Looking At The San Diego Padres

Looking At The San Diego Padres

Looking At The San Diego Padres

Major League Baseball expanded in 1969 with the introduction of four new teams. Two were added to the American League and two to the National League. To the AL went the Seattle Pilots (later the Milwaukee Brewers) and the Kansas City Royals. The NL saw the addition of the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals) and the San Diego Padres. Success for these new teams would be far in the distance. This is especially true for the Padres.

When the Padres first hit the scene, the city was filled with hopeful fans. They were excited over the thought of their new franchise. Why would they not be. There was a brand new ball field, a front office with a lot of experience and a young team to be happy about. Their enthusiasm would prove to be for naught. Frankly, the team was ghastly. For the first six years of their existence, they finished in last place in the National League West. In four of the seasons, they tallied 100 losses or more.

They did have a few glimmers of hope. First was a player named Nate Colbert. Colbert, playing first base, was indeed a power hitter with many accomplishments. One of his amazing feats took place over the course of a double header. He hit 5 homeruns in those two games. He and Stan Musial are the only two players to do this. In addition to the homeruns, he also tallied 13 runs batted in, a record that he holds alone.

The next glimmer was the new ownership of Ray Kroc. Kroc, owner of the world's largest fast food chain, wanted to win. He took many steps to achieve this, including a PA announcement during a game. He spoke directly to Padre fans, introducing himself and promising team improvement. He also apologized for the team's "stupid ball play." His speech may have been less impactful than it might have been, had his audience not been distracted by a streaker running across the field.

The club did begin to improve slowly but surely. They finished over . 500 (5 games over to be exact) for the first time ever in 1978. This accomplishment owes a lot to some of their better players like Gaylord Perry, Dave Winfield and Rollie Fingers. Sadly for the Pads, Winfield and Fingers both left as free agents.

San Diego did manage to see success with National League Pennants and World Series appearances in 1984 and 1998. Alas, they were facing a powerful force in 1984, the Detroit Tigers who had started the season 35-5 and did not look back. The Friars lost in five games.

Second they had to face the New York Yankees. The 98 Yanks won 114 of their games and are ranked among the best teams in the history of baseball. The Yanks swept that series, but San Diego played their hearts out. Three of the games were exciting nail biting matches.

During the 2000s the Padres performance has been uneven. They did win the Western Division championship in 2005 and 2006. However the other years during the decade have proven to be disappointing.

Bobbie Barton is a fitness trainer She likes SportsFanTreasures.com and recommends you check out their info on Kansas City Royals Bedding, St. Louis Cardinals Bedding and Cleveland Indians Bedding

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