For The Friar Faithful: The 10 Greatest Moments in San Diego Padres History

The Padres won the NL West easily, then took down the favored Astros (Randy Johnson and all) in the NLDS before knocking off the heavily favored Braves in six games in the Championship Series, making it to the World Series for the second time in franchise history. Greg Vaughn hit 50 home runs in 1998, and Tony Gwynn homered in Yankee Stadium in an exciting Game 1 of the World Series.

1. Tony Gwynn

Tony epitomizes what a franchise player should be. Loyalty, class, discipline, talent, an unwavering sense of devotion, and durability. Over the course of his grandiose playing career, Tony Gwynn came to be known as "Mr. Padre", a title that will no doubt continue to be bestowed upon him for all time.

Tony was a pleasure to watch, putting on hitting clinics every night for teammates and opponents alike, winning eight batting titles and seven Silver Slugger Awards over the course of twenty seasons with San Diego. In the field, a consummate outfielder, he collected five Gold Glove awards while being selected to 15 All-Star games, all franchise records.

With 3,141 hits, a lifetime .338 average and more than 300 stolen bases at the end of his career, Tony was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2007 with a whopping 97.6% of the ballot vote.

Today, while managing San Diego State University, he is a constant contributor in the broadcast booth at Petco Park, which overlooks center field, and a huge, glowing "19" hanging out above the bleachers, a synonym of Tony Gwynn.

A synonym of quality. A synonym of San Diego. A synonym of baseball.

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Honorable Mentions: Randy Jones' Cy Young season in 1976, Mark Davis' Cy Young season in 1989, Jake Peavy's Cy Young season in 2007, Ken Caminiti's 1996 MVP Award, Benito Santiago's Rookie of the Year season and 34 game hitting streak, the 1996 series vs. the New York Mets in Monterrey, Mexico.

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