Home > Baseball > MLB Teams > San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres

Baseball is an outdoor sport in which a pitcher pitches a hard, fist sized ball to the hitting area of a batter. The batter hits the hard ball with a tapered, smooth, cylindrical bat made up of wood or metal. The batsman scores by running counter-clockwise within the four markers called the bases arranged at the corners of a diamond. Baseball is sometimes called hardball to differentiate it from similar games such as softball.

The San Diego team is awarded a National League franchise during owners meetings in Chicago. Preston Gomez is named the first Padres manager. The Padres select 30 players in the expansion draft, with Ollie Brown the first choice. The Padres were the dreams come true of the San Diego sportswriter Jack Murphy, who sought to bring major league baseball to the city. Murphy, brother of Mets announcer Bob Murphy, campaigned for years and even pushed the city to build a new stadium before a team had been offered. Thus, in 1969, the Padres were the only one of the four expansion teams to open in a new park. After Murphy's death, San Diego Stadium was renamed Jack Murphy Stadium in his memory.

San Diego won the Western Division title in 1984 on the strength of acquisitions Steve Garvey, Graig Nettles and Goose Gossage and homegrown talents Carmelo Martinez and Kevin McReynolds. A Major League record-tying 56 players, including a National League record 29 pitchers, appear in at least one game for the 76-86 Padres. The club endures 23 disabled players missing 1,408 games, creating opportunities for numerous young players to make their mark.

Seventeen rookies, eight of them pitchers, appear with 11 players making their Major League debuts. Team MVP, Most Valuable Player Phil Nevin becomes the third Padre to lead the club in batting 0.303, 31 home runs and 107 Runs Batted Ins, in a single season. He is the ninth San Diego player to top 30 homers and 100 Runs Batted Ins in the same year. Despite being limited to 36 games due to left knee problems, Tony Gwynn bats 0.323, setting a National League record with his 18th straight season averaging 0.300. With 43 saves, Trevor Hoffman ties Major League marks with his third straight 40-save season and his sixth consecutive 30-save campaign.

Back to MLB Teams