The Opening Day That Isn't

For just the third time in Padres history, Opening Day is postponed. Today would have been the earliest in franchise history, but COVID-19 had other ideas.

The other opening days that weren't-
1990 and 1995 were postponed due to labor strikes. Unforgivable...yet we did.

2020 is an entirely different situation. While we all wait to see when this season that has so much hope (and much more BROWN) to begin, I will chronicle the 1998 season as if it was being played today:

The last Padre World Series team was still in spring training on March 26th, 1998, playing their last exhibition game in Peoria against our "natural rival" Seattle. But hopes were high. After returning to the playoffs in 1996 for the first time since the 1984 World Series, the 1997 Padres limped to a 76-86 record. However during the winter of 1997, GM Kevin Towers made a trade with the Florida Marlins that looked like it could tip the National League West back to the Friars.

The Padres traded Derek Lee, Steve Hoff, and Rafael Medina for Kevin Brown, and boy did that work out for the Friars.

 

But, on March 26th, that was still to come. Odds makers had the Padres behind the Atlanta Braves and the hated Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League.

I will sprinkle in facts and figures and highlight notable games in Padres history as the calendar progresses.

THIS DATE IN PADRE BASEBALL

1998 SEASON

Exhibition against Seattle Mariners in Peoria. Results seems to be lost to history.

Notable games of March 26 

None, 2020 should have been the 1st.

Transactions of March 26

1982
Released John Urrea

• He went 2-2 with a 2.39 ERA in 38 appearances in 1981 while walking 28 and striking out only 19. He made his last MLB appearance on October 4, 1981.

1992
Traded Ricky Bones, Matt Mieske and Jose Valentin to the Milwaukee Brewers. Received Geoff Kellogg and Gary Sheffield.

• Ricky Bones 4-6 with a 4.83 ERA in 11 starts in 1991. He would go on to win 59 more games in his career, and represent Milwaukee in the 1994 All-Star game.
• Matt Mieske was in A ball (High Desert Mavericks) in 1991. He would make his MLB debut in 1993 and play for 8 seasons.
• Jose Valentin was in AA ball (Wichita Wranglers) in 1991. He would make his MLB debut in 1992 and play for 16 seasons. Finished 9th in ROY in 1994. 
• Geoff Kellogg was an A ball pitcher who never advanced past AA and was out of baseball after the 1993 season.
• Gary Sheffield finished 3rd in the MVP vote in 1992, hitting .330 with 33 HR, 100 RBI and represented the Padres in the 1992 All-Star game. But his biggest contribution to the franchise would come in 1993 when he was traded to the Florida Marlins for 3 pitchers,  including some converted shortstop named Trevor Hoffman.

1996

Released Erik Plantenberg.

• Pitched at AA (Memphis Chicks) and AAA (Las Vegas Stars) in 1995 after pitching for Seattle from 1993-94. He would eventually find himself back in the bigs, finishing his career with Philadelphia in 1997.

2001

Released Nate Bland.

• Injured all of 1999 and 2000, he never pitched for any Padre team at any level. Made his MLB debut in 2003 for the Houston Astros, appearing in 22 games in his only season.

2002

Released Brad Clontz.

• Signed as a free agent on February 4, 2002. He would bounce around the minors until the end of the 2006 season, but never as a Padre.

2003

Selected Mike Matthews off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.

• Would go on to appear in 77 games for the 2003 Padres, posting a 6-4 record with a 4.45 ERA. He would be granted free agency after the season, signing with the Cincinnati Reds before ending his career with the New York Mets in 2005.

2007

Released Todd Walker.

• He appeared in 44 games for the 2006 Padres. Hit .282 with 3 HR and 13 RBI. He would move onto the Oakland Athletics in 2007, appearing in just 18 more games before his release.

2008

Purchased Justin Huber from the Kansas City Royals.

• Would go on to appear in 33 games for the 2008 Padres with 2 HR, 8 RBI while hitting .246. Fun fact - he was HBP as many times as he hit a HR. Granted free agency after the season, signing with the Minnesota Twins, playing in just one more MLB game.

2009
Jae Kuk Ryu selected by the Cleveland Indians off waivers.

• Selected in January, 2009 off waivers from Tampa Bay Rays, he would only appear in spring training. Having appeared in 28 games in his career, he would never make it back to a MLB mound.

2011

Released Geoff Geary.

• Signed in February 2011 with an invitation to Spring Training, things just didn't work out for him, and this was the end of his MLB career. He had appeared in 287 games, posting a career record of 16-10 with a 3.92 ERA and one save.

2015

Selected Jandel Gustave off waivers from the Kansas City Royals.

• A rule 5 pick, originally taken by the Houston Astros, he his eventually returned to them making his MLB debut in 2016. Currently he is pitching in spring training for the San Francisco Giants. 

For now, please be safe. Take every safety precaution recommended by medical professionals, and I hope to see you all soon at Petco Park!