San Diego Padres Once Again Won't Let Dodgers Fans Buy NLDS Tickets
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are once again set to meet in the National League Division Series in 2024. It marks the third time in the last five seasons that the Dodgers and Padres will play in the NLDS, with the Dodgers sweeping the series in 2020 on their way to a World Series Championship and Padres winning three games to one in 2022.
It also marks the second consecutive postseason matchup between the two NL West teams where the Padres organization has pulled an extremely cowardly move: restricting ticket sales to San Diego County.
For the 2022 playoffs, the Padres official website told potential ticket buyers that if they didn't reside in a few chosen locations, San Diego, southern Orange County, Las Vegas, western Arizona and Baja California, Mexico, their orders would be canceled. Notably excluded from that list? Northern Orange County, Los Angeles County, Ventura County, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, and Santa Barbara County. Where all the Dodgers fans live. That same embarrassing message is back for the 2024 playoffs too.
PETCO Park in San Diego. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
Padres Organization Makes Ridiculous, Unnecessary Decision On Playoff Tickets
The Padres aren't the first team to do this, but that doesn't make it any less embarrassing.
During past regular seasons, Dodgers fans have taken up a sizable percentage of Petco Park, sometimes even managing to outnumber Padres fans. In 2019, a local Padres writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune said Dodgers fans "seemed overwhelming" after a series in May. But this is the playoffs, and given the Padres large season ticket holder base, fears of a Dodgers-fan takeover are largely overstated anyway. Trust your fans to fill up your stadium for the most important games of your season.
Instead, the Padres organization showed that no matter the results on the field, they still view themselves as the little Southern California brother to the Dodgers. An unsurprising revelation given San Diego's bush league "crying Kershaw" stadium picture from 2023 and their appropriation and encouragement of the "Beat LA" chant from the Dodgers actual rivals.
READ: 'Curseshaw?' Padres Have Been One Of MLB's Worst Teams Since Kershaw Scoreboard Taunt
Ignoring, of course, that many San Diego fans root for the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings and Los Angeles Chargers. Most view the series between the Dodgers and Padres as essentially a toss up. Even with Joe Musgrove going down with an injury. It should be that way off the field too, but apparently the Padres organization can't get out of its own way.
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