Padres News: Josh Hader Doesn't Want Friars to Solely Focus on Current Success

It is a very long season!

There are few players on the San Diego Padres that know the feeling of a win and a loss better than Josh Hader. Time and time again, he has been a huge deciding factor in which way their games roll due to him being their most polished closer. In a season like 2023, his presence has been ultra-important seeing that the Friars have been in a number of close outings all year.

Through 30 games thus far, Hader has been able to post an ERA of 1.26 with 18 saves and only four earned runs. He remains one of the top players at his position in the league and even on a night like Tuesday, where he gave up two critical walks, the clubhouse will always trust him to handle business.

However, the 29-year-old LHP made some interesting comments after the game that he hopes the rest of the franchise resonates with too. San Diego has now dropped two straight to the San Fransisco Giants but Hader doesn't want them to dwell on it too much.

He has been in the league for a long time and knows that the critical games are still yet to come.

“These games

do

matter," said Hader. "But once you get closer towards the end — like August, September — that’s when the games really really matter. So that’s when you got to put the dog in you and be there 100 percent."

(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)

Hader also mentioned some teams that go all out during the regular season and fizzle out once the playoffs get close.

"I’m not gonna say any teams, but there’s teams that go really well throughout the season, and they don’t get hot on that back end. They don’t do so well in the playoffs. I think when you get into that August, September time, that’s when you get that momentum that builds you through (the playoffs), to get you going. These games are important, but it’s not the end of the season. We still have a lot of games left that we got to play. We’re gonna keep fighting to put ourselves in the best position to win.”

(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)

He certainly makes some great points here and we want to see the Friars capitalize with long-term success but a good rhythm does need to be made since now.