Insane Padres' comeback stat after walk-off win shows how special 2024 team can be

For the most part, baseball is a sport that perhaps has the most metrics to fully explain success or failure. That's a big reason why analytics have become so prevalent. However, one of the things that the 2024 San Diego Padres are best at is much harder to measure and understand.

We cannot discount the intangibles. What goes into making a run or winning a championship goes beyond the box score and even the Baseball Savant pages.

There are metrics that tell us how players/teams perform in clutch/high leverage situations, but those are result-oriented in the sense that we can measure what happened, but not necessarily why.

That was on full display once again in the Padres' walk-off win over the Tigers on Wednesday. While San Diego certainly got some help from a very debatable decision by Detroit to choose to pitch to and disrespect Fernando Tatis Jr. in extras, it was also indicative of just how good the Padres are when their backs are against the wall.

Padres' penchant for big rallies late in games will serve them well with the playoffs looming

Again, we can explain some of this in pretty basic terms. The Padres' bullpen has been strong all season long and looks particularly formidable after multiple trade deadline moves that bolstered it. That roster choice has made keeping games manageable much easier. San Diego also has a number of hitters that hit the ball hard withe regularity, which drastically increases the chances of big offensive outbursts.

However, that doesn't explain why the Padres are so good in these situations. We know that all-world rookie Jackson Merrill consistently comes up clutch, but it's what makes him tick that allows that to happen as much as his talent, and we can't really measure that. Knowing new manager Mike Shildt has a real ability to keep his players' heads in the game is not the same as understanding why his messaging is so effective with this group of guys.

In some ways, not being able to fully grasp and measure what makes this Padres team so good, especially in high leverage situations, is a big reason why baseball is such a beautiful sport. Sure, data can help us understand the game at a truly deep level (and make us mad when it is completely ignored). However, sometimes weird/unlikely things happen and teams just have that "it" factor separating them from the pack. In 2024, no team has exemplified that more than San Diego.

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