Top 10 San Diego Padres Moments

Nate Colbert hit 5 HR and drove in 13 in one day (August 1, 1972): In a double header sweep of the Atlanta Braves, Nate Colbert blasted five round trippers and drove in 13. In a strange coincidence, Nate witnessed Stan Musial’s five home run day in 1954 as a child.


Randy Jones becomes first Padre 20 game winner (1975): In 1975, Randy Jones became San Diego’s first 20 game winner in the franchise’s seventh season. The following year, the sinker baller won 22 and the Cy Young Award. Despite his success, he never pitched for a team that finished better than 4th.

Padres win first NL West Title (September 20, 1984): The Padres beat Giants 5-4 to win the NL West. Winning pitcher Tim Lollar hit a homer and Dave Dravecky picked up the save.

Steve Garvey’s Homer (October 6, 1984: NLCS Game 4): The Cubs led San Diego 2 games to none. Looking to clinch their first pennant since 1945, the Cubs looked to extend Game 4 of the NLCS into extra innings. They had relief ace Lee Smith on the hill when Steve Garvey slammed a two run shot to force a Game 5.

Padres come back against Sutcliffe (October 7, 1984: NLCS Game 5): Chicago led 3-0 with Rick Sutcliffe on the mound. Redbeard had gone 16-1 since coming over from Cleveland. He could not hold the lead when his defense let him down. The Padres went on to win the game 6-3 and went on to their first World Series.

Tony Gwynn hits .394 (1994): Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. No one has hit .400 since. In 1977, Rod Carew hit .388. In 1980, George Brett hit .390. In 1994, Tony Gwynn hit .394. In 1994, baseball experienced a work stoppage which ended Gwynn’s run at history.

Padres win second pennant (October 14, 1998: Game 6 NLCS): The Padres beat the Braves 5-0 in Game 6 of the NLCS to win their second pennant. Sterling Hitchcock surrendered 2 hits and won NLCS MVP. San Diego had the unfortunate pleasure of playing the New York Yankees. In both their World Series appearances, the Padres played historically great teams.

Tony Gwynn gets hit #3000 (August 6, 1999): Tony Gwynn joined the 3000 hit club with a first inning single against the Expos. The Padres won the game 12-10. He finished with 3141 hits for his career.

Jake Peavy k’s 16 (April 25, 2007): Jake Peavy struck out 16 Diamondbacks including 9 straight at one point. Peavy left the game with the lead. Despite the effort, the bullpen could not hold on and San Diego lost the game 3-2.

Trevor Hoffman gets Save #500 (June 6, 2007): Trevor Hoffman became the first reliever to save 500 games for his career. The Padres defeated the Dodgers 5-2. Hoffman’s saved the game for Greg Maddux. He’d go on to save over 600 games.