San Diego Padres (1969-Present)

Historical Moments:
1936-1968: The San Diego Padres have a rich and glorious history in the Pacific Coast League. In fact it was with the Padres that Ted Williams began his pro career in that inaugural 1936 season. When it came time for San Diego to get a Major League franchise it was only natural to take the Padres name, and legacy.

1969: The Padres make their Major League debut on April 8th with a 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros in front of 23,370 fans at San Diego Stadium. Winning games did not come regularly in that first season, as the Padres finished with a 52-110 record. The expansion Padres finished not only 41 games out of first but also 29 games out of fifth. First baseman Nate Colbert, with 24 home runs, provided San Diego's brightest ray of hope, and would prove to be one of the Padres' standout performers through their early years.

1970: The Padres struggle in front of an empty stadium, finishing in last place again, and barely avoid another 100-loss season, with a 63-99 record.

1971: The Padres continue to toil finishing in last place again with an awful 61-101 record.

1972: During an August 1st Double Header in Atlanta, 1B Nate Colbert hits 5 home runs and drives in 13 runs against the Braves. The RBI total establishes a double-header record that still stands today, while the 5 home runs tied Stan Musial's 1954 twin-bill mark Colbert would go to finish the season with 111 RBI becoming the first Padre to drive in 100 runs in a season. However, the Padres would still finish in last place with a 58-95 record.

1973: Fearing he would chose Basketball or Football over Baseball, the Padres sign draft pick Dave Winfield, and bring him directly to the majors, without him playing a single inning of minor league ball. Winfield would go to have a Hall of Fame career smacking over 400 HR, and delivering more than 3,000 hits. Despite the debut of the Future Hall of Famer the Padres again finish in last pace with a 60-102 record.

1974: Big league baseball was not an instant hit in San Diego, attendance barely topped a 500,000 in the Padres' first year, and though it rose a little over the next few seasons, the increase was not enough to make the club viable. Owner C. Arnholt Smith decided early in 1974 to sell the franchise to a buyer who planned to move the team to Washington, DC. New uniforms had been manufactured and the club's files were packed for the move. However, the founder of McDonald's fast-food empire and longtime baseball fan Ray Kroc, stepped in with an offer to buy the Padres for cash and keeping them in San Diego. Though Kroc's 1974 Padres finished last with the same 60-102 record they had posted the year before, his sense of showmanship drew spectators. Home attendance shot up 76 %, rising above a million for the first time.

1975: Randy Jones captures the League ERA title while becoming the first Padre to win 20 games in a season. While the Padres climb out of last place for the first time ever, and finishing in 4th Place with a 71-91 record.

1976: Two years after losing a league-high 22 games Lefty Starter Randy Jones wins a league high 22 games, while posting a 2.74 ERA, which was good enough to earn him Cy Young Award. He would not be the only Padre to take home hardware rookie pitcher Butch Metzger earned a split of the NL Rookie of the Year with Pat Zachary of the Cincinnati Reds. However, the Padres would still finish with a losing record placing 5th with a 73-89 record.

1977: The Padres continue to struggle finishing in 5th place with a horrid record of 69-93.

1978: Gaylord Perry wins a league high 21 games en-route to the NL Cy Young. Perry, who won the award 6 years earlier with Cleveland, would become the 1st player ever to win the honor in both leagues. Perry's pitching along with bat of Dave Winfield who hit .308 and drove in 97 runs, and the spectacular plays at Short Stop by Rookie Ozzie Smith would spur the Padres to a 84-78 record earning them their first plus .500 season in franchise history.

1979: After the positives of their first winning season, the Padres take a big step backward falling back into 3rd place with a horrible record of 69-93.

1980: The Padres become the first NL club with three players having 50 stolen base seasons (Gene Richards 61; Ozzie Smith 57; and Jerry Mumphrey 52), as they lead the majors with 239. However, the Padres Managed by long time broadcaster Jerry Coleman would finish in last place with a 73-89 record.

1981: After finishing in last place in both parts of the strike interrupted split season with a combined record of 41-69, while Manager Frank Howard is fired after just one season, and replaced by Dick Williams.

1982: Home grown Legend Tony Gwynn makes his major league debut on July 19th, collecting 2 hits against the Philadelphia Phillies. Under the stern of Dick Williams, the Padres would show significant improvement finishing in 4th place with a .500, 81-81 record.

1983: Steve Garvey acquired by the Padres in the off season dislocates his left thumb in a July 29th home plate collision vs. Atlanta, snapping his NL record streak of 1,027 consecutive games played, which is also the 3rd-longest in major league history. The Padres would go on to duplicate their 4th Place .500 season of the previous season.

1984: Six years after the San Diego's first winning season, the Padres recorded a second winning season with a new blend of experience and youth, as the team soared to new heights. Sparked by recently acquired veterans Steve Garvey at first, Craig Nettles at third, and Goose Gossage in the bullpen, and by a bevy of young stars like batting champ Tony Gwynn and hard-hitting OF Kevin McReynolds, the Padres moved into first place to stay in early June. Despite only playing .500 in the final 2 months, the Padres still won the NL West Title by 12 games with a 92-70 record. Sadly, Ray Kroc the man who saved the franchise 10 years earlier was not around to see it, after passing away on January 14th, the team would wear his initials on their sleeves for the next few seasons. The Padres enter the NLCS as heavy underdogs to the Chicago Cubs. In fact after the first two games the Pads look overmatched losing 13-0, and 4-2. If the Padres were going to win the series they would have to win the final 3 games fortunately they were to be played at Jack Murphy Stadium. The Padres used 7 runs in the 5th and 6th Innings come from behind to win game 3. In Game 4 Steve Garvey led the charge going 4 for 5 including a game winning 2-run homer in the 9th to force a 5th, and decisive game. The Padres fell behind early again in Game 5, but capitalized on Cubs mistakes to stage a 4-run 7th Inning rally, and earn a trip to their first World Series. However, in the World Series the Padres were simply over matched by a great Detroit Tigers team that steam rolled its way through the American League all year. The Padres would manage to win Game 2 at frenzied Jack Murphy Stadium thanks to Kurt Bevacqua's 3-Run Homer, but in the end the Tigers were too strong taking the series in 5 games.

1985: Seven Padres and manager Dick Williams lead the National League to a 6-1 win over the American League in the All-Star Game at Minneapolis. Padres Pitcher LaMarr Hoyt is even named the game's MVP. However, the Padres would fade in the second half, and finish in 3rd Place with a 83-79 record. Following the season, Manager Dick Williams would be replaced by Steve Boros.

1986: The Padres continue to fall in the standings landing in 4th place with a record of 74-88, as Manager Steve Boros is fired after just one season.

1987: Benito Santiago closes out his first big league campaign with a club and Major League rookie record-setting 34-game hitting streak, which is also the longest by a catcher. Santiago would go on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in a unanimous vote. Despites Benny's spectacular debut, the Padres lose 97 games finishing last for the 9th time in the club's 19-year history.

1988: After a slow start Manager Larry Bowa is replaced by Jack McKeon, giving the team its 4th manager in 4 years. The move would work, as the team would play solid baseball down stretch finishing in 3rd Place with an 83-78 record.

1989: After meandering through the most of the season around the .500 mark, the Padres go 29-10 in the last 6 weeks to get back into the pennant race, but finish, 3 games behind the San Francisco Giants with an 89-73 record. Tony Gwynn records 6 hits in his final 8 at-bats to capture his 4th N.L. batting title, while Reliever Mark Davis notches a then-Padres record 44 saves, one shy of the NL Record, en route to winning the Cy Young Award.

1990: The Padres are sold to a 15-member investment group headed by Hollywood Produce Tom Werner. The team would struggle in a year of transition changing their Manager and GM, and finishing tied for 4th with a 75-87 record. The Padres also are involved in a controversy when Comedienne Roseanne, performs the National Anthem, before a Padres game.

1991: The Padres and Toronto Blue Jays pull off one of the biggest blockbuster trades in baseball history prior to the season. The Padres would ship away OF Joe Carter, and 2B Roberto Alomar, in exchange for SS Tony Fernandez, and 1B Fred McGriff. On August 13th and 14th McGriff becomes the 4th player in NL history to blast grand slams in consecutive games. The new players would help the Padres finish in 3rd Place with an 84-78 record.

1992: Gary Sheffield leads the NL with a .330 batting average, and Fred McGriff wins the home run crown with 35 round trippers. Despite the spectacular league leading performances the Padres finish a distant 3rd with an 82-80 record.

1993: In a nightmarish 101-loss last place season that sees the Padres trade off fan favorites Gary Sheffield, and Fred McGriff, Tony Gwynn remains a Padre and seems to get better with age. In a game on August 4th Gwynn records a career-high 6 hits vs. the San Francisco Giants. It is his 4th game of the season with 5 or more hits, tying a major league record held by Wee Willie Keeler (1897), Ty Cobb (1922) and Stan Musial (1948).

1994: In a season cut short on August 12th by a player's strike, the Padres 47-70 record was the worst in the majors. However, San Diego still had reason to cheer, thanks to the hitting of Tony Gwynn, whose .394 batting average was the best in the NL since Bill Terry's .401 64 years earlier. In fact many believe Gwynn might have had a shot a batting .400 if the season been allowed to continue.

1995: The Padres are sold to John Moores and Larry Lucchino. In a move that singled the team would spend money to compete the Padres acquire Ken Caminiti, and Steve Finley in a blockbuster multi-player trade with Houston Astros. Caminiti becomes the first player in baseball history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game 3 times in a season, the first 2 come on consecutive nights. The Padres hit 9 grand slams, and to tie the NL mark set in 1929 by the Chicago Cubs. Meanwhile, Tony Gwynn wins his 6th batting title with a .368 average. With all the impressive offensive help, the Padres are the most improved team in the National League finishing with a 70-74 record.

1996: In a magical season lead by Ken Caminiti who sets club records with 40 home runs and 130 RBI and becomes the 4th player to win the N.L. MVP in an unanimous vote, the Padres with the NL West Title with a 91-71 record. Bruce Bochy becomes the first Padre to win the Manager of the Year Award, while Tony Gwynn hits .353 to win his 7th batting title. During the season the Padres make baseball history in Monterrey, Mexico by hosting the New York Mets in La Primera Serie, the first major league regular season games played outside the United States or Canada on the weekend of August 16-18th, as the Padres would take 2 of the 3 games in the series. However, the magical season ends quickly in the NLDS as the Padres are swept by the St. Louis Cardinals in 3 straight.

1997: On April 1st in front of the first Opening Day sellout crowd since 1985, the Padres explode for an 11-run 6th inning en route to a 12-5 win over the New York Mets. The inning established a 20th Century record for runs scored in an inning on Opening Day. Chris Gomez, Rickey Henderson and Quilvio Veras slugged consecutive home runs to highlight the inning. During the season the Padres have to hit the road again while renovations are made to the newly renamed Qualcomm Stadium, the Padres host the St. Louis Cardinals in the Padres Paradise Series at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii the Padres would end up dropping 2 of the 3 games. The season would also be a disappointment for the Padres, who struggle all season and finish in last place with a 76-86 record. However, Tony Gwynn bats .372 to win his 8th batting title, tying Honus Wagner's NL record.

1998: Like a yo-yo the Padres rise to the top of the division again led by Trevor Hoffman who ties an NL record with 53 saves in 54 chances, the 2nd-most in baseball history. Meanwhile Greg Vaughn slugs a club-record 50 HR and drives in 119 runs. The Padres win a club record 98 games en-route to their 2nd Division title in 3 years. The Padres get off to a good start in the NLDS thanks to Kevin Brown who fans a Division Series-record 16 to out duel Randy Johnson for a 2-1 series-opening win against the Houston Astros. The Padres would go onto win the series defeating the Big Unit twice in 4 games. In the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, the Padres race out to a 3 games to none lead. The Braves would go on to win the next 2 at Qualcomm to send the series back to Atlanta. However, Sterling Hitchcock would shut down the Braves for the 2nd time in the series to win the NLCS MVP and send the Padres on to a World Series match up against the New York Yankees. The Padres find themselves in the same position as 1984, overmatched. This time the Padres face a Yankees team who won a record 125 regular and post-season games. The Yankees would go on to sweep the Padres, but Tony Gwynn would bat .500 (8-for-16) with a homer and 3 RBI in the series.

1999: Three years after playing the first series in Mexico the Padres open the season in Monterey Mexico with an 8-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies. While the Padres struggled to a 4th Place 74-88 season, Tony Gwynn becomes the 22nd player in history to reach 3,000 career hits with a first-inning single to right-center on a 1-2 pitch from Montreal's Dan Smith at Olympic Stadium on August 6th. He would go on to finish the milestone night 4-for-5, igniting a 12-10 win.

2000: Trevor Hoffman ties Major League marks with his 3rd straight 40-save season and his 6th consecutive 30-save campaign. However, the Padres would struggle with an injury-plagued season to finish in 4th Place with a 76-86 record.

2001: The end of an era comes for the Padres as Tony Gwynn retires after 20 season in San Diego. Injuries would only allow Gwynn to pinch hit in the final months of his career, but he would still manage to hit .324 collecting 33 hits in 102 at Bats. Gwynn would finish his career with 3,141 hits, and an impressive .338 average. While Gwynn was finishing his career the Padres brought in Rickey Henderson to chase some of baseball's most elite career records. Henderson would quickly walk his way into history by breaking the career walks record held by Babe Ruth on April 29th. However, the record Henderson eyed was the all-time runs scored record held by Ty Cobb. In the final weekend of the season Henderson would smack a HR to score his 2,248 run to break the record. Henderson would make history again 1 day later by collecting his 3000th hit on the final day of the regular season. With 2 future Hall of Famers making history the Padres would finish in 3rd place with a record of 79-83.

2002: The Padres season would get off to a rough start before it even begins as rising star Mike Darr is killed after drinking and driving early in Spring Training. When the season started things would not get any better as the Padres are hampered by injuries all season on the way to finishing in last place with an awful 66-96 record.

2003: The Padres entered their final season in Qualcomm Stadium in a hole as their top hitter Phil Nevin and ace closer Trevor Hoffman began the season with injuries that would see them miss most of the season. Without those two key players the Padres found themselves in last place again where they would remain. However, on the way to finishing in last place with a 64-98 record the Padres positioned themselves to contend with opening of Petco Park in 2004 as they acquired Brian Giles from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline. In 29 games with the Padres Giles would hit .298, as Nevin returned in played well in the last two months of the season.

2004: After construction delays the Padres finally got to move into their new downtown ballpark as Petco Park opened its gates for the first time on April 8th as the Padres edged the San Francisco Giants 4-3. From the start Padres pitchers loved Petco as the heavy sea air made hitting home runs difficult. However it would often leave their top hitters frustrated, particularly Ryan Klesko who had a career low 9 home runs. The Padres would get off to a good start and led the NL West early thanks to a 16-9 start. However mediocre play over the next 2 months would allow the Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers to catch up as the teams battled most of the season for the division title. However as the season wore on the Padres Petco frustration became a strain on the as they managed only a 42-39 home record, while winning a NL West best 45 games on the road. However the losses at home would be too much to overcome as down the stretch the Padres would fade out of the race finishing in 3rd Place with a record of 87-75.

2005: With the return of Woody Williams the Padres had one of the top pitching staffs in the National League and were considered a top contender for the NL West, as the San Francisco Giants played most of the season without Barry Bonds. However, the Padres would struggle out of the gate posting an 11-13 record for April. However, May would be a different story as the Padres caught-fire winning 22 of 28 games to springboard to the top of the NL West as their starting pitching led Jake Peavy and Adam Eaton were giving the Padres good starts while Trevor Hoffman was resurgent in the bullpen saving 43 games. However, the Padres hitters were still being stymied and frustrated by Petco Park as no players managed to hit 20 homers, or drive in more than 83 RBI. After a great May the Padres suffered through a June swoon losing 12 of their first 15 games. However, fortunately the rest of the West struggled as well and the Padres did not lose any ground. At the All-Star Break the Padres were in first place with a 48-41 record, when the break was over the Padres went into a sudden tailspin losing 13 of their next 16 to fall below .500. However, with the rest of the West also below .500 the Padres would hold on to first place. That would be the story the rest of the year as the Padres hovered around .500, but with nobody in the weakly NL West above .500 they were in first place. As the September drive came down the stretch the Giants got Bonds back but never quite made a move, while the Arizona Diamondbacks kept it close but never really made that move either as the Padres with a mediocre 82-80 record became the worst team in the history of baseball to finish in first place. Illustrating how bad their record was had they been in the NL East they would have finished in 5th. When the playoffs began the Padres facing the St. Louis Cardinals who had won 100 games were quickly exposed as they were swept in 3-straight games being outscored 21-11 along the way.

2006: Coming off a division title the Padres hoped to continue to be the best in the west as they added Mike Piazza to help bolster the offense. However, the Padres stumbled out of the gate with seven losses in their first ten games. During April Piazza would make a little history hitting his 400th career home run, as the Padres finished the month with a disappointing 9-15 record. The Padres would turn things around in May as they won 14 of 15 games to reclaim first place in the NL West. The Padres would be at or near the top of the division all season as the NL West was the picture of parody with al five teams at one point being in first and all five teams at one point being in last, and the difference between the two was weather a team was on a long winning streak or a long losing streak. At the end of the season the battle for the West came down to a battle between the Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, with both also having the safety net of the Wild Card. Head to head against the Dodgers the Padres were dominant winning 14 of 19 games. This would end up being the difference maker as both teams finished with an 88-74 record, and since both qualified for the playoffs the Padres won the NL Western Division by tiebreaker. Down the stretch the Padres who had the lowest ERA in the National League at 3.87 made some history as Trevor Hoffman became the All-Time leader in saves as he broke Lee Smith's record of 478 saves, as he closed out a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Park on September 24th. In the playoffs the Padres faced the St. Louis Cardinals for the second year in a row. This time the Padres had home field advantage as the Cardinals ended the season in a tailspin. However, when Jake Peavy struggled in Game 1 as the Padres lost 1-0 the Padres were immediately behind the 8-ball. The Padres bats struggled again in Game 2 as they were blanked 2-0. As the series shifted to St. Louis in Game 3 the Padres bounced back behind a solid allowed just four hits in 6.2 Innings as the Padres won 3-1. However, it would be a short-lived reprise as the Cardinals closed the series out with a 6-2 win in Game 4. Following the season the Padres would see a host of changes as Manager Bruce Bochy with an opportunity to negotiate with other teams left to manage the San Francisco Giants.

2007: With new Manager Bud Black the Padres continued to build their team around pitching as they had one of the better bullpens in baseball thanks to a breakout year from Heath Bell, while Jake Peavy continued to anchor a solid starting staff that now featured 300-game winner Greg Maddux, who signed a Free Agent Deal in the off season. Peavy was strong from the start of the season as he kept the Padres in the thick of the race all season as he won the NL pitching triple crown with a 19-6 record, with an ERA of 2.54, and 240 strike outs, as he captured his first Cy Young award, while Chris Young continued to frustrate batters as he opposing hitters managed to bat just .192 against him. In the bullpen Trevor Hoffman continued to collect the milestones as he became the first reliever to collect 500 career saves when he closed out a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 6th. Heading into the final week of the season the Padres were part of a jumbled group of teams that could win the Wild Card, even as they were chasing the Arizona Diamondbacks for the Divisional Championship. On the next to last day of the regular season the Padres needed just a win over the Milwaukee Brewers to assure at least a Wild Card berth. Leading 3-2 with Hoffman on the mound the Padres were one strike away from clinching when the all-time leading closer suddenly faltered as he gave a game tying triple to Tony Gwynn Jr, the son of the legendary Padre. The Brewers would go on to win the game 4-3 in 11 Innings. The Padres would also drop the season finale as the Colorado Rockies won their final two games for 13 wins in their final 14 games to force a tie for the NL Wild Card at 89-73. The day after the regular season ended the Padres and Rockies faced off in a one game tiebreaker. Despite playing on the road the Padres had confidence as Jake Peavy was on the mound. However, the Padres ace was unusually shaky as the Padres fell behind 3-0 early. Lead by a Grand Slam from Adrian Gonzalez the Padres took a 5-3 lead in the 3rd Inning. However, Peavy continued to struggle as the Rockies retook the lead in the 6th Inning. Trailing 6-5 in the 8th, the Padres rallied again tying the game on a double by Brian Giles. From there it was turned over to the bullpen as the tiebreaker needed extra innings. In the 13th Inning the Padres struck first as Scott Hairston led off with a home run against Jorge Julio, the Padres would add another run as they turned over an 8-6 lead to Trevor Hoffman. However, the legendary closer did not have it, as he gave up back-to-back doubles to lead off the bottom of the 13th Inning, as the Rockies cut the lead to one. Then Hoffman continued to struggle as Matt Holliday hit a triple to tie the game, and put the winning run at 3rd with nobody out. After intentionally walking Todd Helton, Jamey Carroll hit a fly ball to shallow right, but it would be deep enough, as Holiday beat Brian Giles throw to score the winning run for the Rockies and end the Padres season in the most heart breaking of fashion.