San Diego Padres
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Franchise |
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Franchise Record: 2693-3174 World Series Titles: 0 National League Pennants: 2 (1984, 1998) Playoffs: 5 (1984, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2006) Franchise Players: Nate Colbert, Randy Jones, Dave Winfield, Gaylord Perry, Rollie Fingers, Garry Templeton, Eric Show, Tony Gwynn, Benito Santiago, Mark Davis, Fred McGriff, Ken Caminiti, Trevor Hoffman, Brian Giles |  San Diego Padres Logo |
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[edit] History
Prior to becoming a major league team, the San Diego Padres were a long-standing team in the Pacific Coast League, playing in the PCL from 1936 through 1968 - see San Diego Padres (PCL) for more information.
The San Diego Padres were one of four expansion franchises which first played in 1969, along with the Kansas City Royals, the Montreal Expos, and the Seattle Pilots (see expansion of 1969). The Padres' first pick in the expansion draft was outfielder Ollie Brown.
The inaugural Padres team won its first game on April 8, 1969 against the Houston Astros. But the Padres posted an awful 52-110 record, and the team finished last in the National League West division in each of its first six years. In 1974, the Padres appeared to be moving to Washington, DC, the team seemed so sure to be moving that Topps produced cards with the Padres players in Washington "Nat'l League". McDonald's restaurant founder Ray Kroc stepped in to buy the club and keep them in San Diego. Despite being a sub-.500 team for most of the decade, the Padres has two Cy Young Award winners in the 1970s. Randy Jones won the award in 1976, and Gaylord Perry dupicated the feat in 1978. Two eventual Hall-of-Famers, slugging outfielder Dave Winfield and acrobatic shortstop Ozzie Smith got their start with the club in the late 1970s. Owner Kroc died in 1984, and that year, the Padres won their first division title, ultimately being defeated in five games by the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. The Padres have won four more division titles, in 1996, 1998, 2005, and 2006 and another pennant in 1998. As in 1984, the Padres were matched against a great single-season team in the World Series in 1998: the 114-win New York Yankees. The Padres were swept by the Yankees in four games.
In 2005, the Padres struggled to play .500 baseball for a large part of the season. However, they managed to win a division title by going 82-80, the worst full-season record by a playoff team in baseball history (the 1981 Kansas City Royals were below .500 but made the playoffs due to that year's split season schedule). The Padres were, however, swept by the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series.
[edit] Members of Padres Hall of Fame
Nate Colbert (inducted 1999); Randy Jones (inducted 1999); Ray Kroc (owner - inducted 1999); Dave Winfield (inducted 2000); Buzzie Bavasi (GM - inducted 2001); Jerry Coleman (broadcaster - inducted 2001); Tony Gwynn (inducted 2002)
[edit] Team Executives
| Padres Owners | |
|---|---|
| Team | Years |
| C. Arnholt Smith | 1969 to 1974 |
| Ray Kroc | 1974 to 1984 |
| Joan Kroc | 1984 to 1990 |
| Tom Werner | 1990 to 1994 |
| John Moores | 1994 to present |
| Padres General Managers | |
|---|---|
| Team | Years |
| Buzzie Bavasi | 1969 to 1972 |
| Peter Bavasi | 1973 to 1976 |
| Bob Fontaine | 1977 to July 7, 1980 |
| Jack McKeon | July 7, 1980 to 1990 |
| Joe McIlvaine | 1990 to June 9, 1993 |
| Randy Smith | June 9, 1993 to 1995 |
| Kevin Towers | November 17, 1995 to present |
[edit] Further Reading
- Bob Chandler and Bill Swank: Bob Chandler's Tales from the San Diego Padres, Sports Publishing LLC, Champaign, IL, 2006.
