What the Padres Signing of Free Agent Manny Machado Means for San Diego

So what does the signing of a big time free agent for big time money by the San Diego Padres mean for the city and its sports fans?

First shock. Many fans in San Diego and baseball fans across the country are in shock.Few expected the Padres, in a smaller market when it comes to sports advertising revenue and a team that has trolled for free agents before and then either pulled back or signed older players to big contracts.

So it is kind of a shock that the San Diego Padres would sign 26 year old infielder, in his prime, Manny Machado to the most expensive contract in Major League Baseball history;a 10 year agreement for a whopping 300 million dollars.

But while many in the sports world may be surprised, they don’t dispute that it will help the Padres become a competitive mean pretty quickly and will mean more fans coming to Petco Park and buying more tickets and more merchandise. And that means more sales tax revenue for the city along with more visitors to San Diego spending lots of money and contributing to the local economy.

But even more than that, the impact of what the Padres have done is just what sports fans in San Diego need after the kick in their guts they had to deal with when the former San Diego Chargers turned their backs on fans who had supported them for well over 50 years and moved to L-A.

San Diego sports pride took a big hit two years ago, losing an NFL team and the chance maybe to ever host a Super Bowl again.

But with the Padres now doing something that may have shocked a lot of fans, it also means that watching a World Series at Petco Park is now a big and expensive step closer in San Diego.

(Photo credit Getty Images)


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