While deciding on a new general manager in August 2014, the San Diego Padres initially planned to hire Billy Eppler over A.J. Preller, according to a report.

Eppler was assistant GM of the New York Yankees at the time and is now the head man with the Los Angeles Angels.

Padres president Mike Dee granted Preller one last interview for the job despite having decided on Eppler and the contrast in styles between Preller and all other candidates. Preller has a reputation as a quirky, baseball savant, having reported to interviews with a spiral notebook.

"I told him I'd meet him one last time, just as a kind of courtesy, because he was so good throughout the process," Dee said. "He basically blew me away. When I said, if we don't go with you because of this concern or that concern, he was just like an attorney cross-examining. He basically mitigated every concern.

"I got back to San Diego at 5 a.m. and called (Chairman) Ron Fowler at 8 a.m. I said, 'I had a change of heart overnight.' We have to hire A.J."