1969: Padres Lose Sixth Straight

Monday, August 27, 2007
by Geoff Young
August 27, 1969, San Diego: Mets 4, Padres 1 (box score) There's domination, and then there's DOMINATION. This game qualified as the latter. Mets left-hander Jerry Koosman gave up a solo home run to Ollie Brown with two out in the first inning. The next batter, Al Ferrara, singled to left. From that point on, Koosman was unhittable. He walked opposing pitcher Clay Kirby to lead off the third and Ed Spiezio with two out in the seventh. Those were San Diego's only two baserunners over the final 8 1/3 innings. New York, meanwhile, scored twice in the third off Kirby and twice more in the sixth. Kirby didn't ...
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1969: Cloninger Dominates Padres

Sunday, July 8, 2007
by Geoff Young
July 8, 1969, San Diego: Reds 8, Padres 2 (box score) Cincinnati jumped to an early 1-0 lead, and it could have been much worse. The Reds had the bases loaded and one out in the first, but couldn't score any additional runs. No such troubles in the third inning. A Lee May double to left scored Alex Johnson and, two batters later, a Tommy Helms single brought home May and Pat Corrales to put the visitors up, 4-0, and effectively end the contest. The Reds added four more in the fourth. The home team finally made an appearance the next inning, but it was too little, too late. ...
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1969: Dierker Blanks Padres

Wednesday, July 4, 2007
by Geoff Young
July 4, 1969, San Diego: Astros 4, Padres 0 (box score) The Padres played their first ever Independence Day game in front of nearly 18,000 fans at San Diego Stadium. Unfortunately, the only fireworks came courtesy of the Houston Astros. Larry Dierker scattered seven hits, and the Padres advanced just one runner past first base after the fourth inning. Houston, meanwhile, scored a run off Al Santorini in the first and three more (two unearned thanks to a Van Kelly error) in the fifth. That was pretty much the game. By the end of the day, San Diego had dropped its sixth straight and fallen to 27-55 on the ...
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1969: Padres Drop Second Straight to Giants

Thursday, April 12, 2007
by Geoff Young
April 12, 1969, San Diego: Giants 5, Padres 1 (box score) In the first Saturday game at San Diego Stadium, the Padres and Giants drew just 20,356 people. I know this sounds like a terrible turnout, but consider that 12 big-league games were played that day. Of those, only the Reds at Braves and the Expos at Cubs drew larger crowds. Two teams (Cardinals and Tigers) had drawn as many as 2 million people the previous season, and it took them a combined 200 victories and a date in the World Series. Context is everything. To the game at hand, right-hander Al McBean got the call for the Padres. ...
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1969: Padres Suffer First Loss in Franchise History

Wednesday, April 11, 2007
by Geoff Young
April 11, 1969, San Diego: Giants 8, Padres 0 (box score) After a three-game sweep of Houston to open their inaugural season, the Padres welcomed the Giants to town. Led by future Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, and rising young star Bobby Bonds, the Giants had won 88 games the previous season, good for second place in the National League. Still, fewer than 16,000 people came out to San Diego Stadium on this Friday evening. Unfortunately for the Padres, the game ended almost before it began. McCovey and Dick Deitz each drove in first-inning runs to give the Giants an early 2-0 lead. This proved ...
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1969: Padres Nip Astros in Franchise Opener

Sunday, April 8, 2007
by Geoff Young
April 8, 1969, San Diego: Padres 2, Astros 1 (box score) In their first ever National League game, the San Diego Padres sent right-hander Dick Selma to the mound against Houston's Don Wilson. A crowd of 23,370 gathered to watch the expansion Padres debut at what was known then as San Diego Stadium. The 25-year-old Selma had gone 9-10 with a 2.76 ERA for the New York Mets the previous season, his first as a (mostly) full-time starter in the big leagues. The Padres nabbed Selma with the fifth pick in the 1968 expansion draft, and manager Preston Gomez promptly installed ...
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