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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: Padres Squander Early Lead, Come Back Late to Win

Sunday, September 23, 2007
by Geoff Young

September 23, 1969, San Diego: Padres 5, Giants 4 (box score) The Padres wasted no time in getting to San Francisco starter Frank McCormick. After Jose Arcia led off the first with a single, Roberto Pena doubled him home and took third on an error. One out later, Al Ferrara singled to left, plating Pena. A Nate Colbert double to left put runners at second and third with only one out. With Ivan Murrell at the plate, McCormick balked home Ferrara. Murrell then grounded to second, scoring Colbert and giving the home team a commanding 4-0 lead. If you've been following along all season, you know that the ...

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1969: Padres Capitalize on Fuentes Error, Rout Giants

Sunday, July 15, 2007
by Geoff Young

July 15, 1969, San Francisco: Padres 10, Giants 3 (...

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1969: Marichal Marches Giants Past Niekro, Padres

Monday, July 2, 2007
by Geoff Young

July 2, 1969, San Diego: Giants 6, Padres 3 (box score) I hope that if nothing else, this look back at the Padres' inaugural season has given everyone a greater appreciation for where the franchise is now. Honestly, if the club hadn't been doing so well over the past few seasons, I'm not sure I could maintain my enthusiasm for this series. It's tough to write about a team that loses two-thirds of its games and still has half a season remaining on the schedule. Anyway. The Giants scored two off Joe Niekro in the first on a most unusual sequence. With runners at first and second, no ...

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1969: July Starts the Way June Ended, with a Loss

Sunday, July 1, 2007
by Geoff Young

July 1, 1969, San Diego: Giants 5, Padres 4 (box score) The good news is that the Padres managed to collect 10 hits and score four runs. The bad news is that shoddy defense cost San Diego three runs and, ultimately, the game. The Giants got to starter Dick Kelley right away. Bobby Bonds and Ron Hunt led off the game with back-to-back singles. With one out, Willie McCovey drove home Bonds. A two-out walk to Jack Hiatt scored Hunt. Kelley then retired Hal Lanier with the bases loaded to escape with "only" a 2-0 defecit. The Padres struck for a run of their own in the bottom ...

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1969: Falling? We Haven’t Even Started

Saturday, June 30, 2007
by Geoff Young

June 30, 1969, San Diego: Giants 6, Padres 1 (box score) The scary thing isn't that the Padres went 7-22 in June to bring their season record to 27-52, it's that they went 25-58 the rest of the way. As a relative newcomer to the party who has had to "suffer" through the '93 Fire Sale and the lean years of 1999-2003, I can't begin to imagine what life as a Padres fan was like back at the beginning. Clay Kirby and veteran left-hander Mike McCormick faced off in the opener of a three-game series between the Padres and Giants at San Diego Stadium. As they had the ...

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1969: Padres Fall to Perry Again

Thursday, April 19, 2007
by Geoff Young

April 19, 1969, San Francisco: Giants 5, Padres 3 (box score) Any hope the Padres had of building momentum based on the previous night's victory evaporated quickly. In a rematch of the April 13 contest in San Diego, right-handers Dick Selma and Gaylord Perry went to battle at Candlestick Park. Perry had won the first matchup, due in part to an astounding 18-to-4 ground ball to fly ball ratio. This time, the Padres struck early. With two out in the first inning, Tony Gonzalez and Ollie Brown drew walks. Bill Davis followed with a single to center, giving the Padres an early lead. Perry then caught Cito ...

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