.”
The takeaway seemed clear: this was a not-so-great night for San Diego’s Democratic in-group. Chula Vista’s Republican mayor had a huge lead over his Democratic opponent. A tax on second homes lagged behind in the vote count. And several Republicans seemed to make it out of crowded primary fields in local races.
Hell, even if it was only a just-OK night for Republicans – that still seemed worth celebrating to them.
Normally we now get long stretches of days, even weeks of fingernail-biting anticipation as the county so slowly tallies the rest of the votes. But there doesn’t appear to be many close races to watch this time around. There are a couple. We start at the top:
It’s Becerra vs. Hilton
As of 11 p.m., with more than 50 percent of votes counted, it appeared that a Republican and Democrat — rather than two Democrats — would make it through to the general election. Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra led the race, with billionaire Tom Steyer on the outside looking in. The New York Times has a nice tracker here.
Empty Homes Tax Goes Down
Measure A presented a simple choice. What do voters in the city of San Diego have more disdain for – people with enough money to own a second home they leave empty, or new taxes? Turns out, it’s additional taxes. For now, at least.
Championed by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, Measure A would have placed a tax on homes left vacant for more than half of the year. It was pitched as a way to both raise badly needed revenue for the city and, potentially, make available badly-needed housing.
As of Tuesday evening, the measure’s prospects looked grim, with about 58 percent of voters casting a ‘No’ vote. It will become the second citywide tax increase rejected by voters in as many years. Despite the poor showing, intern Naomi Granata found the pitch resonated with some voters in North Park.
San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk Jordan Marks was one of a number of local electeds who came out in opposition of the tax. He said the city’s housing problems couldn’t be solved by what he called “bad taxes.”
“This result reflects that Sean Elo-Rivera and the City Council have lost the trust of the public and that voters are reading the fine print,” Marks said.
Elo-Rivera said it wasn’t looking good, but he was hopeful the picture would improve. Ultimately, he thought the money spent opposing the tax — and the distorted message he felt it sent — was too big to overcome.
“There was an enormous amount of money spent, and not just money spent, but money spent to trick voters into thinking that something was going to impact them that wasn’t,” Elo-Rivera said.
No Ammar
Republican County Supervisor Jim Desmond led the way in the 48th Congressional District on Tuesday night.
What we were waiting for is the candidate who would go with him to the runoff. It will attract a ton of national attention and money. It was one of the seats made more competitive by Democrats in the special redistricting vote last year.
San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and Ammar Campa-Najjar, squared off for a chance to wrest the seat out of longtime Republican control. With 53 percent reporting, von Wilpert held a commanding lead over Campa-Najjar. The councilmember will advance to face Desmond in November.
On the ground in the district, reporter Tigist Layne found that the national politics that led to the redistricting fight were also front and center on voters’ minds as they headed into vote.
Bailey vs. Crosby in Coastal Council District
Former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey and Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby will advance to the November election in District 2 of the San Diego City Council.
Bailey, a Republican-turned-Independent, seemed destined to finish in the top two after he attracted significant attention on social media. The race for the second spot was more uncertain. Josh Coyne, like Crosby, attracted significant Democratic support. And Mandy Havlik — a more development-resistant candidate — also had strong grassroots support in Point Loma.
Our new intern Fiona Bork talked to voters in District 2, which covers the city’s southern coastline, who said that affordability was the most important issue. Exactly how that explained their electoral choices differed by a lot. One voter said Coyne’s market-driven approach to building more housing appealed to him. Another liked Havlik’s approach to limiting vacation rentals. A third voted for Bailey because she wanted less development and more public transit. It seems unlikely that Bailey, who is fiscally conservative, would support massively expanding public transit options. Read the full story here.
City Council District 4: The race for southeastern San Diego’s council district featured three candidates: incumbent Henry Foster, Martha Abraham and Johnny Lee Dang.
Abraham was highly critical of Foster in her campaign and that seemed to resonate well with voters. At the latest count, she led Foster by several hundred votes.
Foster has many supporters in the district, but the city’s handling of catastrophic flooding in January 2024 — among other issues — has led to massive distrust of City Hall.
Council District 6: Incumbent Kent Lee had one prominent opponent, Mark Powell, who is a former member of the County Board of Education. They will both make the runoff but Lee got 55 percent of the vote in early counting.
City Council District 8: San Ysidro School Board Member Antonio Martinez and current District 8 chief of staff, Gerardo Ramirez, lead in this race — which was crowded with Democrats. Venus Molina, who serves as the chief of staff to Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, trailed closely behind in third place. This is one of the races close enough to change as the registrar continues counting votes. Molina’s count improved slightly as the night went on.
Our South County reporter, Jim Hinch, spoke with voters outside the Otay Mesa/Nestor Branch Library. One voter told Hinch she voted for Molina because she liked that she is local and a single mother. Read the full story here.
Election Watch Party Bonus: Ramirez’ supporters and family gathered at the Landing Strip, a bar and restaurant at Brown Field Municipal Airport, to watch results roll in. They broke out into applause when results showed him coming in second.
“For some of the folks it might seem like ‘hey man’ you’re second place, but we’re in there. This is a huge, wonderful sign,” said Ramirez.
DeMaio’s Gonna Gloat
Two local elections were something of a proxy battle between two warring factions of the Republican Party. Assemblymember Carl DeMaio’s team won, again. Every time local Republican leaders unite to oppose him or the people he supports, DeMaio wins. This time it was about two races: the one to replace County Supervisor Jim Desmond and the one to replace State Sen. Brian Jones.
In the county supervisor race: San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones left no doubt she would make it to the runoff. The only remaining question is who will face her — Vista Mayor John Franklin or Kyle Krahel, the former chair of the Democratic Party. After the first votes were counted, Krahel held a slight advantage with 20 percent of the vote compared to Franklin’s 19 percent. DeMaio went all in for Jones and she led the field with more than 41 percent of the vote.
In the state Senate race: As expected, former San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott made the runoff for the state Senate District 40 seat. She got nearly 45 percent of the votes counted so far. The real question was who would go with her. That Republican battle between Kristie Bruce-Lane and San Marcos City Councilmember Ed Musgrove seems to have also gone DeMaio’s way with Bruce-Lane holding a 4.7-percentage-point advantage over Musgrove.
That’s not enough of a gap to call the race but it’s significant.
Teachers Union Pushed Barrera to Runoff in Statewide Race
The race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction became something of a flex test for the state’s largest teachers union. Could the California Teachers Association almost singlehandedly lift a relatively unknown San Diego board member over a bevvy of better financed, higher profile candidates? Yup. Easily.
Fueled by nearly $5 million in spending from the state’s largest teachers union, longtime San Diego Unified Trustee and labor-darling Richard Barrera sailed to a convincing second place finish in the race for state supe. In his nearly two decades as the power behind the throne of the second largest district in the state, Barrera has engineered a progressive labor friendly transformation that the union hopes can be taken statewide.
He will now face off against Republican Chino Valley Trustee Sonja Shaw in November.
Brews and News + Your Chance to Win Padres Tickets
Meet our team and get an election debrief at our Brews & News Live Podcast at Soda Bar on Thursday, June 11. We will be joined by San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera. Get your tickets here and you’ll be automatically entered to win two tickets to a Padres game. Winners will be announced at the event.
Obligatory note: No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win the Brews and News Live Podcast Giveaway. A ticket purchase or donation will not increase chances of winning. All applicable federal, state, local and municipal laws, rules, and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law.
In Other News
- Opinion: A retired lifeguard finds irony in SDG&E’s stance on residents putting solar panels on their balconies. The company once argued against rooftop solar because it was unfair to renters, but now, he writes, “a low-cost system allows most of those same people access to solar, but SDG&E seeks to deny them as well.” (ICYMI: Our MacKenzie Elmer wrote that plugging in such a device could put her at risk of getting her power cut.)
- San Diego County officials warned South Bay residents to limit their exposure to the outdoors after a broken pipe spilled millions of gallons of sewage into the Tijuana River. (Union-Tribune)
- NBC 7 reports that a judge ruled that the city of San Diego illegally collected parking ticket late fees for three years.
- About that cross-border tunnel: The U.S. Attorney’s office says a recently discovered, massive tunnel stretching from Tijuana to Otay Mesa leads to a fake store in the southern San Diego neighborhood. Four people have been charged in connection with drug trafficking linked to the tunnel.
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney, Mariana Martínez Barba and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Will Huntsberry, Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.
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