Fifteen years ago, deep into the baseball season, a Padres executive checked his phone soon after waking up and saw a text message from a colleague:

76-49.

That was the whole text.

The numbers denoted the Padres’ win-loss record that Thursday morning.

Both Padres baseball leaders were astonished by what the 2010 team had achieved through more than three-quarters of the season.

The rest of the baseball world, outside of Padres players, looked on in amazement, too.

Those Padres were projected to win just 71 games when the season began. Beyond star Adrián González, their offense was thought to be decidedly suspect. The team’s $38.6 million payroll sat last in Major League Baseball. Creating skepticism about the club’s ability to increase payroll, a layaway plan was in place for CEO Jeff

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