P a d r e s 5 CONTENTS CHAPTERS Starting Slowly 6 A Winning Attitude 15 From Chumps to Champs 22 Soaring in the 90s 33 New Faces in a New Century 41 AROUND THE HORN No No-No’s 12 The San Diego Chicken 20 Home-Field Advantage 24 A Late Night in Philadelphia 31 No Umbrella Necessary 38 A Slow Season 43 ALL-TIME PADRES P Trevor Hoffman 8 C Benito Santiago 13 1B Nate Colbert 14 2B Quilvio Veras 18 3B Phil Nevin 23 SS Garry Templeton 28 LF Gene Richards 30 CF Steve Finley 35 RF Tony Gwynn 39 M Bruce Bochy 40 Index 48
6 P a d r e s STARTING SLOWLY n the 15th century a Franciscan monk who would later be known as San Diego or Saint Diego lived a life of piety and good deeds in Spain In 1769 another Spanish monk named Junipero Serra dedicated a new mission on southern California’s Pacific coast to San Diego Soon other priests called padres in Spanish arrived at the mission and began teaching Christianity to the American Indians in the region The town of San Diego grew slowly over the next 150 years Then in the 20th century its popularity seemed to explode with the city’s population increasing from 17,000 in 1900 to more than 1 2 million in 2000 Major factors in San Diego’s appeal were its beautiful weather and magnificent ocean location Anyone living in or visiting San Diego wanted to be outdoors as much as possible That was one reason a minor-league baseball team was established in the city in 1936 A local newspaper held a poll to name the new team and Padres was the overwhelming favorite When Major League Baseball decided to expand before the 1969 season San Diego was a logical choice for a new National I
Located fewer than 20 miles from the Mexican border San Diego is renowned for its sun soaked beaches and abundant ocean vistas
