San Diego Padres - The Clinton Years (1990-1999)

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1990

101

Decade

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Titles:

Top Padres Players of the Nineties

1996 Division Champs (Lost to Cards in Division Series)

1998 NL pennant ( Beat Houston, Atlanta, Lost to Yankees)

Pitchers:

Trevor Hoffman (16.24) - 67

Ballpark:

Andy Ashby (22.76) - 49

Qualcomm Stadium (was Jack Murphy Stadium thru '97)

Andy Benes (19.79) - 44

Joey Hamilton (15.86) - 37

Team Name:

Bruce Hurst (8.56) - 26

Padres

Greg Harris (11.07) - 20

Craig Lefferts (1.8) - 19

Owner:

Sterling Hitchcock (6.09) - 16

Tom Werner led syndicate (1990-1994)

Kevin Brown (8.58) - 14

John Moores (1995-1999)

Fernando Valenzuela (3.53) - 10

Ed Whitson (6.21) - 9

General Managers:

Scott Sanders (5.38) - 8

Joe McIlvaine (1990-1993)

Randy Smith (1993-1995)

Catchers:

Kevin Towers (1995-1999)

Benito Santiago (5.45) - 24

Brad Ausmus (3.67) - 18

Managers:

Jack McKeon (1990)

First Basemen:

Greg Riddoch (1990-1992)

Fred McGriff (9.5) - 26

Jim Riggleman (1992-1994)

Wally Joyner (9.04) - 20

Bruce Bochy (1995-1999)

Jack Clark (3.71) - 10

Hall of Famers:

Second Basemen:

Trevor Hoffman

Quilvio Veras (5.71) - 18

Tony Gwynn

Damian Jackson (1.19) - 6

Rickey Henderson

Fred McGriff

ShortStop:

Chris Gomez (1.32) - 16

Rookie of the Year:

Tony Fernandez (3.22) - 15

None

Third Base:

MVP

Ken Caminiti (17.53) - 48

Ken Caminiti (1996)

Gary Sheffield (5.83) - 13

No Hitters:

Outfield:

None

Tony Gwynn (32.65) - 73

Steve Finley (8.72) - 41

Cy Young:

Bip Roberts (10.06) - 25

None

Derek Bell (0.62) - 19

Darrin Jackson (9.1) - 18

Notable Events:

Greg Vaughn (6.95) - 18

Rickey Henderson (3.59) - 16

1990 - Another Jack McKeon blockbuster. Catcher Sandy Alomar and

Phil Plantier (1.24) - 11

2B Carlos Baerga are dealt to Cleveland for OF Joe Carter, 30.

Reggie Sanders (4.14) - 10

This is a high quality for high quality deal.

Joe Carter (1.74) - 6

1990 - San Diego comes into the decade on a high, having gone 89-73 in '89.

Notable Events:

The Padres have a group of big time stars, unfortunately there's a large dropoff

in talent behind them.

1996 - Slugging OF Greg Vaughn, 30, is picked up from the Brewers

The core nucleus on the 1990 roster moving forward:

in a five player deal.

C - Benito Santiago, 25

He plays OK for the Padres down the stretch in '96 pennant race,

2B - Roberto Alomar, 22

but in the '98 race, Greg slugs 50 homers and he is a key figure

OF - Joe Carter, 30

in their march to the World Series.

OF - Tony Gwynn, 30

RHP - Andy Benes, 22

1996 - The Padres win the Division with a collection of decent home

grown players and low priced free agents plus Hoffman, Finley

1990 - The Padres are sold to a consortium led by Hollwood Producer Tom Werner.

and Caminiti. They make it to the NLCS before losing to Atlanta

They bring in GM Joe McIlvaine and manager Greg Riddoch,

This is a stepdown in quality from Jack McKeon both in the GM and manager roles.

1997 - In a ridiculous trade, the Padres deal young righty Dustin

San Diego is off to a bad start with these guys in control. No bueno.

Hermanson, 24, to Florida for Quilvio Veras.

What was Kevin Towers thinking? This particularly hurts considering

1991 - In another BlockBuster deal, this time McIlvaine's, Robbie Alomar

that the Padres had been handing out their all star second basemen

and Joe Carter are sent to Toronto for Fred McGriff, 27, and Tony Fernandez, 29.

like candy earlier in the decade (see Baerga and Alomar) and now

This turns out to be an awful deal as McGriff is given away the following year and

give up a top young pitcher to obtain a mediocre, on his best day, 2B.

Fernandez goes from a prince to a frog with the Padres.

Meanwhile, the net result of the last two blockbusters is that the Padres,

1998 - 3B Sean Burroughs, 17, is the ninth overall pick in the draft.

at the end of the day, end up with nothing while having lost three studs in the

He debuts in 2002. Because of the bloodlines, his father was

Alomar brothers and Baerga Triple no bueno for the Padres.

slugger Jeff Burroughs, and where he was selected, there were high

expectations for Sean. It didn't work out

1991 - Righthander Joey Hamilton, 20, is the eighth overall pick in the draft,

debuts in '94

1998 - Righty Brian Lawrence, 21, is selected in 17th round of the draft,

debuts in 2001

1992 - SS Gary Sheffield, 23, is obtained from Milwaukee in a five player deal.

You can consider this deal a bit of a blockbuster as well.

1998 - Righty Kevin Brown, 33, is picked up from the Marlins in Florida's

post '97 World 'Championship fire sale.

1992 - The Padres have home run champ Fred McGriff with 35 and batting champ

Young 1B Derek Lee goes to Florida in the deal.

Gary Sheffield at .330. Despite the productivity of these two, San Diego barely

Brown leads the Padres to another post season, this time to the

finishes over .500 going 82-80.

World Series, the second in their history.

Thru their thirty year history to this point, the Padres have had

1993 - Randy Smith, age 29, is named GM. It's an improvement, altho' Smith

three ninety win seasons and they made it to the post season each

makes a horendous trade to kick off his tenure, dealing Fred McGriff to the

time - their only three post season appearances to date.

Braves for OF Melvin Nieves, 21.

Nieves was supposedly a hot young prospect, but he bombed, big time

1999 - Catcher Phil Nevin, 28, is obtained in a three player deal

with Anaheim. Nevin, the first overall pick in the '92 draft by the Astros,

1993 - Smth makes a better trade, dealing OF Sheffield to the Marlins for

was a complete bust up to this point. But, he would turn it around

Trevor Hoffman, 25. Sheffield was a top young hitter, but Smith must have

with San Diego and become a pretty good hitter.

figured that Nieves would replace Gary in the lineup in the coming years.

Padre history is littered with disappointing number one overall picks.

He was wrong. Nonetheless, Hoffman would become the second best

Their own, Mike Ivie, Bill Almon, Gene Richards. Matt Bush (2004)

reliever of all time and a HOFer

and others', Shawn Abner, acquired from the Mets at age 21 in '87

for Kevin McReynolds, now Nevin, and later, in 2006, Adrian Gonzalez

1993 - Righthander Andy Ashby, 25, is obtained in a five player deal with Houston

who they got from Texas and who had been a disappointment

for Bruce Hurst. The Padres also get catcher Brad Ausmus in the deal.

with both Florida, who drafted him, and Texas.

Nevin and Gonzalez righted the ship with San Diego later

1993 - 1B Derek Lee, 17, 14th overall pick in the draft, debuts in '97

on in their careers thus finally breaking the San Diego

overall number one pick curse.

1994 - John Moores buys the club. After an initial flourish, the Padres settle

down into the same mediocre or less rut with Moores that they had in previous

1999 - Righty Jake Peavy, 18, is selected in 15th round of the draft,

years with Arnholdt Smith, Ray Kroc and Tom Werner

debuts in 2002.

1994 - Tony Gwynn bats .394 to win the batting title in a strike shortened season.

1999 - Lefty Oliver Perez, 17, is an IFA, debuts in 2002.

1994 - Righty Dustin Hermanson, 21, is the 3rd overall pick in the draft,

1999 - After two post season appearances in the previous three years,

he debuts in '95

the Padres collapse losing twenty four games in the standings.

The biggest difference between the '98 and '99 teams was the pitching

1995 - Kevin Towers becomes GM and Bruce Bochy manager.

as San Diego gave up 146 more runs in '99.

They successfully team up for the '96 and '98 title runs.

The hitting went down a little, dropping 39 runs scored.

Bochy develops into one of the top managers in the game with a reputation

The biggest culprit was Kevin Brown who took his 18-7 2.38 record

as a manager who makes a difference.

to the Dodgers as a free agent. Each member of the rest of the

Towers, on the other hand, after the initial blush of success with the two post

staff declined a little bit.

season runs, does nothing as a GM after that with San Diego or elsewhere.

1995 - In the largest trade since 1955, twelve players, the Padres get Steve Finley, 30,

Ken Caminiti, 32, and four others from the Astros for Derek Bell and five others.

Finley and Caminiti are key players in the Padres '96 and '98 title runs. It must

be something in the San Diego water because management regimes change, but

the Padres still love making these huge BlockBuster Deals