I’ve been tracking various items of interest this year. Most of them have something to do with the Padres’ record in 2010 and how it compared to other seasons. As you might imagine, this year’s bunch landed among the top five in club history in many areas.
Best Winning Percentage
- .605, 1998
- .568, 1984
- .562, 1996
- .556, 2010
- .549, 1989
Best Pythagorean Winning Percentage
- .575, 1998
- .561, 2010
- .556, 1996
- .549, 2007
- .539, 2004
Through mid-September, the 2010 Padres were ahead of the 1998 squad in this category.
Best Seven-Year Winning Percentage
- .5057, 2004-2010
- .5054, 1995-2001
- .500, 1983-1989
- .497, 1994-2000
- .495, 1984-1990
Most Wins in a Seven-Year Period
- 574, 2004-2010
- 567, 1983-1989
- 564, 1995-2001
- 561, 1984-1990
- 560, 1996-2002
Most Winning Seasons in a Seven-Year Period
- 5, 2004-2010
- 4, 2003-2009
2002-2008
2001-2007
1988-1994
1987-1993
1986-1992
1985-1991
1984-1990
1983-1989
Now you know…
and knowing is half the battle.
Pretty amazing to think that virtually every 90-win Padres team has faced significant issues as soon as those seasons ended, with the possible exception of 1996.
Going to be a busy off season this year, Geoff… hope Ducksnorts is ready.
People have issues with Petco, well, many people do, but there’s no denying the Padres have had success since moving into it. Hopefully they will continue to build on that success.
Watching the Giants ease past the Braves, it makes me wonder just how far we could have gone this year… I’m still tearing up.
BTW, I am advised by a very knowledgeable source that the Padres did NOT have the next-to-lowest payroll in MLB this year. They were lowest — the Pirates snuck by them late.
The 1996 team faced serious issues during the next season. If I recall correctly, much of the pitching staff went on the DL that year, or am I confusing that team with another Padres team that used something like 15 starters?
@Larry
You’re not confusing them. The ’97 team had a terrific offense (second most runs in the NL with Qualcomm very much a pitcher’s park) but the arms collapsed. Only Hoffman and Bruske produced ERA+ numbers over 100. Ashby and Hamilton gave us 400 league-average innings. 10 starters got at least 8 starts, Heath Murray got 3 forgettable ones. Ones I wish I could forget, anyway.
Ah, 1997, the year that disappoints… only Tony’s newfound HR prowess kept the season interesting, for no matter how many runs the Padres scored, the pitching gave them all back.