In a critical season Padres turn to an unknown at manager in Jayce Tingler

There is no question that 2020 is going to be a critical season for the San Diego Padres, and they put a lot of faith in an unknown manager.

To say the hiring of Jayce Tingler as the San Diego Padres new manager was questionable is putting things lightly.

Not many in baseball had even heard of Tingler, and certainly, not many fans knew he was.

At the beginning of October, some of the top candidates to be the Padres’ next manager included Joe Maddon, Mike Scioscia, Mark Loretta, Joe Girardi, Ron Washington, and Bruce Bochy.

This article from Gaslamp Ball includes the odds for each of those candidates to become the Padres’ manager.

One name you won’t even find on that list is Jayce Tingler.

Let me pause a moment and say that we have no idea what kind of manager Tingler will be.

I’m sure the Padres did their due diligence and vetted this guy completely — at least we certainly hope that’s the case.

But isn’t that the issue here?

Going into a season where the Padres need to show a ton of improvement, and at the very least compete for an NL Wild Card spot well into September, they’ll be led by an unknown commodity.

Background on Tingler

To give a little history on Tingler, he was a 10th round draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Missouri in 2003. He spent four seasons in the Minor Leagues where he hit .271 over 1,477 at-bats but never made it any higher than Double-A.

An article from the East Village Times explains that Tingler has held various roles in the Texas Rangers organization after hanging things up as a player in 2006.

He spent time coaching their DSL team and AZL team before becoming a field coordinator for the Rangers. And then in 2018, he spent time as the Rangers interim bench coach.

What everyone has been saying about Tingler is that he is well-respected among the players and is a great motivator.

A. J. Preller has put a lot of faith in Tingler with his own job on the line with this hire. This franchise is on the verge of greatness, but they need someone to steer the ship.

They now go into the 2020 season with an unknown at captain, and that — for good reason — has many fans on edge.