Padres History

The Padres in 2000 gave an opportunity to numerous young players to make their mark since many of their players were sidelined due to injuries. 23 disabled players missed 1,408 games. 17 rookies made their Major League debuts. Phil Nevin became the third Padre to lead the club in batting (.303), home runs (31) and RBIs (107) in a single season and the ninth player to top 30 homers and 100 RBIs in the same year. Trevor Hoffman tied Major League mark with his 3rd straight 40-save season and his 6th consecutive 30-save campaign. The Padres finished their injury-plagued season in 4th Place with a 76-86 record. In 2001, Tony Gwynn retired after playing in Padres jersey for 20 years. Tony Gwynn in his last season finished his career with 3,141 hits with an impressive .338 average. Rickey Henderson filled the void created by While Gwynn. Henderson made a history by collecting his 3000th hit on the final day of the regular season. Padres finished the season in 3rd place with a record of 79-83. The Padres finished the 2002 season in last place with a woeful 66-96 record. Even the Padres Mike Darr was killed in an auto accident on the first day of Spring Training.

The Padres paid their tribute to the player by wearing a black patch with the No. 26 on their jerseys. The Padres missed most of their season as their top hitter Phil Nevin and ace closer Trevor Hoffman was plagued with injuries. Without their key players the Padres finished the season in last place again with a 64-98 record, but managed to earn some spotlight. MVP Mark Loretta recorded the best season of his career, finishing second among all National League second basemen in batting average (.314), hits (185) and RBIs (71). Brian Giles hit .298, as third baseman Sean Burroughs led all NL third basemen with a .286 average. In 2004, the Padres move into their new downtown ballpark Petco Park. The Padres led the NL West with a 16-9 start, but their average play kept them away from the division and the Wild Card race. Mark Loretta became the only Padre other than Tony Gwynn to have at least 200 hits in a season. The Padres finished the season in 3rd Place with a record of 87-75. The Padres adopted their moniker from the Pacific Coast League team that played in San Diego in 1930s. It was a minor league franchise, which was led by Ted Williams, who started his professional career with Padres only. The Padres won the PCL title in 1937. The Padres joined the NL’s West Division in 1969 as an expansion team and it was pretty obvious for the new franchise to adopt the Padres name, and heritage.

Enthusiastic fans, new stadium San Diego (now Qualcomm) Stadium, what else could a new franchise ask for! Despite initial excitement the Padres finishing in last place in each of its first six seasons. San Diego’s early lineup featured power-hitting first basemen Nate Colbert and Willie McCovey and center fielder Cito Gaston. In 1973, the Padres signed, and introduced him directly in the majors. He became the team’s first superstar leading the club in runs batted in (RBIs) seven times and in home runs five times during his eight years with the team. In 1975 Randy Jones became the first Padres player to win 20 games in a season. That same season Padres came out of the cellar of last place finish for the first time ever, and finished in 4th Place with a 71-91 record. In 1976 left-handed Starter Randy Jones earned Cy Young Award for recording league high 22 games, and posting a 2.74 ERA. Right-handed pitcher Gaylord Perry with bat of Dave Winfield and the spectacular plays at Short Stop by Rookie Ozzie Smith helped the Padres to record their first winning season. Right-hander Gaylord Perry won the Cy Young Award that year at age 39. In 1980, The Padres became the first NL team with three players having 50 stolen base seasons; Gene Richards 61; Ozzie Smith 57; and Jerry Mumphrey 52. The Padres made their first post-season appearance in 1984 under the direction of manager Dick Williams with the line-up featuring Tony Gwynn, Steve Garvey, Garry Templeton, relief pitcher Goose Gossage and Graig Nettles. The Padrers won the NL West Title by 12 games with a 92-70 record. In the NLCS, the Padres faced heavy underdogs Chicago Cubs, but lost to the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. The Padres struggled during the late 1980s and early 1990s, but the star players enjoyed individual success.

In 1985, seven Padres and manager Dick Williams lead the National League to a 6-1 victory over the American League in the All-Star Game held at Minneapolis. From 1993 through 1995, the Padres finished the seasons in the lower half of their division. In 1996, Manager Bruce Bochy guided the team and helped them to earn the division title with a 91-71 record. Bruce Bochy became the first Padre to win the Manager of the Year Award. Veteran third baseman Ken Caminiti was named NL most valuable player (MVP). Over the next two years the Padres bolstered their roster by signing players like Kevin Brown and Greg Vaughn. In 1998 the Padres won 98 games and the NL pennant under manager Bochy with the line-up featuring Gwynn, pitcher Kevin Brown, first baseman Wally Joyner, and outfielder Greg Vaughn. Following the season the Padres sold Vaughn, and signed Brown as a free agent. The Padres nickname has been kept after the Padres of the Roman Catholic Mission San Diego de Alcala, which was founded in San Diego in the 1700's. The logo of the team has Padres written in white on a blue background with sky-blue and white waves below with San Diego written in khaki. The mascot of the team is Friar John