Padres' Mason Miller on What Threw Him Off in Sacramento

Aug 1, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Mason Miller (22) pitches during the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Chadd Cady-Imagn Images | Chadd Cady-Imagn Images

On Monday morning, the guys over at Foul Territory had former Athletics closer Mason Miller join the show to talk about getting traded to the San Diego Padres, and his first weekend with the new club. He pitched in Friday's game, coming on in the eighth inning, and worked a scoreless frame in his debut.

Of course, he was also asked about the adjustment playing at the Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento. "It was an adjustment playing [in Sacramento] this year. But I think after a certain point, that adjustment has to be made and it's just playing ball." Miller said.

Miller was very diplomatic about playing in Sacramento and wasn't trying to bury anybody in the conversation, but one thing that he mentioned was not a critique that we've heard mentioned by anyone so far this season.

He was asked about the mound, which has been a topic of conversation at times this season. Zack Wheeler was not a fan, while Twins starter Joe Ryan blamed it for the injury to his teammate Pablo López. Even A's ace Luis Severino fell a couple of times during the first inning of his last start at Sutter Health.

"For me, I didn't mind [the mound] as much. They did do some work on it. Early in the year it was pretty hard, but when it bakes in the sun all day, even though it cools down at night, it's gonna be pretty firm. For me, visually, the single-level broadcast booths were what threw me off the most. Going from a big-league stadium backdrop to that was the bigger difference for me. The mound really didn't bother me."

That's a perfectly reasonable answer. Going from ballpark to ballpark where there are typically at least three levels, then being on the mound and having two decks in front of you has to be at least a little jarring at first. For hitters, there are a number of parks that have grass beyond the fences--perhaps not in the same way as Sutter Health, but it's not out of the ordinary.

This is a very interesting point of view from Miller, who talked up his now former teammates plenty on Wednesday before he was traded.

"I think that the second half of last year was a big step, and adding the pieces that we've added this year in Sevvy, Springs, and [Nick] Kurtz and Jacob [Wilson] coming up and having the success that we've had, I think that the sustainability of it looks better." He added, "There's a sense of loyalty, a sense of pride coming up with the team that drafted you."

While he may not be trying to win with the A's in the future, he'll certainly have a shot at going after a title this October with the Padres.