#262 San Diego Padres Team

Taking the name of the long time PCL franchise, established in 1969….All in all a futile franchise…small market overshadowed by the city 80 miles to the north…the 2010’s have not been kind…neither was their start…first five seasons starting averaged well over 100 losses a year….thing were so dire, attendance so poor that a move to Washington seemed imminent…to the point that a Washington prototype uniform was created and modeled….Enter Ray Kroc the founder of modern day McDonald's….success was not instantaneous but attendance rose….more talent was imported via free agency….went over .500 win pct in 10^th season in 1978 …success short lived, reverting back to less than .500 play…did not rise again until 1984 World Series year…since then one return to the Fall Classic…both losses….Needless to say in 1972 all records on the backside of the card have been broken although Dave Robert’s ERA of 2.10 in 1971 should be the club record given he pitched 269 innings over reliever Luis De Leon 102.….Nate Colbert’s twice achieved mark of 38 homers remain in club’s top ten….Greatest player by far is San Diego native, Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn… Tony, an incredible 3^rd round pick proceeded to win 8 batting crowns….most impressive season was at age 37 when he hit .372, and obtained career best figures for home runs and RBIs….Other HOFers (Dave Winfield, Gaylord Perry) have played with the Padres but the franchise only kept them  them during the prime of their career…since their inception as it stands now the franchise win loss record is nearly 600 games below .500.