Eric Hosmer hints Padres players indeed wanted manager change after Jayce Tingler failure

Eric Hosmer was on Brian O’Grady’s “Breaking Bats” podcast recently to talk about his career and the San Diego Padres future. The former All-Star first baseman with Kansas City made some interesting comments about his excitement about having Bob Melvin as the team’s new manager.

“I’ve heard nothing but good things about Bo-Mel. I got to talk to him right before the lockout got going,” Hosmer said. “I’ve had nothing but the utmost respect from the other dugout playing against him.”

These comments might not stick out to the casual fan because it’s just what all players do when a new manager comes in. They say they’re excited to get going with the new coaching staff. However, this case is different because there were plenty of reports about former manager Jayce Tingler losing the clubhouse during the 2021 season and Tingler even had to defend his job security during press conferences.

Hosmer noting that he has the “utmost respect” for Melvin is something he wouldn’t even have been able to say about Tingler because he probably didn’t know who he even was before he got hired since he never had managed for a major league team before.

But Melvin is different and different in a very good way. He has the experience that the two previous Padres managers didn’t have and will immediately gain credibility in the clubhouse on the first day of Spring Training because every player knows Melvin has won before with lesser talented rosters.

Maybe Hosmer didn’t say anything that was surprising about Melvin but he did hint that he and other players in that clubhouse needed a change regarding managing experience and they got it.