The San Diego Padres entered into the ranks of baseball as an expansion team in 1969. The Padres lacked an abundance of talent in their early years, with only first baseman Nate Colbert, a power hitting slugger, being an exception to this rule.
Although the 1970's were not marked by extreme success, the team did feature emerging star Dave Winfield. In his seven seasons with the Friars, he posted 1,134 hits, 154 home runs, and 626 runs batted in.
Southpaw Randy Jones had a career year in 1976, winning 22 games and the Cy Young Award. In spite of the arrival of Gaylord Perry, Ozzie Smith, and future hall of fame pitcher Rollie Fingers, the Padres could not put anything together. In 1984, with star players such as Steve Garvey, Garry Templeton, Graig Nettles, Rich Gossage and eight time National League batting champ Tony Gwynn, San Diego went on to win the NL pennant, only to lose to the powerful Tigers in the World Series.
Notable events from the years between 1985 and 1995 were the emergence of rookie catcher Benito Santiago, who would go on to win the rookie of the year award in 1987. The following season, rookie second basemen Roberto Alomar made his debut, forming the infamous double play duo with Garry Templeton. In 1989, thanks to Cy Young winning closer Mark Davis, the Padres finished with 89 wins. The 1992 lineup featured Gary Sheffield, Fred McGriff, Tony Fernandez, and Gwynn. However, no success came from this potent offense, as many of the players soon disbanded, going to several different teams. The 1996 team won the NL West division, only to lose in the playoffs to Tony La Russa's Cardinals. The team included Rickey Henderson, pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, first baseman Wally Joyner and outfielder Steve Finley. In 1998, the team finally drove deep into the playoffs with the help of sensational years by Kevin Brown and Greg Vaughn, only to lose to the New York Yankees, considered by many to be the best team of all time.
The next five years were not kind to the Padres, as the team did not post a winning season during this time. Despite not making the playoffs in 2004 they finished with an 87-75 regular season record. In 2005 and 2006 San Diego won back to back NL West division titles. In these playoff appearances they fell short in the NLDS both times against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Padres have been unable to reach the playoffs since 2006. Last season they finished under .500 and are currently in the works of making deals to strengthen their roster. If the Padres can find fresh talent to add to the mix, hopefully they can pull out of last years slump and be contenders in the NL West once again.
The Boston Red Sox recently offered former San Diego Padres General Manager Kevin Towers a position in their front office. Towers for the past couple of weeks has been taking time off to clear his mind before making a final decision. He has been involved with the Padres organization as GM since 1995.San Diego since letting [...]
The Los Angeles Dodgers have just completed some last minute roster adjustments, adding Chicago White Sox power hitter Jim Thome along with Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Jon Garland. The White Sox in return will receive Minor League infielder Justin Fuller. Arizona has agreed to claim a player to be named, who is speculated to be [...]
The final day before the trading deadline was an eventful one. Though no top-level players changed hands, a good deal of players will be donning new uniforms the next time they take the field. The Los Angeles Dodgers traded Josh Bell and Steve Johnson for Baltimore closer George Sherrill. The Pirates traded John Grabow and [...]
