Check out this super cool Padres mural painted last year behind Harbor Town Pub in Point Loma!
The artist is Jack Stricker (@jackstrickerart). The artwork depicts Padres baseball heroes Trevor Hoffman, Tony Gwynn and Ken Caminiti holding baseballs, bat and glove while dressed in long brown robes like friars!
I noticed this mural while walking near a bus stop waiting for my ride to Cabrillo National Monument.
I spoke to a friendly guy opening the bar, and he said Harbor Town Pub is the place you want to be watching Padres games. He also said it would be really cool if Trevor Hoffman came down to see the mural himself!
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This mural was painted in National City last year after Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres recorded his 2000th Major League Baseball hit!
It reads: El Ministro 2000! Manny got the name “El Ministro de la Defensa” (Minister of Defense) for his defensive prowess when he played for the Dominican Republic in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
His absolutely amazing plays at third base are so smooth and routine they appear almost effortless. If you’re an opposing hitter running to first base, you’d better hurry, because Manny’s laser throw will probably arrive before you do!
The artwork was spray painted in 2025 by the Padres-loving artists of Ground Floor Murals (@groundfloormurals).
If you’d like to see this cool mural firsthand, head over the intersection of 8th Street and B Avenue in downtown National City. It decorates the east side of the Andrade’s Thrift Store building.
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To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
The big crowd of fans gathered in Gallagher Square for today’s Padres watch party did their best. Closely watching the giant videoboard, they cheered their team, whirled rally towels, and some fans (and the Padres mascot Swinging Friar) excited the crowd as costumed characters. Alas, it wasn’t enough.
The Padres were eliminated this evening from the 2025 MLB Postseason. The Chicago Cubs took the Wild Card series, 2 games to 1. Ouch.
Our team: pitching good enough to win, but sketchy offense. Failure to make clutch hits. Like certain periods during the regular season.
It would’ve been a thousand times more fun if the Padres had won and advanced in the playoffs. The young kids running about and playing catch in Gallagher Square didn’t seem to mind, however. They were simply having a good time.
Of course, Dude Vader was present!
Two Manny Machados are better than one!
This awesome, masked lucha libre Padres fan brought his big swag chain!
I loved this Día de Muertos costumed Catrina!
Well, as they say, there’s always next year.
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
The crowd in Petco Park’s Gallagher Square went nuts when the San Diego Padres recorded the final out in Game 2 of the MLB Wild Card Series against the Cubs in Chicago. When Manny Machado hit his 2 run homer, imagine how excited everyone was!
What awesome fans: waving rally towels, dancing between innings, tossing balls with excited kids, focusing on every pitch and swing on the big Gallagher Square videoboard.
What a great team win! The Padres pitchers in particular were practically unhittable.
There will be another Padres Postseason Watch Party tomorrow. At the time of my writing, the start time is undetermined. Proceeds from the five dollar tickets go to the Padres Foundation. Get your tickets online.
Win or lose, the San Diego Padres organization always provides a really good time.
Enjoy some fun pics taken before and during the big game…
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Hard to believe it’s almost October. Major League Baseball Postseason 2025 begins tomorrow!
The San Diego Padres will be playing in Chicago against the Cubs in their MLB Wild Card Series matchup. Our hometown team ended up with another 90 win season. Let’s go Pads!
I walked around the Gaslamp Quarter, Petco Park and East Village this afternoon, and found indications that small businesses, restaurants and many others in downtown are rooting for the Padres!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
San Diego artist Christopher Konecki was working on painting the new Merrill Madness mural in downtown this morning. The artwork will depict Padres baseball star Jackson Merrill, and will greet fans coming west down Market Street at Eighth Avenue.
The grassroots, fan-funded mural is a collaboration that includes the Merrill Madness Foundation and artist team Christopher Konecki (@konecki_art) and Carly Ealey (@carlyealey). Amazing murals by these artists appear throughout the city. You might recall how they painted two cool Padres murals in North Park. See those photos here and here.
Chris told me this is the fourth day of working on the Merrill Madness mural. It’s huge: four stories high! The mural should be done in a couple of weeks or so.
I’ll provide an update when the artwork is completed.
Looks like it’s gonna be awesome!
UPDATE!
Three days later, much progress has been made!
ANOTHER UPDATE!
And in another three days…
AND FOUR DAYS AFTER THAT…
ONE MORE UPDATE!
It was finally completed!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
The Savannah Bananas have arrived in San Diego. They will be playing their wacky Banana Ball today and tomorrow at Petco Park. I’m told the wildly popular event is sold out!
A crew was setting up a row of canopies north of Petco Park’s Gallagher Square, where there will be fun activities for fans. I see there will be loads of yellow Savannah Banana merchandise for sale.
I happened to walk this morning down J Street. I took these photos. Lots of smiles!
So, what, you wonder is Banana Ball and how is it different than baseball? Check out the website here.
Among a bunch of strange rules are: batters can steal first base, batters are out if a fan catches a foul ball in the stands, no walks are allowed, no bunts are allowed, there’s a two hour time limit . . . and other peculiar, exciting stuff.
I hear players at Savannah Banana games do choreographed dances and engage in trick plays.
The Savannah Bananas are sort of like the Harlem Globetrotters–but baseball.
Get ready to Go Bananas!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
An extraordinary exhibit concerning the history of baseball’s Negro Leagues officially opens tomorrow, April 15, 2025, in San Diego!
Extensive displays celebrating African-American baseball players who helped lead the way to a more integrated and tolerant society can now be enjoyed on the 8th Floor Reading Room of the Central Library. The exhibit is titled Barrier Breakers.
Visitors to the Central Library are in for a treat. The epic exhibition is brought to our city by the San Diego Padres and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
There are biographies of athletes who competed in the Negro Leagues–complete with stats, accomplishments, photographs and memories. There are stories of how trailblazing players were eventually accepted by Major League Baseball. Different eras are represented, and key moments are remembered.
As one might expect, Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball, has a special place in the exhibit. It’s no coincidence that tomorrow, the day Breaking Barriers opens, is Jackie Robinson Day. Jackie made history by starting at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
Another display celebrates the San Diego Padres’ own trailblazer, hometown hero catcher Johnny Ritchey. He made Pacific Coast League history when he joined the team in 1948. (He had seven hits in his first eleven plate appearances!)
Anyone who is a baseball, sports or history buff needs to check out Barrier Breakers. I just happened to swing by the Central Library today, and was super fortunate to observe a special preview presentation.
If you can’t make it to San Diego’s downtown Central Library, you can view an online virtual exhibit by clicking here.
Just a few photos…
During today’s special presentation, Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, presented The Home Run for Humanity Award to worthy recipients in San Diego. Congrats to all!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Have you seen the new San Diego Padres mural in North Park? It appeared to have been completed yesterday when I swung by this morning to check it out.
It’s located at 2510 University Avenue on the Western Dental building. Sadly, the community had to raise money for this great mural to replace another Padres mural on University Avenue that had been defaced. You can see photos of that LFGSD mural before it was vandalized by clicking here.
The same artists painted this new, much larger mural: muralists Carly Ealey (@carlyealey) and Christopher Konecki (@konecki_art).
Looks awesome!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Cool San Diego Sights! 