Osborne Earl Smith is an American former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Wizard of Oz", Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National League Gold Glove Award for defensive play at shortstop for 13 consecutive seasons. A 15-time All-Star, Smith accumulated 2,460 hits and 580 stolen bases during his career, and won the National League Silver Slugger Award as the best hitter at shortstop in 1987. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2002. He was also elected to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 2014.
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The team was founded as an expansion franchise in 1969. The Padres play their home games at Petco Park, which has served as the team's ballpark since 2004. The team's name, Spanish for "fathers", refers to the Spanish Franciscan friars who founded San Diego in 1769. The Padres are owned by the estate of Peter Seidler, who owned the team from 2012 until his death in 2023.
Benito Santiago Rivera is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played for 20 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2005, most prominently as a member of the San Diego Padres where he was a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner as well as a three-time Gold Glove Award winner. The five-time All-Star was considered the premier catcher in the National League (NL) during his tenure with the Padres. In 2015, Santiago was inducted into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame.
David Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He is the special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Over his 22-year career, he played for six teams: the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, and Cleveland Indians. He had the winning hit in the 1992 World Series with the Blue Jays over the Atlanta Braves.
Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from 1964 through 1986, most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four National League pennants and two World Series championships between 1970 and 1976. He also played for the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Joseph Chris Carter is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, and San Francisco Giants. Carter hit a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Blue Jays, their second consecutive championship. Carter is one of only two players to end a World Series with a home run, the other being Bill Mazeroski.
Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr., nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hitting Gwynn won eight batting titles in his career, tied for the most in National League (NL) history. He is one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. Gwynn had a .338 career batting average, never hitting below .309 in any full season. He was a 15-time All-Star, recognized for his skills both on offense and defense with seven Silver Slugger Awards and five Gold Glove Awards. Gwynn was the rare player in his era that stayed with a single team his entire career, and he played in the only two World Series appearances in San Diego's franchise history. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, his first year of eligibility.
Donald Scott Drysdale, nicknamed "Big D", was an American professional baseball pitcher and broadcaster who played in Major League Baseball. He spent his entire 14-year career with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. Known for being a fierce competitor, Drysdale won the Cy Young Award in 1962 and was a three-time World Series champion during his playing career.
San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadium's naming rights were owned by Qualcomm, and the stadium was known as Qualcomm Stadium or simply The Q. The naming rights expired on June 14, 2017, and were purchased by San Diego County Credit Union, renaming the facility as SDCCU Stadium on September 19, 2017; those naming rights expired in December 2020. Demolition of San Diego Stadium began in December 2020, with the last freestanding section of the stadium's superstructure felled by March 22, 2021.
Steven Patrick Garvey is an American former professional baseball player and candidate in the upcoming 2024 United States Senate election in California. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1987.
Gerald Francis Coleman was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Associated Press, and was an All-Star in 1950 and later that year was named the World Series Most Valuable Player. Yankees teams on which he was a player appeared in six World Series during his career, winning four times. Coleman served as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and the Korean War, flying combat missions with the VMSB-341 Torrid Turtles (WWII) and VMA-323 Death Rattlers (Korea) in both wars. He later became a broadcaster, and he was honored in 2005 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for his broadcasting contributions.
Nathan Colbert Jr. was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1966 to 1976, most prominently as a member of the newly formed San Diego Padres, who joined the league as an expansion team in 1969. He was among the inaugural inductees into the Padres Hall of Fame.
Robert Charles Fick is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman. In 2002, he was named to the American League All-Star Team.
The 1988 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 59th playing of the "Midsummer Classic" between Major League Baseball's American League (AL) and National League All-Star teams. The All-Star Game was held on July 12, 1988, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, the home of the NL's Cincinnati Reds.
The 1937 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the fifth playing of the midsummer classic between the All-Stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 7, 1937, at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., the home of the Washington Senators of the American League. The game resulted in the American League defeating the National League 8–3.
The 1982 Montreal Expos season was the 14th season in franchise history. They finished 86–76, 6 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League East.
The 1992 San Diego Padres season was the 24th season in franchise history. It saw the team finish in third place in the National League West with a record of 82 wins and 80 losses. They also hosted the 1992 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
The 1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 56th playing of the game, annually played between the All-Stars of the National League and the All-Stars of the American League. The game was played on July 16, 1985, in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, home of the Minnesota Twins.
The 1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 49th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 11, 1978, at San Diego Stadium in San Diego, home of the San Diego Padres of the National League. The game resulted in a 7–3 victory for the NL.
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team in Major League Baseball (MLB) based in San Diego, California. The club was founded in 1969 as part of the league's expansion. The team's hall of fame, created in 1999 to honor the club's 30th anniversary, recognizes players, coaches, and executives who have made key contributions to the franchise. Voting is conducted by a 35-member committee. Candidates typically must wait at least two years after retiring to be eligible for induction, though Tony Gwynn was selected during his final season in 2001 before the last game of the year. He was also the Hall of Fame's first ever unanimous selection. There are 19 members in the team's Hall of Fame, the most recent inductees being John Moores and Jake Peavy in 2023. The inductees are featured in an exhibit at the team's home stadium, Petco Park.
