Padres President and COO Tom Garfinkel Interview

Gaslamp Ball goes on the record with Padres President and Chief Operating Officer.

Gaslamp Ball:  Jeff Moorad said "I don't expect fans to show up and support us unless they understand our plan".  What is the plan?

Tom Garfinkel: We plan to win baseball games and create great memories for our fans on and off the field.  Investing in the draft, player development, and scouting will be priorities in building a championship caliber team.   Creating affordability and great experiences will be a focus off the field.  The owners will not be ‘stuffing pockets.’  As we grow revenues, the money will be invested back into the on-field product first and the fan experience second.

When the Padres sale was announced Moorad mentioned talking to someone in Homeland Security about bringing fans from Mexico up to attend Padres games.  What's the status on this?

Initial discussions w/ Homeland Security have taken place, more to follow.

When, if ever, will all the members of the Padres ownership group be announced?  Can you tell us now?

It’s the right of the partners to remain private if they choose to and there has never been a plan to announce partner involvement.   Those who are comfortable w/ the disclosure have been made known.

Who's idea was it to dress Donovan Tate in retro Padres gear?  Should fans read anything into this regarding a possible Padres uniform change in the years to come?

It was Donavan Tate’s idea and I thought he looked great.  We will not be overhauling the uniform color scheme or making any changes to the uniforms beyond minor tweaks anytime in the foreseeable future.  You may see some one-off days where we celebrate and wear the 69 unis or the 84 unis, etc.

Why do you hate the Friar?

I don’t hate the Friar!  What I said was "The Friar is an important part of our history."  What came across was "The Friar is a part of our history…"   Subtle, but important distinction.   You will still see the swinging Friar logo and other uses of the term Friar for years to come….

Is there any other cool stuff happening that fans should know about?

There are a lot of exciting ideas that we are vetting through right now – we’ll share more as we finalize them – and we’re open to your ideas as well…