The San Diego Padres joined the NL as an expansion team in 1969 – one of MLB’s four new teams. In the 53 seasons since that beginning, the Padres have made the postseason six times and won two NL pennants but have come up short in both of their World Series appearances to date. However, Padres fans know who is the best right fielder in franchise history. They know who the franchise’s top closer is, too. Without further ado, as we continue our all-time tournament team, up next is the Padres.
Padres All-Time Roster
Batters
Catcher – Benito Santiago (1986-1992)
.264/.298/.406; .705 OPS and 95 OPS+; 758 H, 85 HR, 375 RBI, 4x All-Star, NL Rookie of the Year, 4x Silver Slugger Award., 3x Gold Glove
Benito Santiago burst onto the scene in 1986, batting .300 and winning Silver Slugger and NL Rookie of the Year awards. Afterwards, Santiago won the first of his three Gold Gloves and his second of four Silver Slugger awards. Altogether, Santiago was a four-time All-Star with the Padres. He demonstrated prowess both at bat and in the field during the first seven years of his 20-year career. Santiago is #3 in franchise position player Defensive WAR (8.9), behind only Garry Templeton (10.3) and Ozzie Smith (9.1). His 14.2 career WAR as a Padre is #13 overall in franchise history.
First Base – Adrian Gonzalez (2006-2010)
.288/.374/.514; .888 OPS and 141 OPS+; 856 H, 161 HR, 501 RBI in 5 seasons as Padre (15 years overall)
3x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove 1B
Adrian Gonzalez was a three-time All-Star during his five years with the Padres. He averaged .288 with 32 HR, 100 RBI, and 160 games per season. Then, he became a two-time Gold Glove winner, finishing in the Top Five for fielding percentage amongst first basemen in three different seasons. His Padre career WAR of 20.4 is third on the all-time franchise list for position players, trailing only Tony Gwynn and Dave Winfield.
Gonzalez is second in franchise history for home runs (161), two short of Nate Colbert (163). Gonzales is also in the franchise Top Ten for plate appearances (3,425), hits (856), runs scored (464), doubles (176), total bases (1,529), RBI (501), and walks (403). Gonzalez edged out fellow three-time All-Star Nate Colbert and two-time All-Star Steve Garvey as the All-Time Padre first baseman.
Second Base – Bip Roberts (1986, 1988-1991, 1994-1995)
.298/.361/.387; .747 OPS and 106 OPS+; 673 H, 20 HR, 169 RBI, 1x All-Star
Super utility player Bip Roberts was most often the Padres’ starting second baseman during his seven seasons as a Padre. In the meantime, he finished in the NL top ten for batting average in 1990 (.309) and 1994 (.320) with the Padres. In 1990, he finished seventh in NL stolen bases (46). Roberts has the third-highest career batting average in franchise history (.298). He also has the fourth-highest stolen base total all-time for the Padres with 148.
Third Base – Chase Headley (2007-2014, 2018)
.263/.344/.405; .749 OPS and 111 OPS+; 879 H, 87 HR, 1x All-Star, 1x Gold Glove 3B, 1x Silver Slugger
Ken Caminiti had the most remarkable season by a Padre third baseman in franchise history, winning NL MVP and the 3B Gold Glove in 1996. However, Caminiti played for the Padres for only four years. Chase Headley – the all-time Padre third baseman – is #6 all-time for games played in franchise history and #1 amongst Padre third basemen. Headley is in fifth place for career hits with the Padres with 879. A Gold Glove winner at third base, Headley finished in the Top Three for NL third baseman twice in his nine years with the team. Also, Headley’s Padre career WAR of 18.2 ranks sixth on the all-time franchise list.
Shortstop – Garry Templeton (1982-1991)
.252/.293/.339; .632 OPS and 77 OPS+; 1,135 H, 43 HR, 427 RBI, 1x All-Star, 1x Silver Slugger SS
Garry Templeton’s career with the Padres began in 1982, following his trade from the St. Louis Cardinals for another memorable Padre shortstop, Ozzie Smith. Furthermore, Templeton ranks second only to Tony Gwynn in team history in games played (1,286), plate appearances (4,860), hits (1,135), singles (861), and doubles (195). He is also Top Ten in career RBI (427), extra-base hits (274), and stolen bases (101). Templeton is the franchise leader in career Defensive WAR at 10.3.
Left Field – Gene Richards (1977-1984)
.291/.357/.387; .744 OPS and 113 OPS+; 994 H, 26 HR, 251 RBI, 19.0 WAR
Gene Richards was the Padres’ primary left fielder throughout his eight years with the club. In 1978 and 1980, his best seasons were when he batted .308 and 301, respectively, and finished NL Top Ten in on-base percentage, runs scored, and stolen bases. Richards finished NL Top Ten in LF putouts, assists, and double plays turned.
Gene Richards is Top Five all-time in franchise history in career batting average (.291), games played (939), plate appearances (3,805), runs (484), hits (994), singles (782), triples (63), stolen bases (242), and position player WAR (19.0).
Center Field – Dave Winfield (1973-1980)
.284/.357/.464, 134 OPS+; 1,134 H, 154 HR, 626 RBI, Hall of Fame (2001); 4x All-Star, 2x OF Gold Glove Awards
Dave Winfield spent the first eight years of his 22-year career with the San Diego Padres, a four-time All-Star and 2-time Gold Glove winner. His 1,117 games played with the Padres are surpassed by Tony Gwynn (2,440) and Garry Templeton (1,286). Secondly, Winfield is also top five in franchise games played, plate appearances, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, runs scored, RBI, and walks. Additionally, his 133 stolen bases are seventh-best in franchise history.
Finally, in 2001 Dave Winfield became the first player ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a San Diego Padre, and the second Padre to have his uniform number retired by the team. Randy Jones was the first.
Right Field – Tony Gwynn (1982-2001)
.338/.388/.459; .847 OPS and 132 OPS+; 3,141 H, 135 HR, 1,138 RBI, Hall of Fame (2007), 15x All-Star, 8x NL batting champion, 5x OF Gold Gloves, 1x Branch Rickey Award, 1x Lou Gehrig Award, 1x Roberto Clemente Award
Tony Gwynn – “Mr. Padre” – is recognized as one of baseball’s all-time greats. He was an eight-time NL batting champion and fifteen-time All-Star, collecting over 3,000 hits and five Gold Glove awards in a twenty-year career, all with the Padres. Eventually, Gwynn became the fourth Padre player ever to have his uniform number retired by the team (2004), and in 2007 Gwynn became a rare, first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Designated Hitter – Nate Colbert (1969-1974)
.253/.331/.469; .800 OPS and 127 OPS+; 780 H, 163 HR, 481 RBI, 3x All-Star
The Padres designated hitter for the all-time team is first baseman Nate Colbert. Colbert is one of the 25 original Padres from the 1969 expansion team, the franchise leader in career home runs with 163. In addition, he is also in the franchise Top Ten for career games played (866), runs scored (442), extra-base hits (315), total bases (1,443), RBI (481), walks (350), slugging average (.469), and Offensive WAR (17.8).
Starting Pitcher
Randy Jones (1973-1980)
92-105 W-L (.467), 18 Shutouts, 2 Saves, 3.30 ERA; 677 K’s; 1,766 IP, 3.41 FIP, 104 ERA+, 2x All-Star, 1x NL Cy Young Award, 1x Sporting News Pitcher of the Year, 1x NL Comeback Player of the Year
The Padres have had three Cy Young Award-winning starting pitchers in their history – Randy Jones, Gaylord Perry, and Jake Peavy. In multiple categories, Jones and Peavy had remarkably similar career statistics with the Padres. They played eight years with the Padres on teams with mostly losing records and are tied for second on the franchise list for career wins with 92. (Eric Show is the franchise leader with 100 career Padre wins.) As a result, Jones and Peavy had franchise ERAs of 3.30 and 3.29, respectively. But, Randy Jones gets the nod as Padres All-Time starting pitcher. As a result, he is the franchise pitching leader in innings pitched (1,766), games started (253), complete games (71), and shutouts (18).
Relievers
Trevor Hoffman (1993-2008)
54-64 W-L (.458), 552 Saves, 2.76 ERA; 1,029 K’s; 952 IP, 2.93 FIP, 146 ERA+, Hall of Fame (2018), 6x All-Star, 2x NL Reliever of the Year, 1x Lou Gehrig Award, 1x Branch Rickey Award, 1x Hutch Award
When a relief pitcher has the NL Reliever of the Year Award renamed in his honor before even being eligible for the Hall of Fame, he must be something special. Such was the case with Trevor Hoffman; the all-time NL saves leader with 601. Hoffman retired after the 2010 season. Not long after, MLB instituted the Trevor Hoffman Award (in 2014). But this even was before Hoffman was elected to the Hall of Fame, as that did not happen until 2018.
Besides, Hoffman was the Padres’ closer for 16 of his 18 major league seasons and finished in the NL Top Seven in 14 of those years (two-time NL leader in saves). Hoffman is the all-time NL leader in games finished with 856. No doubt Hoffman’s numbers would have been even higher if he played on more teams with winning seasons. (The Padres were below .500 in 10 of Hoffman’s 16 seasons with San Diego, with an overall .479 winning percentage.) Hoffman is the Padres’ all-time leader in career ERA and WAR at 2.76 and 26.0, respectively. He also is the Padres’ career leader in Games Pitched with 902.
Heath Bell (2007-2011)
27-19 W-L (.587), 0 Shutouts, 134 Saves, 2.53 ERA; 389 K’s; 374 IP, 2.70 FIP, 150 ERA+, 3x All-Star, 3x NL Reliever of the Year
Heath Bell’s career took off in 2009, his sixth MLB season and third with the Padres. Subsequently, Bell led NL relievers that year with 42 saves and was named NL Reliever of the Year and an All-Star for three consecutive seasons. As with Trevor Hoffman, the Padres had a losing record during Bell’s All-Star seasons. Bell’s accomplishments as a Padre relief pitcher are even more impressive. Moreover, Bell is second only to Trevor Hoffman in career saves with the Padres (134).
Mark Davis (1987-1989, 1993-1994)
14-20 W-L (.412), 0 Shutouts, 78 Saves, 2.75 ERA; 298 K’s; 308 IP, 3.24 FIP, 135 ERA+, 2x All-Star, 1x NL Cy Young Award, 1x NL Reliever of the Year, 1x Sporting News Pitcher of the Year
Interestingly enough, Mark Davis is ‘only’ sixth in franchise career saves with 78, trailing Trevor Hoffman (552), Heath Bell (134), Rollie Fingers (108), Rich Gossage (83), and Huston Street (80). However, he is the only NL/Padres Cy Young Award-winning relief pitcher in the group (Rollie Fingers won the AL award with Milwaukee in 1981). Furthermore, although it is impressive that Fingers, Gossage, and Street piled up their Padres’ saves totals in fewer seasons than Davis, Mark has the third-highest saves total amongst Padre relievers that played for San Diego at least five years.
Manager
Bruce Bochy (1995-2006 with Padres)
951-975 W-L (.494); 1x All-Star team, 4x postseason appearances, 1 NL pennant, 1x NL Manager of the Year
The Padres have only had two managers at the helm for five years or longer. Bud Black for nine seasons and Bruce Bochy for twelve. The difference? Black’s teams never reached the postseason, although Black won NL Manager of the Year in 2010. On the other hand, Bochy’s teams got there four times, and Bochy won NL Manager of the Year one time – in 1996. Additionally, Bochy’s 1998 team won the NL pennant and played in the World Series that year. However, Bochy finished second in balloting for NL Manager of the Year to Larry Dierker of the Houston Astros. Therefore, Bruce Bochy is deserving as the Padres’ All-Time Manager.
Bochy’s 951 wins as Padre skipper are more than 300 wins higher than Black’s total (649), which is almost double that of #3 on the list, Dick Williams (337). Accordingly, Williams is the only Hall of Famer amongst all 21 managers in franchise history but was with the Padres for only four of his twenty-one years managing. After managing the Padres through the 2006 season, Bruce Bochy managed the San Francisco Giants for 13 years, winning two World Series championships there.
As a manager, Bruce Bochy is eleventh all-time with 2,003 wins with the Padres and Giants.
Honorable Mentions
Steve Garvey, Jake Peavy, Terry Kennedy, Brian Giles
First baseman Steve Garvey is one of only five Padres players to have their uniform numbers retired by the team. Starting pitcher Jake Peavy had career numbers very similar to those of Randy Jones and won the AL Cy Young Award and pitching’s triple crown in 2007. Likewise, catcher Terry Kennedy ranks in the franchise Top Ten in multiple offensive and defensive categories.
See the All-Time Team Tournament Headquarters here.
Main Images
Players/Managers Mentioned:
Benito Santiago, Bip Roberts, Chase Headley, Garry Templeton, Gene Richards, Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn, Nate Colbert, Randy Jones, Trevor Hoffman, Heath Bell, Mark Davis, Bruce Bochy, Steve Garvey, Jake Peavy, Terry Kennedy, Brian Giles, Roberto Alomar, Ozzie Smith, Gene Tenace, Ken Caminiti, Eric Show, Rollie Fingers, Rich Gossage, Huston Street, Dick Williams, Bud Black
