History

Archive for the ‘History’ Category

The Girls Ran Screaming Behind Him on the Beach

Wednesday, December 17, 2008
by Geoff Young

Do you remember where you were when the Ben Davis Era (TM) ended? Neither do I. Let's face it, that's not the sort of thing one remembers in a life full of Things That Matter (TM). (What's up with all the TM's, anyway? Or as I like to say, WUWATTA? (TM)) Quick refresher: The Padres took Davis with the second pick overall in 1995, ahead of Jose Cruz Jr., Kerry Wood, Todd Helton, Geoff Jenkins, Roy Halladay, and 1660 other guys. The track record for high-school catchers isn't real good, and early in his career, Davis looked like he would join the ranks of those who had failed before him. In his first full pro ...

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Stupid Padre Tricks: Two Games or Fewer Pitched (2000-2008)

Wednesday, December 3, 2008
by Geoff Young

On Monday, we ran through the list of players who pitched two games or fewer for the Padres from 1969 to 1999. Today we check out the rest of the lot. Interestingly, only seven guys met our criteria in the club's first 31 years of existence, while nine have done so in the last nine. Let's meet them: D'Angelo Jimenez, 2002 The Padres acquired Jimenez on June 23, 2001, in a trade for right-hander Jay Witasick. Once a top prospect in the Yankees organization, Jimenez broke his neck in a January 2000 car accident. After missing an entire season while recovering from the injury, he became the Padres' starting shortstop in 2001, with mixed results. The following year, Jimenez shifted to second base to make room ...

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Stupid Padre Tricks: Two Games or Fewer Pitched (1969-1999)

Monday, December 1, 2008
by Geoff Young

In their relatively brief history, the San Diego Padres have had 16 players pitch in two games or fewer for them. It's a fascinating list... if you find these sorts of lists fascinating: Al McBean, 1969 Taken from the Pirates as the 50th player selected overall in the 1968 expansion draft, McBean started his only game in a Padres uniform on April 12, working seven innings and taking the loss at home against the San Francisco Giants. On April 17 he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tommy Dean and Leon Everitt. The Virgin Islands native made 39 more big-league appearances after leaving San ...

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1969: Padres Finish As They Started, with a Win

Tuesday, October 2, 2007
by Geoff Young

October 2, 1969, San Francisco: Padres 3, Giants 2 (box score) Prior to the Padres' inaugural season, manager Preston Gomez and his coaching staff had hoped their club could win 60 games. Although they fell short of that mark, they fared much better than the last National League expansion team, the historically inept 1962 New York Mets. As for Gomez' prediction that the Padres would outscore the Los Angeles Dodgers... well, let's just say he was off a tad (where a tad equals 177 runs). San Diego sent 20-game loser Clay Kirby to the mound in the season finale. The Giants countered with rookie right-hander Rich Robertson. The ...

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1969: Colbert, Slocum Lead Padres to Victory

Monday, October 1, 2007
by Geoff Young

October 1, 1969, San Francisco: Padres 9, Giants 4 (box score) The Padres provided a rare offensive display in the penultimate game of their inaugural season. For the first time since August 20 at Montreal, they scored more than eight runs. San Francisco started the scoring. Bobby Bonds led off the fourth inning to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Four singles later, they pushed it to 3-0 and knocked Joe Niekro out of the contest. The visitors, however, had ideas of their own. In the fifth, with two on and one out, Tommy Dean flied to right, but Bill Burda dropped the ball, allowing Jim Williams to ...

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1969: Perry Dominates Padres

Sunday, September 30, 2007
by Geoff Young

September 30, 1969, San Francisco: Giants 6, Padres 1 (box score) The Giants scored three in the first off Al Santorini. With runners at second and third, and two out, Bobby Bonds singled to left, driving home Tito Fuentes and Ron Hunt. Left fielder Jim Williams and Santorini both made errors on the play, allowing Bonds to scamper home as well. San Diego threatened to cut the lead the next inning. Van Kelly led off with a single and Ivan Murrell doubled him to third. Gaylord Perry came back to strike out the side, keeping the Padres off the board. In the fifth, with the score now 4-0, San ...

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1969: Carty, Braves Too Much for Padres

Friday, September 28, 2007
by Geoff Young

September 28, 1969, Atlanta: Braves 4, Padres 2 (box score) The Braves jumped out early in this one and then hung on late to complete their sweep of the Padres. Clay Kirby started for San Diego, while Pat Jarvis got the call for the home team. With two out in the first inning, Hank Aaron singled. Rico Carty followed with his 16th homer of the year to make the score 2-0. Atlanta scored again in the third to extend its lead to 3-0. The Padres answered in the fourth when Ollie Brown led off with his 20th home run of the season. San Diego threatened in the seventh, but with two ...

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