As Padres Set Attendance Record, Fernando Tatis Jr. Reveals Heartfelt Inspiration

The San Diego Padres set a franchise attendance record for a three-game home series over the weekend, as three packed Petco Park crowds watched the home team sweep the Chicago White Sox.

It's no surprise to see a record amount of Padres fan attend the team's final home series of the season. Padres fans have been showing up all season.

They rank third in MLB in home attendance, with an average of 41,118 fans. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have averaged more fans per home game.

The Padres officially set a franchise record in season-long attendance, with 3,314,593 total fans coming to Petco Park over the course of the season. That's an increase of more than a million compared to 2021 (2,191,950 million) and nearly a million more than the final pre-pandemic season (2,396,399 million) at Petco.

America’s Finest Fans set a three-game series attendance record this weekend vs. the White Sox and showed up in record numbers all season long.

Thank you, Faithful 💛 #ForTheFaithful pic.twitter.com/NO4mHYIKlv
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 22, 2024

Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. gave tribute to late Padres owner Peter Seidler for the team's record-setting attendance.

"It's amazing. It's beautiful," Tatis said, via AJ Cassavell. "This is what Peter built. We're just taking care of it, definitely doing it for him."

Fernando Tatis Jr. gave the credit to beloved late owner Peter Seidler when asked about the Padres' attendance record and the environment at Petco Park this year:

"It's amazing. It's beautiful. This is what Peter built. We're just taking care of it, definitely doing it for him." https://t.co/dg49fYFTgz
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) September 22, 2024

Seidler died at age 63 last November. Prior to his death, Seidler owned the Padres from 2012-23, and invested significant money to turn the team into contenders. The team advanced to the playoffs in 2022, but fell just short of a postseason berth in 2023 despite Seidler's financial investments.

One season later, the Padres are on the brink of returning to the playoffs. They can clinch as early as Tuesday. If they were to go on to win the World Series, they would fulfill Seidler's dream for his team.

The Padres’ simplest path to a clinch tomorrow is winning in L.A. That’s obviously their only focus, with the division up for grabs.

But with an ATL loss to NYM and one ARI win, the Padres could no longer miss out via any possible tiebreaker. So they can clinch that way, too.
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) September 23, 2024

The Padres in return have rewarded their fans all season. Expectations were not high in the offseason for a San Diego team that traded Juan Soto and saw their manager in 2023 leave for the same position with a division rival. Yet, the Padres have outperformed how many believed they would play all season.

Over the weekend, the Padres once again delivered in front of the home crowd. The Padres swept the Chicago White Sox, and have won a total of five of their last six home games. With their weekend sweep over the White Sox, the Padres moved within one win of clinching a postseason appearance.

The Padres are still within reach of overtaking the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League West division crown, but they must sweep their upcoming three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.