In Monday night’s telecast of the game against Anaheim, Padres broadcaster Matt Vasgersian challenged bloggers to discuss whether or not Steve Garvey’s number should be retired as a member of the Padres. (For those of you who might not know, it already is.) Being a blogger, I’m all too happy to oblige, but I don’t know that there’s much to discuss, so we’ll work a slightly different angle. Here are the stats of three former Padres during their time in San Diego:
| AB | BA | OBP | SLG | ISO | XB/H | PA/HR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2325 | .248 | .341 | .408 | .160 | .347 | 32.8 | |
| B | 2292 | .275 | .309 | .409 | .134 | .279 | 40.0 | |
| C | 1789 | .263 | .319 | .438 | .175 | .348 | 30.4 |
Two questions:
- Who are these guys?
- Which, if any, should have their number retired?
Hint: They all played together for at least three seasons.
Interesting post, Geoff. I didn’t realize that the other two had better power and OBP stats than the one whose number is retired. (I figured it would take part of the fun out of it if I disclosed their names in the first post.) None of them, however, posted good enough numbers, for a long enough period of time, to have their numbers retired.
I’ve always wondered why Garvey got his number retired, yet bleeds Dodger blue. After seeing your stats on these three players, I’m even more perplexed. The other two players, despite the fans’ jeers for at least one of them, seemed more home grown than Garvey and, for the most part, posted better numbers while they were Padres.
Well, Garvey is one of the 54 greatest Padres of all-time. If that isn’t good enough to get your number retired, I don’t know what is.
It *REALLY* irks me that Garvey’s number is retired by the Padres … I HATE IT!!!
And I was at games 4 & 5 of the ’84 NLCS … which is how, when & where Garvey earned this honor … those were special, magical games … but …
HE BLEEDS BLUE!!! ‘Nuf said!!!
My guess is that Garvey is B … I don’t really care who A & C as none of those lines represent retire-able credentials …
How about retire Bevaqua’s # … he got the Padres’ their only WS win! That was a special & magical moment also!
The Padres’ paid Garvey plenty … and he was part of the team that delivered … how much he contributed is debatable … it just ain’t right to have his name/number on our outfield wall!!!
Thanks, GY, for the op to get that off my chest!
Is there any chance … any way … to get this repealed? “By popular demand”
Thanks, Richard, for the “sneak preview” … that puts it into perspective! We’ve pre-diluted the honor of Padres’ retired numbers!
OT – don’t look at the Padres’ box score … just the G’ints: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=260327126
Is “C” Kevin McReynolds? Just a guess . . . I’m trying not to cheat by looking on baseball reference.
LM: Yes, B is Garvey.
Nick: Yes, C is McReynolds.
That leaves one more…
A is Marshmellow Martinez
Bingo. Martinez, Garvey, and McReynolds. Hmmm, guess that was a little too easy.
I knew all those nights spent reading the Baseball Encyclopedia would pay off someday!
I was going to say Martinez for C. Good ol’ Carmelo. Who could forget the M&M boys?
Martinez should definitely have his number retired. Maybe it could be a picture of the Sta-Puf marshmallow man with a Pads jersey on it.
I can think of 53 guys who deserve to have their number retired if Garvey is the cutoff and some of them are still on the team.
Hated that stupid retired Garvey’s number.
I’m all for taking it off. Where do I sign?
No one else wanting to “out” Garvey? C’mon!
Didi – yes … where do we sign???
GY – you gonna lead us on a campaign to clean up the wall at Petco? Free it from unwanted Blue!
When exactly did Garvey get his number retired? I always figured that Garvey’s number was retired to give the Padres some recognition when the team was bad. Why else would his number be retired? Of the number retired, only Gwynn’s should be. I understand that Jones works for the team but you shouldn’t retire someone’s number that only had a few good seasons. Same with Winfield, although I guess retiring his number is a small price to pay for wearing a Padres cap on his HOF plaque.
Garvey’s number was retired at the very end of Joan Kroc’s ownership. Garvey was part of a potential ownership group who she wanted to sell the team to. I always put those two events together and figured she did it to engender goodwill for Garvey and his ownership group. But unfortunately it backfired and we ended up with the most godawful number being retired and the Werner ownership group! Talk about a double whammy. As for untretiring the number, it never should have been retired in the first place, but I think it would be completely lacking in class to unretire it. Much as I dislike Garvey, I don’t think we should take the number down, but I’m willing to listen to a persuasive argument for doing so.
Pat – good point … it is something to be careful with, obviously …
I think the first thing to do is build consensus that it’s the right thing to do … so the key question/issue becomes not “if do it” but “how do it” …
One idea for “how do it” is to somehow get Garvey himself to humbly offer to take his number off the wall … or perhaps not so humbly (ex. have him pronounce “I’m a Dodger and will always be a Dodger and so I renounce my Padre-ship”
…
Hey, we’re still just brainstormin’ here …
If you still need “a persuasive argument for doing so” … how about “2 wrongs don’t a make a right”? In other words, it was wrong to retire it … and every day that it’s retired is a day when something wrong is perpetuated …
Here’s another “how” idea … have some kind of celebration of the 1984 NL Championship team … and substitute something that honors that team in place of Garvey’s number on the wall … obviously involving Garvey in that celebration …
ps. I actually like have Randy Jones’ number retired … he won a Cy Young award for the Padres! That was HUGE! ’75 & ’76 were AWESOME! http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/J/randy-jones.shtml … 600 IP!!! 42 W!!! 43 CG!!! 11 SHO!!! … calling that “a few good seasons” is not right …
pps. Winfield … don’t get me started … I’m not happy with his # on the wall either … less than half his career with Padres! He play for the Yanks more than the Padres … I just think it oughta be a requirement that you play > 50% of your career for the Padres to be eligible for retired number … what’s the downside of that??? I don’t get how/why he choose to have a Padres cap on his plaque … he took 15 million reasons to wear a Yankees cap … he’s a Yankee!
LM– Winfield chose to have a Pads cap in the HOF because they slipped him some cash to do so. I don’t really have a problem with that — mainly b/c it gets under the skin of a lot of Yankee fans I know.
I don’t have a problem with Jones’ number being retired either. In my mind, he’s the first great Padre pitcher. Well, maybe not “great,” but very good.
It’s never bugged me all that much that Garvey was a Dodger. I mean, lots of cool players were Dodgers. I mean, c’mon! Chris Gwynn! He was the Ozzie Canseco of Gwynndom!
I guess I didn’t realize that Garvey’s number was up at Petco with the rest of the guys. Jones I have no problem with..he was a great pitcher for a few years and one of the first Padre stars. Winfield was a great player and started his career here and now works for the team so why not. Obviously Tony goes without saying, but I guess I missed Garveys #6 being up with the others.
1. I’m in for a movement to UN-Retire Garvey’s number!!!
2. Winfield should be a Yankee in the HOF.
3. Tony Gwynn’s # should be the only one, at this time, retired at our park. And next year, when elected …he should have been the first Padre induced.
I don’t have any problem with either Jones or Winfield. Winfield’s time in NY was not significantly greater than his time here, and both he and Jones served as a crucial bridge between the completely hapless early Padres and the, at least somewhat, more successful teams of the 80′s. For many seasons those two players were the only reason to watch the Padres play. Also, I think Winfield’s dislike of Steinbrener may have played a role in his decision to wear a Padres cap rather than a Yankees.