SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego Padres have announced that manager Jayce Tingler has been relieved of his duties, and has been offered an opportunity to remain with the organization.
"Jayce accomplished a great deal in his two seasons with the Padres, leading our team through an unprecedented pandemic and into the postseason for the first time in 15 years," President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller said. "I have tremendous respect for him as a coach, colleague and friend. After much thought and consideration over the last several weeks, we felt change was necessary at this time to ultimately reach our championship potential in San Diego."
Another statement released by the team on behalf of Tingler, and posted by The Athletic's Dennis Lin, said: "It's been the honor and privilege of a lifetime to manage the San Diego Padres and lead this group of men. I'm truly thankful for the opportunity and grateful for the tireless efforts of our players, coaches and support staff over the last two years. While I'm profoundly disappointed that our season ended far too soon, I know this team has a very bright future ahead."
Tingler became the Padres' 21st manager in 2019 and in 2020, helped lead the team to its first winning season since 2010. As a manager, the team went 116-106 in 222 regular-season games under Tingler.
This season, however, the team experienced a second-half downfall off of a strong first half and high expectations. After beginning the first half with 61-47 record through July, the team fell into a skid, going 18-36 from the start of August through the rest of the regular season.
The Friars finished the 2021 season 79-83 and 28 games back in the National League West in third place behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
Upon the team's second-half struggles, coaching changes were already being made and expected to continue in the offseason. The Padres fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild in late August and reportedly fired farm director Sam Geaney.
Tingler is a Smithville, Missouri, native and graduated from Smithville High School.
After graduating high school, he went on to play baseball at the University of Missouri.
Tingler was then drafted by the Toronto Bluejaysin the 2003 MLB June Amateur Draft after his time in Columbia.
The team's late-season collapse was all the more heartbreaking for players and fans after several highlights this season, including All-Star Game appearances by Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Mark Melancon, and Yu Darvish; the team's first no-hitter pitched by El Cajon-native Joe Musgrove; and a nine-game winning streak upon Petco Park's reopening in June.
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