San Diego Padres
Established: 1969
Other Names:
None
2016 results: 68-94,
5th NL Central
2017 Prediction: 5th
World Series Titles: 0
Most Recent: N/A
Last World Series
Appearance: 1998
Last Division Title: 2006
Ballpark: Petco
Park
Est: 2004
Best Season: 1984
The Padres won their first
division crown in 1984, finishing with a 92-70 record and winning the National
League West by 12 games over the second-place Atlanta Braves. They went into
the NLCS against the heavily-favoured Chicago Cubs and quickly fell behind two
games to none in the best-of-five series. But with the final three games at
Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, the Padres completed an epic comeback by
winning all three games (7-1, 7-5 and 6-3) to capture the NL Pennant and go to the
World Series. After splitting the first two games at home against the Tigers,
the Padres dropped the next three in Detroit to finish their dream season on a
down note. The ’84 Padres were led by starting pitchers Eric Show and Ed
Witson, closer Rich “Goose” Gossage, and at the plate by Tony Gwynn, Steve
Garvey and Graig Nettles.
Best All-time Player:
Tony Gwynn
It could be argued that Tony
Gwynn is perhaps the best pure hitter baseball has seen since Ted Williams. His
career began in 1982 when he played in 54 games and batted .289. He would play
19 more years (all 20 with the Padres) and never hit below .300 again. Think
about that for a minute: 19 consecutive seasons hitting .300 or better…..that’s
Cobb-esque. He won eight batting titles with his highest batting average coming
in the strike-shortened season of 1994 when he hit .394. He was a 15-time
All-Star, won seven Silver Slugger Awards, four Gold Gloves and led the
National League in hits seven times. Even though he battled weight problems for
the latter part of his career, he never lost his hitting stroke. He finished
with 3141 hits for a .338 career average (good for 17th on the
All-time list), hit 135 home runs, added 1138 RBIs and stole 319 bases. He was
inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 2007. Unfortunately, Gwynn’s problems
controlling his weight escalated after he retired. He was diagnosed with cancer
of a salivary gland that he attributed to a chewing tobacco habit, and he died
at the age of 54 due to complications from his cancer.
Best Player on the
Current Roster: Wil Myers
Still only 26 years old, Myers
will be entering fifth Major League season in 2017, his third in San Diego
after playing two years in Tampa Bay to start his career. Last year was the
first time Myers was in a full-time role and he responded by swatting 28 home
runs, adding 94 RBIs and batting .259 to go along with his 28 stolen bases.
After playing in the outfield in his first four seasons, he made the transition
to first base last season and ended up being an All-Star. While with Tampa, he
won the American League’s Rookie of the Year Award in 2013. In 392 career
games, Myers has batted .257, hit 55 home runs, added 211 RBIs and stole 44
bases.
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