Padres should be the envy of every small market baseball fan

You have to say this for the San Diego Padres. 

They are going for it, and they are not going to bow down to the big market spenders around Major League Baseball. 

In the process, they are giving fans of small market teams around the league reason to look at their own owners and ask, "why can't you do that?"

Or more accurately. Why won't you do that. 

News broke on Sunday that the Padres were in the process of finalizing a new 11-year, $350M contract extension with superstar infielder Manny Machado to keep him from opting out of his previous deal after the season. 

It not only kept one of the Padres' most impactful players in San Diego, it continued what has been a wild spending spree by Padres ownership over the past few years. 

Along with signing Machado (and then re-signing him), the Padres have also traded for Juan Soto at the trade deadline a year ago and then signed Xander Bogaerts this offseason. 

Combined with Fernando Tatis Jr. the Padres have assembled a core of impact talent that rivals any other team in Major League Baseball. 

This is a team that is considered a "small market" team.

The type of team that is not supposed to be able to compete with the big teams like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Boston. 

San Diego is the 27th largest media market in Major League Baseball, ahead of only Kansas City, Cincinnati and Milwaukee and is outspending almost everybody in terms of adding talent. 

In a league where you have teams like Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Oakland and especially Baltimore looking for ways to not spend money and always making excuses for why they can not, the Padres are a refreshing breathe of fresh air and proof that everybody has the means to try and compete if you just make the effort. 

There are no poor owners in Major League Baseball. There are just owners that do not want to spend. 

It might not result in a World Series win or even a World Series appearance, but even that is secondary at this point. What is important is that the Padres are making a serious effort and giving their fans a reason to pay attention and be optimistic going into the season. 

Every small market fan outside of San Diego should be looking at that and wondering why their teams will not try the same way.