This Date In Padre Baseball - October 20

                          

THIS DATE IN PADRE BASEBALL

1998 SEASON

WORLD SERIES GAME THREE - YANKEES 5 PADRES 4 (YANKEES LEAD 3-0)

NLCS Hero Sterling Hitchcock matched zeroes for 5 innings against the Yankees' David Cone. Finally in the 6th, the Padres broke through first. Tony Gwynn singled home Hitchcock, who led off the inning with a single, and then Quilvio Veras scored on an error by Paul O'Neill. Gwynn would score on a sacrifice by Ken Caminiti to give the Padres a 3 run lead.

The Yankees responded quickly, with a Scott Brossius home run to lead off the 7th inning. Following a Shane Spencer double, Bruce Bochy decided that was enough, and brought in Joey Hamilton to get out of the 7th.

The Padres hurt themselves in the inning, first Spencer advanced to 3rd on a passed ball, then scored on an error by Caminiti to cut the lead to 3-2.

Nursing a 3-2 lead in the 8th, Randy Myers would walk Paul O'Neill to lead off the inning. Sending the momentum shift, Bochy called upon Trevor Hoffman to make a 6 out save. He would get one before walking Tino Martinez to bring up Brossius. Hitting the ball to nearly the same spot he did in the 7th, Brossius would pump his fist in the air celebrating his 3 run home run to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead and suck the life out of the Padres and the 64,667 Friar Faithful in attendance at the Q.

In the 8th, the Padres put men on 2nd and 3rd with just one out, causing Joe Torre to call on Mariano Rivera to get a 5 out save. Greg Vaughn just missed a go ahead home run, caught at the wall, but plenty deep to score Veras from third to bring the Padres one run closer. Caminiti would strike out to end the threat.

In the 9th the Padres would get one more shot at Rivera, with men on the corners with 2 outs, but Andy Sheets would go down swinging, giving the Yankees a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Transactions of October 20

1970

The New York Mets sent Rod Gaspar to the San Diego Padres to complete the trade of September 1st.

• OF Gaspar would appear in 49 games over 2 seasons, hitting .161 with 3 RBI. Released after the 1976 season.

Sent Sonny Ruberto to the Cincinnati Reds as part of a conditional deal.

• C Ruberto, acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals via trade in 1969, made his MLB debut as a Padre on May 25, 1969, appeared in 19 games during the 1969 season, hitting .143.

1975

Traded Dick Sharon to the St. Louis Cardinals. Received Willie Davis.

• OF Sharon, acquired from the Detroit Tigers via trade in 1974, appeared in 91 games during the 1975 season, hitting .194 with 4 HR and 20 RBI.
• CF Davis would appear in 141 games during the 1976 season, hitting .268 with 5 HR and 46 RBI. Released in January 1977.

1987

Luis Salazar granted Free Agency.

• 3B/OF Salazar, signed as a free agent in April, completes his second tour with the Padres, appearing in 84 games during the 1987 season, hitting .254 with 3 HR and 17 RBI.

1994

Bip Roberts granted Free Agency.

• UTL Roberts, acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates via the 1985 rule 5 draft, made his MLB debut as a Padre on April 7, 1986. Traded to Cincinnati in 1991, but returned as a free agent in 1994. Would sign again for the 1995 season, and be traded to Kansas City at the end of the 1995 season. Overall, he appeared in 667 games over 7 seasons, hitting .298 with 20 HR and 169 RBI.

ALL TIME PADRE LEADERBOARD

#15 WAR - 12.5

#3 AVG - .298

#12 OBA - .361

T34 SLG - .387

#21 GAMES - 667

#12 RUNS - 378

#14 HITS - 673

#22 DOUBLES - 98

#13 TRIPLES - 21

T42 RBI - 169

#23 WALKS - 212

#4 SB - 148

T22 HBP - 16

T32 SAC - 23

T39 SAC FLY - 12

2010

Signed Erik Hamren as a free agent.

• P Hamren would make his MLB debut as a Padre on August 1, 2011 and go on to appear in 14 games during the 2011 season, posting a 1-0 record with a 4.38 ERA. Released in 2013. 

2011

Jeff Fulchino granted Free Agency.

• P Fulchino, selected off waivers from the Houston Astros on September 1, appeared in 3 games during the 2011 season, posting no record with a 16.20 ERA.