I’m addicted to Baseball-Reference’s PI tool. For grins I ran a search on everyone who has accumulated 1500 or more career plate appearances with the Padres (39 in total) and ordered them from top (Fred McGriff) to bottom (Enzo Hernandez) according to OPS+. Then I looked for “matched pairs” — guys who have the same OPS+ (give or take a point). The rankings referenced in each entry are from the upcoming Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual. Let the fun begin:
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Klesko | 2000-2006 | 3333 | .279 | .381 | .491 | 134 |
| Dave Winfield | 1973-1980 | 4512 | .284 | .357 | .464 | 134 |
I’ve got Klesko as the best first baseman in club history and #6 left fielder. Winfield is the #2 right fielder and tied for 10th in left field.
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Kotsay | 2001-2003 | 1647 | .283 | .355 | .426 | 112 |
| Steve Finley | 1995-1998 | 2640 | .276 | .334 | .458 | 112 |
| Kevin McReynolds | 1983-1986 | 1983 | .263 | .319 | .438 | 111 |
It’s amazing to me how qualitatively similar these guys were. Kotsay is #5 at the position, Finley is #1, and McReynolds is #3.
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carmelo Martinez | 1984-1989 | 2694 | .248 | .341 | .408 | 109 |
| Ollie Brown | 1969-1972 | 1816 | .272 | .327 | .413 | 109 |
Martinez is the #2 left fielder in Padres history, while Brown checks in at #5 among right fielders.
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bip Roberts | 1986-1995 | 2521 | .298 | .361 | .387 | 106 |
| Terry Kennedy | 1981-1986 | 3239 | .274 | .319 | .407 | 105 |
Roberts stole 148 bases, Kennedy swiped 3. Roberts is the #4 second baseman and #5 left fielder — very underrated career, IMHO; Kennedy is the best catcher in Padres history.
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roberto Alomar | 1988-1990 | 1959 | .283 | .339 | .379 | 103 |
| Jerry Turner | 1974-1983 | 1686 | .259 | .321 | .390 | 103 |
Alomar left San Diego at age 22 and still is the #2 second baseman in club history. Turner is the #8 left fielder.
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khalil Greene | 2003-2007 | 2219 | .254 | .312 | .444 | 101 |
| Steve Garvey | 1983-1987 | 2439 | .275 | .309 | .409 | 100 |
| Cito Gaston | 1969-1974 | 2787 | .257 | .298 | .403 | 99 |
Greene is the best shortstop in Padres history, Garvey is the #7 first baseman, and Gaston checks in at #9 among center fielders and #8 among right fielders.
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quilvio Veras | 1997-1999 | 1788 | .270 | .366 | .353 | 95 |
| Benito Santiago | 1986-1992 | 3065 | .264 | .298 | .406 | 95 |
Veras is the #3 second baseman in club history; Santiago is the #2 catcher. He also had a 34-game hitting streak as a rookie, which inspired this sweet baseball card.
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Burroughs | 2002-2005 | 1665 | .282 | .340 | .360 | 91 |
| Luis Salazar | 1980-1989 | 2383 | .267 | .298 | .375 | 90 |
Burroughs is the #7 third baseman in Padres history, while Salazar checks in at #5. Bar bet winner: Who is the all-time leader in games played for the Padres at third base? Salazar. (Burroughs is fourth.)
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Flannery | 1979-1989 | 2838 | .255 | .335 | .317 | 85 |
| Alan Wiggins | 1981-1985 | 1606 | .260 | .335 | .316 | 85 |
| Dave Roberts | 1972-1978 | 1750 | .240 | .287 | .354 | 84 |
Flannery is #5 among second basemen in Padres history, Wiggins is #7 at second base and in left field, and Roberts (not the guy who now plays in San Francisco) is the #8 third baseman.
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garry Templeton | 1982-1991 | 4860 | .252 | .293 | .339 | 77 |
| Derrel Thomas | 1972-1978 | 1985 | .236 | .301 | .302 | 76 |
Templeton is the #2 shortstop in Padres history. Thomas played several positions and doesn’t crack the top 10 at any of them.
| Player | Years | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozzie Smith | 1978-1981 | 2536 | .231 | .295 | .278 | 66 |
| Enzo Hernandez | 1971-1977 | 2609 | .225 | .283 | .267 | 61 |
Okay, I fudged a little here. Still, who knew that one of these guys would end up in the Hall of Fame? Smith is the #4 shortstop in Padres history; Hernandez checks in at #7.
We’ll look at pitchers next week…
The line on #11 Enzo Hernandez is extraordinary.
Pretty interesting comps, Geoff. I’m surprised at how great Kotsay and Klesko were for us. That’s pretty stunning.
1 … I’m most amazed by the 2609 PAs … ouch!
I’ve always been amused by the fact that the Padres have had three different players named Dave Roberts – and also two Bob Davises.
Maybe I’m wrong on the Davises. I could have sworn there were two of them, but Googling around doesn’t confirm, and I’m away from my books.
5 … I’m just seeing 1 Bob Davis for Padres …
http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?search=davis
re: Salazar … ouch … I like Luis … sure did not know his OBP was sub-.300!!!
“Downtown” Ollie Brown, might have had the strongest arm of any Padre outfielder I ever saw. He had power and speed as well. I think a far better player than Carmelo.
3: Yes, that’s exactly what I was struck by. Lots of players have been that bad at the plate, but how many were able to accumulate that many PA’s while being that bad?
7: Jonathan (may I call you Jon?
), stronger than Winfield? I wasn’t around to see Brown, but I was always amazed at Winfield’s arm. Ollie must have been incredible if he had a better gun than Big Dave’s!
7: I think he and Winfield had comparable arms. I used the word “might” thinking about comparing him and Winfield. Winfield had a slightly better assist numbers, but the way the park played in those days (with the old 18 foot walls all the way out) it may have made assists tougher. Besides there was no reason to take risks against the Padres in those days..:-)
I was intrigued so I searched for anyone with at least 2,600 career PA’s and an OPS+ of 61 or lower. Oddly it didn’t pop up Enzo, but the only other player it did find was:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/v/veryzto01.shtml
Wow, just wow! Check out that 1979 season with Cleveland. They gave him 501 PA’s and he produced an OPS+ of just 45! Even Enzo was never that bad with his “best” being a 46 in only 369 PA’s. I guess he was as bad, but at least he had 132 fewer PA’s to do his damage with.
11: Cool. It’s fun hearing about Padres you haven’t had the chance to see yourself.
11 … “just wow” indeed … and that OPS+ of 30 in 350 ABs in 1977 is mind-boggling … Cleveland clearly knew what to expect
re: arms on Padre RF’ers … this list has to include Joe Lefebvre …
http://www.baseball-reference.com/l/lefebjo01.shtml
… his was the best I remember …
11, 13: And he somehow managed to appear in 12 major league seasons! Starting, or close to it, for 5 of them!
I need to write a macro that inserts his BR link. Anytime someone says “Who are we to judge what teams do, they’re the experts,” I’ll just pop old Tom Veryzer at them.
I remember Veryzer. He and Duane Kuiper were epic up the middle. Look at what they did for the Indians in ’79:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/1979.shtml
16: And they had a winning record! I guess defense up the middle was a big key for them.
Johnny Podres died. He was 75.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2008/01/14/2008-01-14_johnny_podres_dead_at_75.html?page=0
I heart Bip Roberts. My favorite Padre of all time. He had it all…
14: I know what you mean about Joe. I was sitting down near the pen at the Murph when he played LF one day. He came way over to the line to field a ball and made a throw to 2B I was just amazed by. He was only about 20 or 30 yards away from me, iirc, and it was a seed going to second!
#6
I probably went to about 45-50 games between 1983 and 1985 and one of my fondest memories was watching Luis Salazar hit a double off of a ball that bounced a couple of feet in front of the plate. The man would swing at anything that he thought he could reach, regardless of location. He also had great range to his left, no range to his right, and a cannon for an arm. I used to love to watch him play.
Veryzer, Kuiper & the Indians:
Yes, it is amazing Veryzer was run out there as often as he was year after year.
1979 Indian’s double play combo are epic! I wonder if they might not be the worst all time.
81-80 is over .500, barely, but did you check out there Pythag? 76-85, so they outperformed big time. Must have been all those DP’s turned up the middle.
The best throw from OF I witnessed in San Diego was at the first MLB game I ever saw in person. I was 8. It was 1972. Padres were playing the Pirates with Roberto Clemente in RF. I don’t know which Padre hit the ball, but it was a sharp liner down the line into right that bounced around in the corner. Clemente fielded it cleanly and threw a rocket, on a line, in the air, to third that beat the runner by so much the third baseman could have begun playing a game of jacks with the ball waiting for the runner to arrive. That’s the way I remember it, anyway ;-p
23 … that memory would make a nice youtube entry … thanks for sharing it with us!!!
My Padre “best” memory is “the play” by Ozzie Smith. I was one of the 10K there that day.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/bbw/2002-07-24/cover.htm
It was voted by Baseball Weekly as the best play of all time. It was stunning to see someone twist their body in the air in that way…
OT … this blog entry …
http://theoutsiderslook.blogspot.com/2008/01/top-remaining-free-agents.html
… lists Jason Jennings as still an available FA … who “might” be able to produce as high as a #3-level starter … which, at this point, I’d think the Padres should still be interested in …
Not particularly interested in Jennings. He was good at beating the Padres and that’s it. I’d rather start Justin Hampson. At this point, Jennings is not going to be a #3 or #4.
Wow a reference! Awesome.
Anyways, Didi, Hampson is definitely a quality idea, however there is never anything wrong with veteran experience if it is affordable, which I think Jennings will come as.
As far as him not being a #3, I’ll admit that was a stretch, that would be if he had as good of a season as you could imagine in a pitchers ballpark. But a #4 starter is not really all that good, in terms of league average.
Also, if you keep in mind depth, if anyone is absolutely terrible for the Padres, they don’t have to keep him in the rotation for long because of a guy like Jennings.
Pat, I wrote about the Enzo at the dormant “Friar Faithful” blog that Richard wade and I ran way back when:
http://sdpf.blogspot.com/2006/05/top-100-san-diego-padres-85-enzo.html#links
I’m considering coming out of blog-retirement for the ’08 season, but I’d definitely want a partner or two. Any of you folks up for posting a few times a week?