SAN DIEGO _ Much ink and bandwidth has been deployed to explain the youth-based, long-term strategy of the Padres. Little, in comparison, has been invested in peeling back the layers of a striking philosophical shift off the field.
For decades, the Padres were one of baseball's far-flung, forgotten outposts _ relegated to the world of bat-and-ball afterthought. They were detached, uninvolved, distant and, for far too many years, irrelevant.
Now, the Padres are knee-deep in baseball's business. It's purposeful. And it has already paid dividends.
When MLB recently announced it would join in the purchase of iconic sporting goods brand Rawlings with Seidler Equity Partners _ founded by Padres Managing Partner Peter Seidler _ the San Diego ties stretched to the baseball itself.
That follows Executive Chairman Ron Fowler, the right-hand man of Commissioner Rob Manfred during the last labor deal, picking up a spot on the league's executive council and being tasked to reshape the game's constitution that dates back to 1921.
Seidler sits on the ownership and investment councils, as well.
It's a startling pivot from the out-of-sight, out-of-mind days of the Padres' past.
"When we got involved with baseball, we weren't even in with the 'outs,' " Fowler put it this week. "We had no relationships in baseball in 2012. We weren't on any committees. I think the biggest way of putting it, you have a seat at the table when being discussed and reviewed rather than a seat at the table when they're being presented.
"Unless you're on the inside, you had no idea what was going on in baseball until you got a letter telling you."
Why does it matter how a team is considered and connected, beyond the reach of Fox Sports San Diego? It's all about wins, losses and selling tickets, right?
Go back to 2016, for starters, when the Gaslamp Quarter was swamped with All-Star Game fans. That hadn't happened in nearly a quarter-century and was a first at Petco Park.
Fowler and Seidler said they used all those meetings, phones calls and emails to beat a drum: San Diego wanted the All-Star Game.
The result: Those calls were returned, those messages read and those pleas acknowledged _ landing the weekend that, according to a Union-Tribune story quoting economic experts, produced an estimated $70 million to $80 million worth of impact.
The ripples continue: The top marketing and sales executives from each of baseball's 30 clubs will visit San Diego next week. Baseball's prestigious winter meetings return next year.
They still need Christian Villaneuva, Manny Margot and Hunter Renfroe to get a better handle on the strike zone. They still need a healthy Wil Myers. They still need a pitching rotation that trots out a demoralizing No. 1 and intimidating No. 2.
There's plenty of baseball work to do.
The Padres, though, clearly have thought about their evolution holistically.
"It very much helped us with the All-Star Game in 2016," Fowler said. "We made it abundantly clear every time we talked to central baseball that we wanted to host. Plus, if you don't know how the sausage is made, you just have to eat it when it's done. But when you know how the sausage is made, you know how Boardwalk gets traded for Park Place and how deals get done, it's very helpful.
"In sitting down and talking about it, we made the determination we needed better relationships with baseball."
There are more subtle, difficult-to-measure impacts from strengthening those networks. The more prominent and consistent the seat at the table for the Padres, the more confident in-the-know agents are likely to feel about the organizations their players consider.
Money talks, of course. When situations feel similar, though, those other factors break ties and spark contract signatures.
For the Padres, it wasn't always this way.
"I remember our first meeting with (then-)Commissioner Selig when we mentioned the All-Star Game," Seidler said. "He told us, a lot of clubs want the All-Star Game and 'Your interest is duly noted.'
"It was something of an eye-opener, but no surprise. It was clear that a lot of things happen in a professional sports league based on relationships. Day 1, August 2012, we were at the starting line. We had to get to know people and learn how things work."
Seidler was unable to discuss the Rawlings deal, because governmental I's still are being dotted with T's yet to cross.
Be assured, however, that a brand-conscious giant like MLB only would enter into a direct business deal with someone it knows and trusts.
"It's completely linked to how we build the business side as well," Seidler said. "As an example, if there's a player in Australia who's the next (Shohei) Ohtani and we want to know the rules, we know who to call at 245 Park Avenue so we have clear marching orders moving forward.
"You don't build those relationships overnight."
Fowler, meanwhile, is growing into one of the most connected power-brokers in the game.
Manfred lauded Fowler's tireless work, going as far as to say no owner "had a bigger influence on the collective bargaining agreement (since Manfred became involved in 1989) than Ron." Fowler visited each of the 29 clubs during the process.
Now, while working on re-tooling the game's constitution, Fowler has deepened connections with Mets owner Fred Wilpon, Royals owner David Glass, Giants owner Larry Baer and Twins owner Jim Pohlad.
The pivot has been remarkable.
"(Former owner) John Moores was very involved for a while, then he became frustrated," Fowler said. "I don't know who got frustrated first, baseball with John or John with baseball.
"Then the situation with Jeff (Moorad, and a failed ownership bid), there were guys in baseball who didn't want him to be an owner. So the Padres went probably seven years where it was, whatever we do, San Diego has to do. People didn't pay attention to us.
"I'm not saying we carry the kind of clout some people do, but we have a seat at the table."
Will all the hob-knobbing inflate batting averages and lower ERAs for the home team at Petco Park? No.
Does it matter? Without a doubt.
