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It's not every day you see a gong at a baseball field.
Actually, you never see the percussion instrument on the diamond. The San Diego Padres are prepared to change that.
The NL West club is using gongs with Padres logos at the center for pitchers' pickoff drills at Major League spring training.
— MLB (@MLB) February 19, 2026
"Evidently, the gong has been a part of the Minor League side of Padres camp dating back a few years," MLB.com's AJ Cassavell wrote Thursday. "Padres instructors have used it for competitions among Minor League players -- whether it’s catchers throwing to second base, infielders throwing home, or pitchers throwing pickoffs."
Different styles of training
This year's spring training has given baseball fans an opportunity for an inside look at unorthodox training methods from MLB clubs.
Last week, New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was seen using frisbees to practice receiving and framing. The Pittsburgh Pirates used a ball bag tied to a rope to simulate baserunners sliding into home plate - the backstops' job was to make an accurate and timely tag on the bag.
San Diego's gong method seems to be hitting the right notes (no pun intended) with its players.
“It just makes things a little bit more entertaining,” right-hander David Morgan told Cassavell. “You hit it right in the middle, it makes that noise. And once you hear it, you’re like, ‘I kind of want to do that again.’”
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