Padres News: Blake Snell Shares What He Loves About Playing in Petco Park

Padres ace calls Petco Park his favorite place to pitch

Tomorrow is the day, Padre fans, Opening Day!! It's the best time of the year, and every Padre fan is on pins and needles. Your Padres will open up against their division rival Colorado Rockies with their ace Blake Snell taking the mound.

Snell will make his first start on Thursday at the best MLB ballpark in the league, Petco Park, in front of a sell-out crowd. This will be the first time that Snell will start on opening day for the Friars, and he couldn't be more excited. 

The former Cy Young winner caught up with the media on the eve of Opening Day and called his home stadium his favorite place to pitch. 

Blake Snell on the excitement of the #Padres fanbase this year pic.twitter.com/p8q8a6Mzcx

— San Diego Sports 760 (@Sports760) March 29, 2023

The 30-year-old will enter his eighth season as a pro and his third in brown and gold. The Padres rotation is stacked with ace after ace, so it says something about Snell making the start. His slow starts are worrisome, but he vowed to have a better start off the gate. 

Petco Park is one of the most gorgeous stadiums in all of sports, and the electricity the fans showed last postseason was out of this world. Combine that with a World Series-caliber team, and you got a place that will be rocking throughout the season and beyond. 

Snell's overall numbers in 2022 weren't eye-popping, as he had a win-loss record of 8-10 with a 3.38 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 128 innings and 24 starts. This is a massive season for the Fraris, and Snell will be in the middle of it. According to baseball reference, he's projected to go 8-8 with a 3.74 ERA, and strikeout 165 batters in 137 innings. 

Snell is coming for blood this season, and we can't wait to see him take it out on opposing batters. It's going to be a fun season, Padre fans.