This is Part 3 of a 13-part series examining the 65 men who have collected exactly one hit as a member of the San Diego Padres. The current installment includes two Loyola Marymount Lions (one of whose brother plays in the NFL), the man drafted just after Barry Bonds, the man drafted just after Carney Lansford, and a pitcher turned pitching coordinator who has helped one of the current Padres young guns along the way.
Jim Bruske
Pos: RHP Years: 1997-1998 G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K BA OBP SLG OPS+ 30 6 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .167 .167 .333 31
A late-bloomer who made his big-league debut a few weeks before turning 31, Bruske’s greatest claim to glory is being one of three pitchers in history (Phil Paine, Alfredo Aceves) to record a .900 or better winning percentage (minimum 10 decisions). Bruske was selected by the Cleveland Indians out of Loyola Marymount in the first round of the 1986 June draft (secondary phase), two picks after Greg Vaughn, a future Padres teammate.
On June 23, 1997, working in relief of a battered Will Cunnane, Bruske tossed five scoreless innings en route to the first of his nine big-league victories. The former minor-league outfielder also collected the only hit of his career, lining a double to left field off Giants right-hander Mark Gardner with one out in the third inning. With his team down, 6-5, Bruske was left stranded. Thanks to three homers by Steve Finley, two more by Wally Joyner, and a season-high 20 hits, the Padres came back to win, 11-6, in front of 11,731 at Candlestick.
Mike Campbell
Pos: RHP Years: 1994 G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K BA OBP SLG OPS+ 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .333 .333 .333 77
Once upon a time, Campbell was a top pitching prospect who won the PCL MVP in 1987. Taken by the Seattle Mariners with the seventh pick in the 1985 draft (one pick after the Pittsburgh Pirates took Barry Bonds), Campbell shot through the system. Unfortunately, shoulder injuries plagued Campbell, whose big-league career would end with a modest line of 12-19, 5.86 ERA (74 ERA+). Baseball-Reference lists among his most similar pitchers such current luminaries as David Huff, Felipe Paulino, and Charlie Morton. Campbell was the “other” pitcher (along with Mark Langston) in the deal that sent Randy Johnson from Montreal to Seattle.
The Padres signed Campbell as a free agent in June 1993. He spent that season in the minors but got into three games with the big club the following year. A pitcher that couldn’t crack the ’93 Padres staff shouldn’t be expected to do much, and Campbell lived up to that expectation. On June 28, 1994, Campbell started the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies at Mile High Stadium. Campbell, who had driven in a run on a groundout his first time up, singled home Ricky Gutierrez in the third inning to give the Padres a commanding 7-0 lead. A Derek Bell homer pushed San Diego’s advantage to 8-0, and that’s when everything fell to pieces. Campbell served up a two-run homer to Andres Galarraga and a pinch-hit grand slam to Howard Johnson in the fourth. Relievers Doug Brocail and Donnie Elliott later poured gasoline on Campbell’s fire, and the Rockies ended up winning, 10-9. A few days later, Campbell was shipped back to Triple-A to make room for the equally forgettable Bill Krueger.
Jack Cassel
Pos: RHP Years: 2007 G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K BA OBP SLG OPS+ 6 8 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .125 .125 .125 -32
Cassel is one of two men taken in the 25th round of the 2000 draft to reach the big leagues (Braves outfielder Nate McLouth is the other). The Loyola Marymount product and older brother of NFL quarterback Matt Cassel got into a handful of games for the Padres toward the end of 2007, going 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA (102 ERA+).
On September 27, at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Cassel laid down a sacrifice attempt in the third inning. His bunt up the first-base line off Brewers right-hander Yovani Gallardo ended up resulting in a base hit. After Brian Giles singled to load the bases, Scott Hairston unloaded them with a double that gave the Padres an early 3-0 lead. They went on to win, 9-5, but Cassel was lifted with two out in the fifth and did not receive credit for the victory.
Tony Castillo
Pos: C Years: 1978 G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K BA OBP SLG OPS+ 5 8 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 .125 .125 .125 -27
The Padres selected Castillo out of a San Jose high school in the third round of the 1975 June draft, one pick after the Angels took shortstop Carney Lansford from a high school in neighboring Santa Clara. Lansford went on to collect 2074 big-league hits, while Castillo finished with just one.
Castillo’s hit came on September 29, 1978, in a 3-1 victory over the Dodgers. After striking out in each of his first two trips to the plate against veteran right-hander Burt Hooton, Castillo laced a two-out single to right field in the sixth inning that drove home Dave Winfield and extended the Padres’ lead to 3-0.
Castillo returned to the minors in 1979 and hit .187/.264/.243 in 82 games for Hawaii of the offensively charged PCL. He spent a couple more seasons with the Islanders, then, after a three-year absence, finished his career in ’85 with the Iowa Cubs.
Mike Couchee
Pos: RHP Years: 1983 G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K BA OBP SLG OPS+ 8 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 183
The Padres had a miserable 1980 draft. It netted the club a grand total of 119 plate appearances and 14 innings pitched. Couchee, a 19th-round pick out of USC, accounted for all of the latter, going 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA (71 ERA+) in his brief career.
Both of Couchee’s big-league plate appearances came in the second game of a doubleheader at Pittsburgh on April 30, 1983. Couchee, working in relief of starter Chris Welsh, pitched three shutout innings. Leading off the fifth, in his first career at-bat, Couchee singled to right field off Pirates southpaw Larry McWilliams. Couchee later left the game with a 1-0 lead, but Luis DeLeon coughed up two runs in the seventh and the Padres lost.
Couchee returned to the minors in mid-May and kicked around a few years in the San Diego, Baltimore, and Texas organizations before retiring in 1987 at age 29. More recently, he has served as the Padres minor league pitching coordinator, in which capacity he helped develop Mat Latos.
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