Padres
The National League won the contest 7-3 thanks to an MVP performance by Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey, who would play a crucial role for San Diego in the not-too-distant future. Winfield and Fingers represented the team at the game, but conspicuously absent was starting pitcher Gaylord Perry, who joined the Padres after spending three years with the Texas Rangers.
At 39 years of age and coming off a 15-14 season with Texas, little was expected of him. All Perry did that summer was post a 21-6 record and a 2.73 earned run average, edging Montreal's Ross Grimsley to earn the Padres' second Cy Young Award in three seasons.
San Diego also picked up another first that summer, compiling an 84-78 mark for manager Roger Craig, the only time in 10 seasons the team finished a season with a winning percentage above .500.
The good times did not last, as the Padres closed out the decade with another losing season in 1979, a 68-93 record that cost Craig his job. The team would wear Ray's initials, "RAK" on their jersey's left sleeve during the entire season.
Fortunately, happier times were ahead for the team.
Gwynn, who also would win five National League Gold Gloves during his career, joined the Padres in 1982 following starring roles in both baseball and basketball at San Diego State University (he still holds the school record for career basketball assists), and after having been selected in the previous year by both the Padres in the baseball draft and by the then San Diego Clippers in the National Basketball Association draft. The Padres pitching staff in 1984 featured Eric Show (15-9), Ed Whitson (14-8), Mark Thurmond (14-8), Tim Lollar (11-13), and Rich "Goose" Gossage as their closer (10-6, 2.90 ERA and 25 saves).
In the 1984 NLCS, the Padres faced the NL East champion Chicago Cubs, who were making their first post-season appearance since 1945 and featured NL Most Valuable Player Ryne Sandberg and Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe.
The Padres swept the final three games at then San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium (the highlight arguably being Steve Garvey's dramatic, game winning home run off of Lee Smith in Game 4) to win the 1984 National League pennant.
In the 1984 World Series, the Padres faced the powerful Detroit Tigers, who steamrolled through the regular season with 104 victories (and had started out with a 35-5 record, the best ever through the first 40 games). The Tigers were managed by Sparky Anderson and featured shortstop and native San Diegan Alan Trammell and outfielder Kirk Gibson, along with Lance Parrish and DH Darrell Evans.
The pitching staff was bolstered by ace Jack Morris (19-11, 3.60 ERA), Dan Petry (18-8), Milt Wilcox (17-8), and closer Willie Hernandez (9-3, 1.92 ERA with 32 saves). Jack Morris would win games 1 and 4 and the Tigers would go on to win the Series 4-games-to-1.
1985–95: Tough Times Following a Pennant
Logo used 1992 through 2003. Same as the previous but the ring is now white.
After the Padres won the pennant in 1984, they had some tough times.
However, they collapsed at the end of the season, finishing tied for second with the Houston Astros behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers.
In 1987, rookie catcher Benito Santiago hit in 34 straight games, earning him the NL Rookie of the Year Award. In 1989, the Padres finished 89-73 thanks to Cy Young Award-winning closer Mark Davis.
But as the franchise player, Gwynn prevailed as Clark finished his career with the Red Sox.
Midway through the 1990 season, Joan Kroc wanted to sell the team. After the ownership change, the old brown that remained in Padres uniforms since their inception were supplanted by navy blue, a nod to the vintage 1940's PCL franchise colors.
Shortly after the ownership change, a trade was made with the Toronto Blue Jays where Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar were traded for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez. However, Fernandez would go to the New York Mets, McGriff went to the division-winning Atlanta Braves, and Sheffield would go to the expansion Florida Marlins.
Although extremely unpopular at the time, it was the Sheffield trade that brought in pitcher Trevor Hoffman, who was virtually unknown to Padres fans. The Padres would finish dead last in the strike-shortened 1994 season, but Gwynn hit .394 that year (the most since Ted Williams hit over .400 in 1941).
In November 1995, Kevin Towers was promoted from scouting director to general manager.
1996–97: Building a Winner
In 1996, under new owner John Moores (a software tycoon who purchased controlling ownership in the team in 1994 from Tom Werner, who subsequently formed a syndicate that purchased the Boston Red Sox) and team president Larry Lucchino, and with a team managed by former Padres catcher Bruce Bochy (a member of the 1984 NL championship squad), the team won the NL West in an exciting race, sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in the final series of the regular season. The '96 team featured Gwynn, who won his seventh National League batting championship, National League MVP Ken Caminiti, premier leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson, pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, first baseman Wally Joyner and outfielder Steve Finley.
The Padres had led the NL West early in the season only to falter June, but came back in July and battled the Dodgers the rest of the way. Louis Cardinals, 3 games to 0.
The Padres suffered an off-year in 1997, plagued by a pitching slump.
The one silver lining was Tony Gwynn's eighth and final National League batting title, won in the final days of the season after a down-to-the wire duel with the Colorado Rockies' Larry Walker. The offense was paced by talent such as Andrés Galarraga, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and Javy López.
Mariano Rivera, their closer, was excellent once again (3–0, 1.91 ERA with 36 saves).
The Yankees swept the Padres 4 games to 0. One of the few bright spots of the series for the Padres was a home run by Tony Gwynn, not normally a power hitter, in Game 1 that hit the facing of the right-field upper deck at Yankee Stadium and put the Padres ahead briefly, 5-2.
But the Yankees would score 7 runs in the 7th inning en route to a 9-6 victory.
Military members take to the field prior to the National Anthem being sung during Military Appreciation Day at Petco Park, home to the San Diego Padres.
1999–2003: Tough Times Following a Pennant, Again
The Padres opened their 1999 season in Monterrey, Mexico versus the Colorado Rockies. He is presently head coach of the San Diego State University Aztecs, his alma mater.
Modeled after recent successes in downtown ballpark building (such as San Francisco's AT&T Park), and incorporating San Diego history in the form of the preservation of the facade of the historic Western Metals Company building (now the left-field corner, the corner of the building substituting for the left field foul pole), the new Petco Park is a sharp contrast to their previous home at Qualcomm (Jack Murphy) Stadium which was a cookie-cutter type football-baseball facility located in an outer, mostly commercial-industrial, area of the city near an interstate interchange.
With the ocean air prevalent and a sharp, clean park to play in, the Padres began to win again. The Padres finished the 2004 season with an 87–75 record, good enough for 3rd in the NL West.
The team somewhat rebranded itself going into the 2004 season, with new colors (navy blue and sand brown), new uniforms and a new advertising slogan, "Play Downtown", referring to the near-downtown location of the new ballpark.
One of the bricks at the center plaza of Petco Park was secretly purchased by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal rights organization that has protested the breeding and purchasing of the animals sold at Petco stores.
There had been some speculation that the Padres would be the first team in history to win a division and finish below .500, but their victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 30 gave them their 81st victory. On September 24 (the last home game of the regular season), Hoffman became the all-time saves leader when he recorded his 479th career save, breaking Lee Smith's record of 478 (Hoffman's career total as of the end of the season was 482).
Hoffman's 2006 campaign (2.14 ERA, 46 saves in 51 opportunities through 65 games pitched) was one of his best. With Trevor Hoffman pitching the 9th, 2 out, Diamondback Chris Young was on first.
Second baseman Josh Barfield fielded and threw wildly to first, forcing Gonzalez to come off the bag. The San Diego Padres, achieved the feat in both 2005 and 2006.
The Padres opened the 2006 National League Division Series at home against the St.
After losing the first two games at home (5-1 and 2-0 respectively), they won game 3 at Busch Stadium 3–1, but were eliminated with a 6–2 loss in Game 4, when the Cardinals, who trailed 2–0 before their first at-bat, scored six unanswered runs (two in the first, and four in the sixth) for the win.
Overall the Padres have a post-season record of 12–22; they have lost 10 of their last 11 games since winning the National League pennant in 1998.
One key offseason trade between the San Diego Padres' General Manager, Kevin Towers, and the Texas Rangers' General Manager, Jon Daniels, would prove to have a dramatic impact on their 2006 season. Gonzalez would take over the everyday duties at first base, batting .304 with a club-leading 24 home runs and 82 RBI in his first year as a full-time starter.
Prior to this contract agreement the Padres had offered to renew Gonzalez's contract during the offseason at $380,500, only $500 over the league minimum for the 2007 season.
The Padres' 2007 season began April 3 in an away game against the San Francisco Giants, winning it 7-0 in front of a capacity crowd of 42,773 at AT&T Park, defeating $126 million staff-ace Barry Zito in his Giants debut. At the start of the season the Padres starting rotation order was as follows: Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Clay Hensley (injured, replaced by Justin Germano), Greg Maddux, David Wells.
On June 4, 2007, Jake Peavy was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 with a 0.79 ERA in May.
Between Hoffman's two blown saves in the last three games, the Rockies' incredible surge at the end of the season and the season-long slump by the Padres' offense, a Padres postseason appearance just wasn't meant to be.
On November 15, Jake Peavy won the National League Cy Young Award by unanimous ballot. The Los Angeles Dodgers came into town and took two of three.
At the end of the opening homestand, the Padres were 3–3.
The Padres traveled to San Francisco, hoping to fatten up on former manager Bruce Bochy's Giants, but the now-Bondsless bay dwellers took two of three.In Los Angeles, the Padres won two of three, pushing their record back to .500.
On April 17, 2008 during the series against the Colorado Rockies at PETCO Park, the Padres played the longest game in team history, in terms of innings (22), losing 2–1. Returning home after a humbling three-game sweep in Atlanta in early May, the Padres cut Jim Edmonds, the Cardinals castoff who had been brought in after the Padres failed to sign Mike Cameron to an new deal in the offseason.
The Mariners used speed ---- and a late inning burst of power from Adrián Beltré in one game ---- to win the series and shove the Padres deeper into their early-season hole. After sweeping the New York Mets in a four game series that ended on June 8, the Padres climbed to 7 games back of first place Arizona.
During their final trip to Yankee Stadium, the site of Tony Gwynn's upperdeck World Series blast, the Padres were swept by the Yankees.
They returned to Petco and dropped two of three to the Tigers. Gonzalez made a nice scoop on a throw from catcher Russell Martin during a tense moment late in the game but he struck out with a chance to drive in the go-ahead run late in the game.
Following the All-Star break, the Padres would continue to struggle, getting swept in a four game series in St. The team finished off a 63–99 season on September 28 with a 10–6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates finishing 5th in the NL West, 21 games behind the division leader Los Angeles Dodgers.
On September 29, the team renewed the contracts of Manager Bud Black, Pitching Coach Darren Balsley, Bullpen Coach Darrell Akerfelds, 3rd Base Coach Glenn Hoffman (brother of closer Trevor Hoffman) and 1st Base Coach Rick Renteria.
The team's colors were changed to brown and orange and remained this way through the 1990 season.
In 1989, the Padres took the scripted Padres logo that was used from 1985-1988 and put it in a tan ring that read "San Diego Baseball Club" with a striped center. In 1991, the team's colors were also changed, to a combination of orange and navy blue.
The logo was completely changed when the team changed stadiums between the 2003 and 2004 seasons, as the logo now looks like home plate at a baseball field with San Diego written in gold font at the top right corner and the Padres new script written completely across the center.
They also wear these uniforms on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. Western Division Title and National League Pennant Winners.
Most Losing Season: (1969) 52-110
Local Television: Channel 4 San Diego (4SD) (Cable TV only; not available over the air.)
Local Radio: 1090 AM / 105.7 FM XX 1090 (pronounced "Double X"), La Poderosa 860 AM (en español).
Spring Training Facility: Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria, AZ
Rivals: Arizona Diamondbacks (Division, Colorado Rockies (Division), Los Angeles Dodgers (Division), San Francisco Giants (Division), St.
Gwynn's number 19 was not yet officially retired until late in the season and was added the following winter.
The Padres also have a "star on the wall" in honor of broadcaster Jerry Coleman, in reference to his trademark phrase "You can hang a star on that one!" Nearby the initials of former owner Ray Kroc are also displayed. Both the star and the initials are painted in gold on the front of the pressbox down the right field line accompanied by the name of the person in white.
Team Hall of Fame
People inducted into the San Diego Padres Team Hall of Fame which was founded in 1999.
Buzzie Bavasi, Team President, 1969-1977.
Inducted 2000.
Current roster
Championships
Minor league affiliations
AAA: Portland Beavers, Pacific Coast League
AA: San Antonio Missions, Texas League
Advanced A: Lake Elsinore Storm, California League
A: Fort Wayne TinCaps, Midwest League
Short A: Eugene Emeralds, Northwest League
Rookie: AZL Padres, Arizona League
Rookie: DSL Padres, Dominican Summer League
Radio and television
As of 2008, the Padres' flagship radio stations were XEPRS 1090AM and XHPRS 105.7FM, collectively known as "XX 1090" (pronounced "Double X.") When XX was only on AM, the station was known as the "Mighty 1090." Ted Leitner is the primary play-by-play announcer, with Andy Masur working the middle innings of each game. Frick Award winner, former Yankee second baseman and Padres manager, no longer does play-by-play, however he does work as a color analyst alongside Leitner and Masur, mostly during the middle part of the game.
She was intending to parody those actions of ballplayers which are often caught on camera, but she picked the wrong time to do it, as it appeared to many that she was commenting on the flag and/or the anthem. Bush, a former Yale University first baseman and the father of then-Texas Rangers owner, former President George W.
This was the first definitive history of the Padres as a major league franchise.
Education/MBA program
The San Diego Padres are the sponsors of and heavily involved in most aspects of the Sports Business Management MBA degree program offered in conjunction with San Diego State University's College of Business Administration.