2002 San Diego Padres

2002 San Diego Padres / Franchise: San Diego Padres / BR Team Page[edit]

Record: 66-96, Finished 5th in NL Western Division (2002 NL)

Coaches: Darrel Akerfelds, Greg Booker, Duane Espy, Tim Flannery, Rob Picciolo and Alan Trammell

History, Comments, Contributions[edit]

The 2002 San Diego Padres used 59 players during the season, which was a major league record, shared with one other team, the Cleveland Indians of (coincidentally) 2002. It was shattered by the 2014 Texas Rangers.

The team featured solid offensive performances by Ryan Klesko, who hit .300/.388/.537 with 29 home runs, 95 RBI and a 152 OPS+ and Mark Kotsay, who contributed 169 hits, 17 homers, 61 RBI and a team-leading 11 stolen bases. Though the team was last in the National League in dingers, it still featured additional double-digit performances by Ron Gant (18 HR), Bubba Trammell (17), Phil Nevin (12) and Tom Lampkin (10). Brian Lawrence was the club's ace, going 12-12 with a 3.69 ERA in 35 games (31 starts)—though 20-year-old prospect Oliver Perez also impressed with a 3.50 mark in 16 games (15 starts). Brett Tomko added 10 victories. The bullpen featured four studs: The ever-reliable future Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman (2.73 ERA, 38 saves), as well as Steve Reed (40 G, 1.98 ERA), Alan Embree (36 G, 1.26 ERA) and Brandon Villafuerte (31 G, 1.41 ERA). A handful of top prospects also showed promise. 21-year-old Sean Burroughs hit .271 in 192 ABs, while 25-year-old Ramon Vazquez hit .274 in 423 ABs. 21-year-old Jake Peavy won 6 games and had a 4.52 ERA in 97 2/3 innings. At 38, Lampkin was the oldest player on the team; Perez was the youngest.