The San Diego Padres will never be confused with The New York Yankees as
a marquee franchise in Major League Baseball. In their 44 years of
existence, The Padres have had two Baseball Hall of Famers in Tony Gwynn
and Dave Winfield, but only Gwynn played his entire career with San
Diego as Winfield left as a free agent in 1981. The Padres have never
won a World Series Championship. They have never had a player hit for
the cycle and they are the only MLB team to never have a pitcher throw a
no-hitter. The Padres have never been able to keep superstars in the
6-1-9 either. Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith had an infamous falling
out with former Padres owner Ray Kroc which led to him being traded to
The St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 1982 season. Winfield left as a
free-agent and took George Steinbrenner’s money to join The Yankees.
There was also former Padres general manager Joe McIlvaine’s fire sale
in 1993 which saw All-Stars Fred McGriff and Gary Sheffield being
shipped out of town.
is evident by their $55 million team payroll which is last in MLB
according to The USA Today. The Padres have now been sold to a group
which is led by San Diego businessman Ron Fowler for $800 million. Also
included in the group are pro golfer Phil Mickelson who is a native of
San Diego and Kevin O’Malley who is the son of former Los Angeles
Dodgers owner Peter.
attitude for The Padres that will allow them to consistently compete in
The National League West with The Dodgers and The San Francisco Giants.
When The Padres qualify for the playoffs it always appears to be by
accident as they are usually cast in the underdog role like they were in
1984 and 1998 when they made The World Series.
stadium opened in 2004 in San Diego’s famous Gaslamp District. For the
first two years of the park, The Padres ranked in the top 10 of MLB
attendance. A steady decline since has resulted in The Padres currently
ranking 22nd for home attendance in 2012. Since The Padres last won The
NL West in 2006, every other team in the division has qualified for the
playoffs at least once with The Giants winning The World Series in 2009.
Petco Park has a seating capacity of over 42,000, but The Padres have
only been able to draw large crowds recently when The Giants or Dodgers
see their fans travel down I-5.
habit of crying poverty to MLB commissioner Bud Selig to get revenue
money. They have to make it happen by developing their own talent and
keeping it. As good as former Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was
with the club, you knew that it would only be a matter of time before he
was traded. That time came after the 2010 season when Gonzalez was
traded to The Boston Red Sox for four players who never contributed at
The Major League level. Gonzalez left the team second on The Padres
all-time home run list with 161. Gwynn is obviously the franchise’s
leader in hits with 3,151, but there is a deep drop to second place on
the list where Gary Templeton has 1,135.
base you need to have guys who are lifers on the team such as Gwynn. It
was easier for Gwynn to stay because he is a native of San Diego. I am
not saying that you have to have the largest payroll in baseball like
The Yankees because that is what works for them, but if you want to have
fans come out to the park consistently, you have to put a good product
on the field. The Tampa Bay Rays don’t have the best stadium in baseball
or the best market for the game, but since 2008 they have made the
playoffs on three occasions with one World Series appearance in 2008.
The Rays have done it by drafting well which includes the likes of
All-Star pitcher David Price and third baseman Evan Longoria who have
become cornerstones for the team. What is more impressive is that The
Rays play in The American League East which is home to The Red Sox and
Yankees who always have two of the largest payrolls in baseball. For The
Padres it is time for them to become proactive and stop being second
class citizens to The Giants and Dodgers.
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