All Time Padres: Pitching Staff

This edition is going to highlight 5 man pitching rotation.

1. Jake Peavy
2. Kevin Brown
3. Andy Benes
4. Randy Jones
5. Ed Whitson/Eric Show (Share spot starts because of their awesome mustaches!)

All Time Padres Recap:
All Time Padres RF: Tony Gwynn
All Time Padres CF: Steve Finley
All Time Padres LF: Ted Williams
All Time Padres 3B: Ken Caminiti
All Time Padres SS: Gary Templeton
All Time Padres 2B: Bip Roberts
All Time Padres 1B: Adrian Gonzalez
All Time Padres C: Benny Santiago

All Time Padres: 1B

I'm the type of guy who is looking into the future and I believe Adrian Gonzales is that man. If I were building the All Time Padres Team, I need me some Adrian playing 1B. In the past 3 seasons he has hit 30 HR's or more and is on pace for his third 100 RBI season. This is all happening on a BAD Padres team.

I know there are a few honorable mentions that I must honor. Nate Colbert. The bald Wally Joiner. And the Crime Dog Fred McGriff! Sorry boys, you can't compete when I'm a homer and my man Adrian grew up in SD.

All Time Padres Recap:
All Time Padres RF: Tony Gwynn
All Time Padres CF: Steve Finley
All Time Padres LF: Ted Williams
All Time Padres 3B: Ken Caminiti
All Time Padres SS: Gary Templeton
All Time Padres 2B: Bip Roberts

All-Time Padres: 2B

Some names that need to be mentioned in this post: Roberto Alomar, he broke into the league as a Padre and made his first All Star team as a Padre. Tim Flannery, he spent the entirety of his career (as a player) in San Diego. His stats are nothing to write home about...but Flan is a great club house guy...that alone might earn him a spot on the All-Padres Team.

But in all seriousness, the second base position comes down to two Padres, Bip Roberts and Quilvio Veras. Bip played with the Pads longer than Q. Bip also had superior offensive stats. On the other hand Q was part of the team that took the Padres to the World Series. Q was in the leadoff spot for the majority of the season.

I'm going to have to go with Bip. Statistically Bip out performed Q and I have seen Bip do a sideline report. He would be great for the club house. He is also a very versatile player, in case of injury he could fill in at almost any position. The alternate would have to be Tim Flannery because he would be a great clubhouse guy!

All Time Padres Recap:
All Time Padres RF: Tony Gwynn
All Time Padres CF: Steve Finley
All Time Padres LF: Ted Williams
All Time Padres 3B: Ken Caminiti
All Time Padres SS: Gary Templeton
All Time Padres 2B: Bip Roberts

All Time Padres: 3B

This is a unanimous decision. Mr Ken Caminiti is by far the best 3B in the history of the Padres. He beats the likes of Sean Bouroughs and even Gary Sheffield. We all know he won the NL MVP in '96 and was on the team which won the Western Division for the first time since '84.

I would like to share a little known story about Ken. In '96 the Pads were playing the Mets in Mexico City, Ken, dehydrated and sick had a reputation of playing through pain and it didn't stop him from playing in this game. He took two liters of IV solution to rehydrate and two "snickers" bars and got back into the game. He hit two homers en route to a 8-0 win over the Mets and this win put them in a tie with the Dodgers for first in the West. I have a suspicion that the "snickers" had a bit of steroids lodged in them. I call them "Snickeroids".

Another memory, he made a diving play on the third base line and thew the batter out from his backside!

Pictures of Ken Caminiti:

Ken Caminiti '98 Championship
Caminiti Swing
Colleague
Nice Dive at the Q

All Time Padres Recap:
All Time Padres RF: Tony Gwynn
All Time Padres CF: Steve Finley
All Time Padres LF: Ted Williams
All Time Padres 3B: Ken Caminiti

Mannywood: Population 0

I have to say...I am extremely happy to not be a Dodgers fan! To start, the "Baseball Boogie"?!?!? They missed the mark on this one. I know the "Super Bowl Shuffle" had great reviews, as it should. But at least it sounded like Grand Master Flash.

At any rate...we all know about Manny! Going to miss 50 games because he took a banned substance. He says he got it from his personal doctor and didn't know it was banned. I want to say, this excuse has been used and I wont accept it as an excuse anymore. I will also no long accept the excuse of a "tainted sample". But how hard is it to get your agent, doctor or YOURSELF to call MLB and ask if it's OK to take it.

But, Dodger fans, all I can say is, you had to expect Manny to do something out of this world this season.

All-Time Padres: LF

I'm going to take this one in a little bit of (perhaps) an unexpected direction - Ted Williams. Teddy Ballgame played left field for the Padres from 1937-1938 when they were a part of the Pacific Coast League. The Red Sox bought him from the Friars before spring training 1938, so he really only had one post-high school season in San Diego.

Williams played reasonably well with the Padres before heading off to Boston, posting a line of .271 BA, 23 HR, and 98 RBIs. While this clearly doesn't constitute an exceptional stint in a Padres uniform, we make an exception for the Splendid Splinter.

Williams was arguably the greatest hitter to play the game (and missed 3 years from 1943-45 when he was 24-26 YEARS OLD to serve as a pilot in the Marine Corps in WWII!!!). Lifetime line: .344 BA, 521 HR, 1839 RBIs and never struck out more than 64 times in a season (his rookie season, no less). Between his status as one of the 10 best players to ever put on a uniform and a US Marine (a fantastic connection to the city of San Diego), there's no way to leave Williams out. Read all about Williams' experience with the Padres here: http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95winter/williams.htm.

Left field is another thin position in Padres history, making this pick even more justifiable. As a big league club, the only notable left fielders were Greg Vaughn and Rickey Henderson - both quality players (particularly Rickey, who can easily be argued as the greatest leadoff hitter of all time), but neither had extraordinary careers as Padres.

All Time Padres: LF

Teddy "Ball Game" Williams wins the All Time Padres Team for right field on a technicality/loop hole Tommy and I think is fine to exploit. The best of the rest leaves us to look at the careers of Greg Vaughn and Ricky Henderson. Vaughn hit 50 HRs one season with the Padres but I have to go with Rickey.

Rickey once hit a HR and on that HR he broke the MLB record for runs scored. Rickey then rounding third with no play at the plate, slid into home plate for his record breaking run. For more Funny Rickey Henderson stories click here Some of my favorites, #4-#10, #16 and #21. Heck, I love 'em all. Please take some time to click the link and read these awesomely funny stories!

All Time Padres Recap:
All Time Padres RF: Tony Gwynn
All Time Padres CF: Steve Finley
All Time Padres LF: Ted Williams

All-Time Padres Team: CF

Steve Finley took us to the World Series. Need I say more?

Well he had an 18 year career with many teams where he compiled over 2,500 hits and 304 HR's. The matter here is Finley was excellent in the clutch! I can remember his game winning shots...a rocket in the gap or home run, and the two arms go straight up in celebration!

Now lets talk about his glove. Best defensive CF the Padres ever had. And this is back in the Qualcomm days (The Murph) when there were flimsy, padded outfield fences with palm trees behind them. Finley mastered the art of running full speed into that thing and snagging an extra base hit or HR away. Finley makes the All-Time Padres Team with his clutch hitting and his glove in the outfield.

All-Time Padres Recap:
RF: Tony Gwynn
CF: Steve Finley

All-Time Padre Team: RF

Tony Gwynn
I get the distinct honor and privilege of writing about "Mr. Padre" himself. T. Gwynn was the reason I became a Padres fan. T Gwynn is the reason I why my life long dedication for the Padres persists. In a time when Mark McGwire goes from the A's to the Cardinals and Wade Boggs goes between AL East Division rivals Yankees and Red Soxs and finishes his career in Tampa, T Gwynn played for only one team.

Do we need to review his career statistics as a Padre?
Career Batting Average: .338
Career Hits: 3141
Allstar Games: 15
Gold Gloves: 5
Silver Sluggers: 7

"The Batman", "Mr. Padre", "T Gwynn". He discovered/created the 5.5 hole. He made his living with his consistency at the plate. Quite possibly can be called the best at his craft of all time, as mentioned in Sports Illustrated.

Enjoy these pictures:
Young T. Gwynn
Batman Tony
BBall Tony
Mr. Padre
Wheaties Gwynn