WIFE OF LATE PADRES OWNER PETER SEIDLER SUES FOR CONTROL OF TEAM

Manny Machado and Sheel Seidler

Sheel Seidler, the widow of late San Diego Padres chairman Peter Seidler, sued two of his brothers Monday in an attempt to become the team's control person.

In a complaint filed in Texas probate court, Sheel Seidler claims she and her three children have been "effectively ostracized" from the organization since Peter Seidler's death 14 months ago. The suit names Robert and Matthew Seidler as defendants, accusing the brothers of "fiduciary breaches of trust, fraud, conversion and egregious acts of self-dealing" in their roles as trustees and executors of Peter Seidler's estate.

The Padres announced Dec. 21 that Peter's oldest brother, John Seidler, would become the team's control person, which Sheel opposed and claims went against her late husband's wishes. 

In a statement, Sheel called her complaint "a very last resort" to "protect my family and to continue to carry out Peter's legacy."

"[A]s the holder of the largest individual ownership stake in the San Diego Padres, and the sole beneficiary of the Seidler Trusts, which possesses exclusive rights with respect to control of the franchise, I am seeking to be named the control person for the Padres," Sheel Seidler wrote as part of her statement.

A spokesperson for the Padres declined to comment, citing the team's stance regarding pending legal matters. Representatives for Robert and Matthew Seidler could not immediately be reached for comment. A Major League Baseball official also declined comment.

Peter Seidler, a two-time cancer survivor, died from complications of an infection on Nov. 14, 2023, leaving behind Sheel and their children, now ages 4, 9 and 11. Eric Kutsenda, a longtime friend and business partner, was named interim control person before essentially turning responsibilities over to John Seidler 13 months later.

Sheel Seidler's complaint claims assurances from Peter's brothers that they would act for the benefit of Sheel and the children have "shown to be hollow" in the wake of his death.

Matthew and Robert Seidler "not only disregarded the clear terms and purpose of the will and trust instrument that Peter created, but they also have intentionally schemed to take for themselves the estate and Seidler trusts' value rights and assets," the complaint states. "They have done so by misleading Sheel, engaging in conflicted transactions and egregious acts of self-dealing, and when Sheel began expressing concern and questioning their actions, they responded by demeaning and attempting to intimidate her -- including by using trust assets to pay lawyers to threaten her into submission and silence."

"They are trying to erase Peter's vision and legacy," another part of the complaint reads, "as well as falsely cast themselves as Peter's true heirs."

Under Peter Seidler, the Padres became a financial juggernaut, signing and retaining stars and placing themselves alongside big spenders such as the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fans rallied around the team, setting attendance records at Petco Park.

Peter Seidler, grandson of prominent former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, was part of a group that purchased the Padres in 2012 and assumed the role as chairman eight years later, becoming the organization's largest stakeholder. The pinnacle of Peter's ownership tenure arrived in October 2022 when the Padres defeated the rival Dodgers -- once deemed by Peter as "the dragon up the freeway that we're trying to slay" -- in the National League Division Series, before being eliminated the following round.

In the first offseason after Seidler's death, the Padres, who by that point had lost their local media contract through Diamond Sports Group's bankruptcy proceedings, decreased payroll by about one-third.Padres general manager A.J. Preller nonetheless fielded a competitive team in 2024 that won 93 games, made the playoffs for the third time in five years and almost defeated the Dodgers in the NLDS once again.

Seidler often expressed his hope to bring San Diego, a city that lost its NFL team, its first championship. Sheel Seidler believes she is the person to help bring that dream to fruition.

"While the children and I feel Peter's absence every day, our collective devotion to this team is stronger than ever," Sheel Seidler wrote. "Peter and I always planned, one day, to leave the team to the children. That remains my steadfast commitment. In the meantime, it is my intention to build upon the many recent successes, investing in both the short-term and long-term future of the franchise, and ensuring our dream of multiple championships is fulfilled.

"John Seidler's appointment as control person is still pending the approval of three-quarters of MLB's owners. A vote hasn't been scheduled but could take place as early as the upcoming owners meetings in February.

Sheel Seidler's complaint alleges that she and her three children are not welcomed at the ownership suite during games and that Robert and Matthew Seidler have gone as far as to "inform Padres employees that Sheel is not an owner of the team, and that her presence and input are not welcome in interacting with free agents and current players.

"Sheel Seidler also claims to have been excluded from charitable events meant to mark Peter Seidler's legacy.

The complaint includes what is said to be a handwritten note from Peter Seidler listing the priorities for control person in the event of his death, with Sheel and the children at the top.

Sheel Seidler and the children own approximately one-quarter of the Padres, fulfilling MLB's requirement of at least a 15% stake to qualify as a control person. But Matthew and Robert Seidler have "frozen Sheel out," according to the complaint, and "deprived her of the benefits of being the largest beneficial owner of the baseball team, while themselves enjoying the benefits."

- ALDEN GONZALEZ ESPN

PADRES FINISH OFF BRAVES IN NL WILD CARD; DODGERS AWAIT IN NLDS

 SAN DIEGO -- The latest stop of the San Diego Padres' redemption tour led them into a layer of champagne and beer Wednesday night, after they dispatched the Atlanta Braves with a 5-4 win to complete a two-game sweep in their NL Wild Card Series.

The floor of the Padres' clubhouse was covered in a sheen of alcohol, and underneath a thump of salsa music, Luis Arraez stood amid a circle of teammates and danced. When he was finished, Fernando Tatis Jr. stepped in and took a turn, and they kept it going like this for a while.

A year ago, the Padres were regarded as the most disappointing team in baseball, a working model of clubhouse dysfunction. Now, after a makeover of culture and personnel, they will face the Dodgers, baseball's No. 1 seed in this postseason. That best-of-five series will start in Los Angeles, and between the massive Dodger Stadium crowds and the parties that the Padres engender at Petco Park, it could draw a quarter-million fans in person and many millions in the broadcasts.

"We fought tooth and nail to get to the end of the season, for the division. But now we're in the part of the season where winner moves on and we wouldn't want it any other way," Padres manager Mike Shildt said. "It's going to be a wonderful series. We're super excited about it. Can't wait."

Right after the San Diego players sprawled on the mound here for a team picture, third baseman Manny Machado said, "This is what everybody wanted."

Maybe not everybody. It's hard to imagine that anyone would openly wish for a series against the Padres, who have played better than just about any team since the All-Star break: 45 wins and 19 losses, including the two games against the Braves, a 113-win pace since the middle of July. Their lineup is deep, their rotation is deep and talented -- although there is concern about Joe Musgrove, who had to depart the game Wednesday with elbow trouble -- and their bullpen is as good as any, following the in-season additions of Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and others.

The Padres ambushed the Braves' Max Fried, who was making what might turn out to be his last appearance in an Atlanta uniform. Tatis Jr. smashed a 99.8 mph line drive back to the mound, with the ball smashing into Fried's backside and ricocheting away. Fried grimaced, and after a visit from manager Brian Snitker and an athletic trainer, he decided to continue. He then struck out Machado to help him pitch out of a bases-loaded jam.

But in the aftermath of Tatis' line drive, Fried would tell reporters later his bruised buttocks tightened, and in the second inning, Fried's command vanished. With two outs, Kyle Higashioka hit a solo homer, his second in two days, and after three consecutive singles, the bases were loaded for Machado again.

As Machado watched this rally build, he kept telling teammates in the dugout to give him another chance, to get him another opportunity -- and when Fried left a slider over the plate, Machado blistered it into the left field corner for two runs. Merrill followed with a two-run triple, and it was 5-1 San Diego.

"That's a band of brothers right there," Merrill said. "First inning, we get bases loaded, no outs and we don't score. But we don't look back, we move forward. Six straight two-out hits! I don't think that happens very often. That's what you call a band of brothers, just working together trying to pack on the runs."

Said Higashioka: "This team's always shown the ability to be resilient and never quit. That's a credit to all the guys. Just putting together good at-bats no matter what."

For the Braves, who have been hammered all year by injuries and have been without Ronald Acuna Jr. for most of the season and without Austin Riley in recent weeks, this was a mountainous deficit. Fried was finished, and this game mirrored the Braves' season in how it was defined by injury.

The Braves plated a few more runs, but lacking lineup firepower -- after leading the majors in runs last year, they finished 15th this season -- they would fall short. Travis d'Arnaud popped out to end the game, and the Padres rushed to the middle of the field.

Later, before the San Diego players flooded their clubhouse with champagne, Shildt and others spoke loudly about how this was just the first step, that they needed 11 more wins in this postseason.

Just before that, Machado had talked during and after the game about how this is a team that fights and pushes, which was not something that was said about the 2023 Padres, a star-laden club that just fell flat. Manager Bob Melvin left the Padres right after the regular season, jumping to the Giants. Juan Soto was traded to the New York Yankees in return for a clan of pitching and Higashioka. Shildt, who had been fired by the St. Louis Cardinals after the 2021 season and was uncertain about whether he would get another chance, was hired -- and shortly thereafter, a conversation began between the new manager, staffers and players about how to make the work experience better for all of them.

As infielder Jake Cronenworth described it, the players wanted to get back to caring about each game, each bit of result and, perhaps most important, to get back to having fun. Shildt wanted the players to enjoy coming to work each day, and some adjustments were made with the schedule.

"I'm pleased with the way our guys are going about this postseason," Shildt said after Wednesday's game. "You're just playing baseball, man. They're not making it any bigger than it is. They're just going out and playing and balling out."

Along the way, Merrill emerged as the center fielder, at age 20. "A superstar," Cronenworth said. "A freak."

General manager A.J. Preller, long known for his aggressiveness, landed Dylan Cease from the White Sox in a spring training trade, and made the first big deal of the regular season, swapping for batting champion Arraez, who reinforced the team's newfound dedication to making more contact and striking out less in their spacious park. Coach Victor Rodriguez termed it Petco Park hitting.

And at the deadline, Preller made more deals to stack the Padres' bullpen. On Wednesday morning, a rival executive talked about filing a vote for Preller as executive of the year.

The pool of champagne and beer had already started to grow by the time Preller walked into the room. Shildt saw him, pulled his boss into a bear hug with his right hand and emptied a bottle over Preller's head with his left hand, laughing.

- Buster Olney, ESPN Senior Writer