San Diego Padres: All-Time Pads Team by Season

The San Diego Padres have been playing baseball since 1969; in that time, they’ve won two pennants and provided probably the most fan-friendly experience in baseball. Just $5 will get you a hot dog, soda, cookie, peanuts and popcorn at Petco Park. Seriously, where else are you going to get that? They’ve also had their fair share of star players, which is where I come into play.

Catcher: Gene Tenace, 1979

Gene Tenace first obtained national attention when he hit four home runs in the 1973 World Series for the Oakland Athletics. Throughout his career, he combined low batting averages with high walk rates and solid power; 1979 was typical of this. He hit just .263 in 1979 but walked over 105 times and hit 20 homers en route to a 139 OPS+—a terrific mark for a catcher.   

First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, 2009

I spent about seven weeks in San Diego during the summer of 2009, so I have a soft spot in my heart for Adrian Gonzalez. I actually own a figurine of him, which I won by voting for him 100 times for the All-Star game (worth it). The left-handed slugger hit 40 home runs while playing in the most pitcher-friendly park in baseball. He also led the majors with 119 walks and ended up third in the NL with a 163 OPS+. 

Second Base: Mark Loretta, 2004

One of the smoothest swings in the game, Mark Loretta finally got healthy in 2004 and put together a career year. Lo' hit .335/.391/.495 for a 138 OPS+ with a career-high 47 doubles and 16 homers to finish ninth in the MVP voting.

Third Base: Ken Caminiti, 1996

One of the game’s first admitted steroid users, Ken Caminiti injected himself with enough juice that Tropicana almost sponsored him instead of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Leading the Padres to their first playoff appearance since 1984, Caminiti hit .326/.408/.626 with 40 long balls and 130 RBI. The switch-hitter was rewarded for his efforts with a unanimous MVP selection.

Shortstop: Ozzie Smith, 1980

There really aren’t many good options at this position in Padres history, at least offensively. But for four years, the San Diego Padres had the best defensive shortstop of all time, so it’s hard to go too wrong with that. The Wizard of Oz was a few years away from maturing as a hitter, but he did play his usual spectacular defense while even tacking on 57 stolen bases.

Left Field: Greg Vaughn, 1998

Greg Vaughn arrived in San Diego in 1996 as big-time bat to complement Ken Caminiti, Tony Gwynn and Steve Finley for a playoff run. At the time, he was slugging .571 for the Milwaukee Brewers. In his 163 games from 1996-1997 with the Padres, the right-handed slugger hit a very underwhelming .213 with just 42 extra-base hits. Then, like everyone else, Vaughn turned it on in 1998, smacking 50 homers and finishing fourth in the MVP voting while leading the Padres to their second pennant.

Center Field: Dave Winfield, 1979

Dave Winfield was a right fielder in 1979, but he played over 100 games of center field the year before, and this was just too good a season to ignore. Dave Winfield led the National League in RBI in 1979 despite an underwhelming supporting cast hitting around him. The Hall of Famer placed third in the MVP voting behind co-MVPs Keith Hernandez and Willie Stargell.

Right Field: Tony Gwynn, 1987

You might be thinking, "John, didn’t Tony Gwynn hit .394 in 1994?" Why yes, he did. But seven years earlier, he hit .370 with roughly the same on-base percentage while tacking on 56 stolen bases and more solid defense. He also produced that .370/.447/.511 line over the course of a full season which saw him win his second of eight career batting titles. 

RHP: Jake Peavy, 2007

The last pitcher to win the Triple Crown, Peavy led the NL with 19 wins, 2.54 ERA and 240 strikeouts. He also led the league with a superb 9.7 K/9 rate, which was the fourth consecutive season in which he topped 9.0. Since that magical season—where he was unanimously named Cy Young Award winner—Peavy has struggled to stay healthy, making just 60 starts in his next three seasons between the Padres and Chicago White Sox. 

RHP: Randy Jones, 1975

Randy Jones pitched 10 seasons in the big leagues, amassing a losing record and a roughly league average 101 ERA+. But from 1975-1976, he was something special. After losing 22 games with a horrendous 80 ERA+ in 1974, Jones won the league ERA+ title at 156 and placed second with a 1.046 WHIP and 285 innings pitched. His efforts earned him a second-place finish in the Cy Young balloting.

The next season, he slipped a little but still remained at the top of the league leaderboards and actually won the award. Interestingly, he did all this with very little strikeout ability, fanning just three batters per game over those two years.

RHP: Kevin Brown, 1998

After dominating the National League for two seasons with the Florida Marlins, Kevin Brown was acquired as a hired gun for a one-year postseason run. He did so well that the rival Los Angeles Dodgers gave him a then-record seven-year, $115 million deal after the season ended.

Brown went 18-9 with a 2.38 ERA over 257 innings. He set a club record 5.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio and placed second in the league with a 1.066 WHIP. In the playoffs, he out-dueled Randy Johnson and Cy Young winner Tom Glavine before stumbling against the mighty 114-win New York Yankees. 

RHP: Gaylord Perry, 1978

In 1978, Gaylord Perry spit-balled his way to becoming the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues, a club that would later be joined by Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Roy Halladay. The righty wasn’t quite as dominant as he had been in some of his years with the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indians, but still went 21-6 with a 2.73 ERA over 260.2 innings with just nine home runs surrendered.

LHP: Dave Roberts, 1971

Another fine piece of evidence for why a win-loss record is no way to evaluate a pitcher, Dave Roberts finished second in the National League with a miniscule 2.10 ERA over 270 innings (during which time he gave up nine home runs). However, he finished just 14-17 owing to terrible run support from his teammates—who were held to an embarrassing three runs per game that season.

Bench

C: Benito Santiago, 1987

Hit .300 to earn Rookie of the Year honors

1B: Fred McGriff, 1992

Led league in homers, hit .286/.394/.556 for 166 OPS+

IF/OF: Bip Roberts, 1990

A .300 hitter, stole 46 bases in 58 attempts and played four positions

3B: Phil Nevin, 2001

A 158 OPS+ with 41 home runs and 126 RBI

3B/SS: Gary Sheffield, 1992

Won batting title at .330…Hypothetical teams can’t have clubhouse cancers, right?

OF: Sixto Lezcano, 1982

Hit .289/.388/.472 but watched old team play in the World Series

OF: Steve Finley, 1996

Member of 300-300 club, slugged .531 from the CF position

Bullpen

Closer: Trevor Hoffman, 1998

All-time save king notched 53 to finish second in Cy Young voting

Setup: Heath Bell, 2010

Has continued Hoffman’s work with 40 saves in back-to-back years

Fireman: Goose Gossage, 1985

Hall of Famer, should definitely have walked Kirk Gibson the previous year

RHP: Greg Harris, 1989

Averaged over 2.0 IP per appearance with 2.60 ERA

LHP: Mark Davis, 1989

Second reliever in three years to win Cy Young Award, 72 of 96 saved came in ’88-‘89 

Batting Order

Gwynn (L)

Loretta (R)

Caminiti (B)

Winfield (R)

Gonzalez (L)

Vaughn (R)

Tenace (R)

Smith (B)