When Bavasi left to become president of the expansion San Diego Padres in June, Thompson became the Dodgers ' executive vice president and general manager ; however, weeks after his promotion, Thompson was diagnosed with cancer, and he died in November in Fullerton, California, at the age of 66.

Managed by Bruce Bochy and aided by the talents of players such as Tony Gwynn, Ken Caminiti, Wally Joyner, Steve Finley, pitcher Andy Ashby and premier closer Trevor Hoffman ( 4 – 2, 1. 48 ERA and 53 saves ) – who tied the then-National League record for saves in a single season and finished second in the Cy Young voting that year – the Padres had their best year in history, finishing 98 – 64 and winning the NL West division crown.

* Andy Parrino, Utility Player, San Diego Padres

The rehabilitation was an arduous process, and Hurst ended making just two starts for the Padres in before being traded to the Colorado Rockies on July 26 with Greg Harris for Brad Ausmus, Doug Bochtler and Andy Ashby.

There was some criticism of Padres manager Bruce Bochy for using John Vander Wal as a pinch runner, leaving the responsibility of facing Rivera for the final at bat to Andy Sheets.

In 1997, the Padres traded Flaherty to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Andy Sheets and Brian Boehringer.

For the negotiating rights to Irabu, the Yankees offered the Padres a choice of one from a list of players including Brian Boehringer, David Weathers, Chris Cumberland, Andy Fox and Matt Luke.

Coleman no longer handles play-by-play duties, leaving Ted Leitner and Andy Masur to cover most of the radio broadcasting efforts for each Padres game.

Strasberg asked Smith to do a backflip for fans during Fan Appreciation Day on October 1, the Padres ' last home game of the season.

Osborne Earl " Ozzie " Smith ( born December 26, 1954 ) is an American former baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals from 1978 to 1996.

Drafted as an amateur player by the Padres, Smith made his major league debut in 1978.

Smith returned to Cal Poly for his senior year, then in the 1977 draft was selected in the fourth round by the San Diego Padres, ultimately agreeing to a contract that included a $ 5, 000 signing bonus ($ today ).

Smith spent his first year of professional baseball, 1977, with the Class A Walla Walla Padres of the Northwest League.

Smith began 1978 as a non-roster invitee to the San Diego Padres ' spring training camp in Yuma, Arizona.

Smith credited Padres manager Alvin Dark for giving him confidence by telling reporters the shortstop job was Smith's until he proved he can't handle it.

Off the field, conflict developed between Padres ' ownership and the combination of Smith and his agent, Ed Gottlieb.

" When Joan Kroc, wife of Padres owner Ray Kroc, publicly offered Smith a job as an assistant gardener on her estate, Smith and Gottlieb's relationship with the organization deteriorated further.

While Smith was having problems with the Padres ' owners, the St. Louis Cardinals also found themselves unhappy with their shortstop.

While McKeon had previously told Herzog that Smith was untouchable in any trade, the Padres were now so angry at Smith's agent Gottlieb that McKeon was willing to deal.

During July of the 1984 season, Smith went on the disabled list with a broken wrist after being hit by a pitch during a game against the Padres.

What was not publicly known during the regular season and playoffs was that Smith had torn his rotator cuff after suffering an impingement in his right shoulder during the July 11 – 14 homestand against the Padres.

Their original owner was C. Arnholt Smith, a prominent San Diego businessman and former owner of the PCL Padres whose interests included banking, tuna fishing, hotels, real estate and an airline.

But C. Arnholt Smith changed his mind, and instead sold the Padres to McDonald's co-founder Ray Kroc, who was not interested in moving the team and kept the team in San Diego.

The Padres swept the final three games at then San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium ( the highlight arguably being Steve Garvey's dramatic, game-winning home run off of Lee Smith in Game 4 ) to win the 1984 National League pennant.

His difficulties with the Padres stemmed from a power struggle with team president Ballard Smith and general manager Jack McKeon.

Gossage said that Smith " wants choirboys and not winning players " and that Smith " just listens to what Mom says ," a reference to Padres owner Kroc, Smith's mother-in-law.

# Ozzie Smith: 621 ( San Diego Padres, 1980 )

On October 6, 1984 at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium, Game 4 of the NLCS ended when Padres first baseman Steve Garvey hit a two run home run off Lee Smith.

Other broadcasters have used Kalas ' " outta here " call, including Gary Cohen of the New York Mets, Jerry Coleman of the San Diego Padres, and Terry Smith of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Victories by both the Padres and Chargers have been celebrated by the playing of the song " Gettin ' Jiggy With It " recorded by singer and actor Will Smith.

Jones slipped to 6 – 12 in 1977, and not even the acquisition of Rollie Fingers could help the Padres escape the bottom half of the division.

Until the move to Escondido could be completed the Padres would play their home games at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

Although he was a pitcher, the Padres wanted his powerful bat in the lineup and put him in right field, where he could still use his " rifle arm.

* Several other Boras clients also signed record-breaking deals following the 2009 draft, including Donavan Tate's $ 6. 25 million signing bonus with the San Diego Padres ( largest ever for a high school player ), Jacob Turner's $ 4. 7 million signing bonus with the Detroit Tigers ( largest ever given to a high school pitcher, part of a major league contract that could pay Turner an additional $ 4 million ) and second-overall pick Dustin Ackley's $ 6 million signing bonus ( tied for the largest upfront bonus in history, part of a major league contract worth up to $ 10 million with $ 7. 5 million guaranteed ).

Burnett pitched the Marlins ' third no-hitter on May 12 against the Padres,, despite walking nine batters and throwing only 1 / 2 of his pitches for strikes.

The Brewers won the first two games of their final homestand of the season to pull within two games of the Cubs, but faced a near impossible task with the club's elimination number down to only three and the wild card leading Padres coming to town.

They were one of only two current Major League teams to never have a pitcher throw a no-hitter, the other being the San Diego Padres.

As of June 1, 2012, the Padres are the only team in MLB to never record a no-hitter.

The Padres had led the NL West early in the season only to falter in June, but came back in July and battled the Dodgers the rest of the way.

In 1998, Henderson and Valenzuela were gone, but newly acquired ( from the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins ) pitcher Kevin Brown had a sensational year ( his only one with the Padres ) and outfielder / slugger Greg Vaughn bounced back after a poor 1997 season and hit 50 home runs ( overlooked in that season of the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa race ).

Prior to this contract agreement the Padres had offered to renew Gonzalez's contract during the offseason at $ 380, 500, only $ 500 over the league minimum for the 2007 season.

The logo only lasted one year, as the Padres changed their logo for the third time in three years, again by switching colors of the ring.

Baseball returned to Alexandria again in 1972, with the Aces as the San Diego Padres ' AA farm club, and while it only lasted four years, many major league notables passed through Alexandria-in particular All-Star pitcher Randy Jones and longtime Cleveland Indians first baseman John Grubb.

The affiliation only lasted one season, and in 1971, the Padres and California Angels swapped their Triple-A affiliates in Salt Lake City and Hawaii ( where they had a short, but historic run of PCL dominance ).

Randa made his first and only playoff appearance in 2005 with the Padres, hitting. 364 in three games.

On October 2, 1984, he started the first game of the NLCS against the San Diego Padres, giving up two hits and no runs, not only gaining the victory, but also hitting a home run in the third inning.

Johnson struck out Jeff Cirillo of the San Diego Padres on June 29, 2004 to become only the fourth MLB player to reach 4, 000 strikeouts in a career.

Despite having a mediocre season until August, Lowe was exceptional in September 2010, with a 5 – 0 record, a 1. 77 ERA, 29 strikeouts while walking only three batters, which helped the Braves secure a playoff berth as the NL Wild Card, being one game ahead of the second place Padres at the end of the regular season.

Mendocino National Forest and Los Padres National Forest are the only two national forests in California to have tule elk.

In 1999, he became the only player in major league history to be traded after a 50-homer season when the Padres traded him to the Cincinnati Reds.

Hurst chose to leave the only organization he'd ever known as a free agent following the 1988 season, and signed a three year contract with the San Diego Padres worth $ 5. 25 million.

To date, this remains the only World Series victory in Padres history.

Valentine only appeared in 66 games for the Padres when he was part of New York's infamous " Saturday Night Massacre.

He is known for being the first ( and thus far, the only ) San Diego Padres pitcher to win a World Series game.

He began the season as the second baseman for the Padres, but hit for a batting average of only. 150, and was soon demoted to Triple-A.

He took a similar job with the San Diego Padres in 1972, but after only 11 games he was called on to replace Preston Gomez as manager, giving Zimmer his first managerial job in the major leagues.

In four years as a starter with the Padres, his power numbers dropped in part due to the cavernous dimensions of San Diego Stadium, only reaching 20 home runs once ; but his batting eye remained, recording three more seasons of 100 walks, with a career best of 125 in 1977.

Padres general manager Randy Smith said at the time, " The only way to acquire quality players is to give up quality.