For those of us who have been keeping up with baseball or keep up with social media related to the San Diego Padres, things are starting to look eerily similar to the 2021 season when they suffered a historic collapse going 12-34 in the final 46 games to finish 79-83. The team, managed by Bob Melvin, is also chasing five other teams for the final wildcard spot and sits in fourth place in the NL West standings.
For those of us who don’t like putting all our eggs in one basket, let’s look at what else is out there in terms of getting that coveted championship for America’s Finest City.
The San Diego Wave hold the sixth and final playoff spot in the NWSL standings with six games left in the regular season and are coming off an impressive 2-1 home victory over Gotham FC. The team, led by head coach Casey Stoney, recently extended the contract of 18-year-old phenom Jaedyn Shaw and still has the services of 2022 NWSL Golden Boot winner Alex Morgan along with those of reigning defender of the year Naomi Girma.
Albion San Diego is in second-place in the NISA standings as the team, led by head coach Diego Gomez, enters the final third of its season looking to make another trip to the championship match just as it did last year, but hoping for a different outcome this time. Albion has lost just one of its last nine matches with goalkeeper Ben “The Brickwall” Roach having seven clean sheets so far this season.
San Diego Loyal is tied for fourth place in the western conference standings with the Oakland Roots, both with 37 points. Loyal has made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons but has yet to make it out of the first round after losing to San Antonio FC in 2021 and the Oakland Roots last year. The team, led by head coach Nate Miller, has also gotten outstanding play from goalkeeper Koke Vegas and Ronaldo “The Haitian Sensation” Damus among others.
The City of San Diego already came as close as you can imagine this year to bringing a title home, but the SD Legion fell in heartbreaking fashion to the New England Free Jacks in the Major League Rugby championship 25-24 in early July, and the San Diego Sockers were eliminated in the semifinals of the MASL Ron Newman Cup by the eventual champion Chihuahua Savage in April.
So, while we wait to see if the San Diego Padre bats wake up one day and the relief pitchers remember how to throw strikes, hope springs eternal with our other teams.
