Page "San Diego Padres" Paragraph 27

In 1992, the Padres lineup featured the " Four Tops ," who as the name implies occupied the top four slots in the Padres batting order most of the time: Tony Fernández, Tony Gwynn, Gary Sheffield, and Fred McGriff.

They were in first place as late as June 1, 1992, and they were 12 games above. 500 as late as Sept. 7, 1992, and they finished second in the National League in home runs.

However, a late-season swoon would drop their final record to 82-80, with dire consequences for the team.

Manager Greg Riddoch was dismissed with 12 games left in the season, to be replaced by Jim Riggleman, under whose supervision the Padres would go 4-8 to finish the season.

In the off-season, Fernandez was traded to the New York Mets.

After a sputtering start to the 1993 season, McGriff was traded to the division-winning Atlanta Braves for Melvin Nieves, Donnie Elliot, and Vince Moore.

The trade catapulted the Braves -- then 10. 5 games behind the San Francisco Giants -- into the playoffs, while none of the players whom the Padres received made a major impact in San Diego.

Sheffield was also traded, going to the expansion Florida Marlins.

Although extremely unpopular at the time, it was the Sheffield trade that brought in pitcher Trevor Hoffman, who was virtually unknown to Padres fans.

While Sheffield led Florida to a World Championship in 1997, Hoffman would be the next franchise player behind Dave Winfield and Tony Gwynn.