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1969 San Diego Padres Season
The 1969 San Diego Padres season was the inaugural season in franchise history. They joined the National League along with the Montreal Expos via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion. In their inaugural season, the Padres went 52–110 (the same record as their expansion counterpart), finishing last in the National League's newly created Western Division, 41 games behind the division champion Atlanta Braves. The Padres finished last in the majors as a team in runs scored (468), hits (1,203) and batting average (.225). Offseason Expansion draft The 1968 MLB expansion draft was held on October 14, 1968. Below is a list of players drafted by the Padres. "Pick" refers to the overall draft position of a pick. Other transactions * December 3, 1968: Dave Giusti was traded by the Padres to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ed Spiezio, Danny Breeden, Ron Davis and Phil Knuckles (minors). * March 28, 1969: Ron Davis and Bobby Klaus were traded by the Padres to the Pittsburgh Pirates f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National League West
The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a regular-season of 162 games, half of the teams were put into the new National League East, East Division and half into the new West Division. Within each division, the teams played 18 games each against their five division mates (90 games), and also 12 games against the teams in the opposite division (72 games), totaling 162 games. Geography Despite the geography, the owners of the Chicago Cubs insisted that their team be placed into the East Division along with the teams in New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Also, the owners of the St. Louis Cardinals wanted that team to be in the same division with their natural rivals of the Cubs. The league could have insisted on a purely geographical alignment like the American League did. But ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Selma
Richard Jay Selma (November 4, 1943 – August 29, 2001) was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1965 to 1974. He played for the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels, and Milwaukee Brewers during his 10-year major league career. College and minor league career Selma attended Fresno High School and played college baseball at Fresno City College. After a year, Selma was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets on May 28, 1963 and made his Major League debut two seasons later. Major league career In only his second career start, he threw a 10-inning shutout in a 1–0 victory against the Milwaukee Braves, accumulating 13 strikeouts in the process. The 13 strikeouts were at the time a Mets franchise record. He had two wins and one loss in four games that season, and spent the next two seasons with the Mets as a relief pitcher. During the 1968 season, Selma again became a starting pitcher and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Corkins
Michael Patrick Corkins (born May 25, 1946) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-hander was signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before the 1965 season, and later drafted by the San Diego Padres from the Giants as the 31st pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft. He played for the Padres from 1969 to 1974. On September 22, 1969, Corkins gave up Willie Mays's 600th home run. The majority of his 157 appearances was as a relief pitcher, but he did start 44 games. During his career, Corkins gave up 248 walks in just 459.1 innings pitched, for a BB/9IP of 4.86, much higher than the National League average at that time. However, with 335 strikeouts, his K/9IP was 6.56, which was higher than the National League average. Corkins wielded a strong bat (for a pitcher), hitting 5 home runs with a batting average of .202 in 119 lifetime at bats. He finished his career with a total of 19 wins, 28 losses, 9 saves, 48 games finished, and an ERA of 4.39. C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Ferrara
Alfred John "The Bull" Ferrara Jr. (born December 22, 1939) is a retired Major League Baseball player who played from to . Early life Alfred Ferrara Jr. was born on December 22, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York to Al Ferrara Sr. and his wife Adele. Al Sr. was a New York City fireman for 20 years who later was an air conditioning technician for Chase Bank before working the gate at Jackie Gleason’s Inverrary Country Club in Florida in his retirement. Adele Ferrara, a homemaker, died when Al Jr. was 17, leaving her mother, Assunta Paulucci, in charge of Al and his twin siblings Frank and Theodora, who were 12 at the time. As a youth he was also an accomplished piano player. “I never wanted to play the piano, I wanted to play baseball,” Ferrara said. “But a first-generation Italian woman like my grandmother didn’t know anything about baseball, so I had to play the piano, starting at age eight. I learned the classics. Mr. Morvillo insisted that I read music and play the pieces as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Kelley
Richard Anthony Kelley (January 8, 1940 – December 11, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Kelley's career extended for 14 seasons, and he spent all or parts of seven years in Major League Baseball as a member of the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres. The native of Brighton, Massachusetts, attended Saint Columbkille's High School. He stood and weighed during his playing career. He pitched in 188 Major League games between 1964 and 1969 and in 1971, 61 as a starter. In , as an original member of the San Diego Padres, acquired during the expansion draft, he started 23 games, fourth most on the club. Overall, Kelley won 18 of 48 decisions (.375) in MLB, with five shutouts and five saves and an earned-run average of 3.39. He had a 69–45 (.605) record in minor league baseball, including a stellar 11–2 mark and 2.16 ERA in 14 starts in the Triple-A International League in 1965. Kelley retired as an active player after the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Stahl
Larry Floyd Stahl (born June 29, 1941) is an American retired professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1973 for the Kansas City Athletics, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Cincinnati Reds. Stahl was signed by the Athletics in 1960 as an amateur free agent. He broke into the big leagues on September 11, 1964, going 0-1 as a pinch-hitter against Wally Bunker in a 5-2 Kansas City loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Memorial Stadium. After brief appearances in several more games, he notched his first career hit on September 19 at Yankee Stadium in an 8-3 loss to the New York Yankees. Pinch-hitting for pitcher Orlando Peña in the sixth inning, he hit a ground-rule double off Ralph Terry. Playing for the Padres on September 2, 1972, against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Stahl drew one of the most questionable bases on balls in baseball history — if only because of the circumstances surrounding it. Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas had retired th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry DaVanon
Frank Gerald DaVanon (born August 21, 1945) is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as an infielder. Professional career First Cardinals stint DaVanon attended Hoover High School (San Diego), CA. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1st round of the secondary phase of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft, 1966 MLB amateur draft. He was then selected with the 24th pick in the 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft by the San Diego Padres, and was a member of their first Opening Day roster in 1969. Padres DaVanon made his major league debut for the Padres on April 11 as a pinch hitter. Then, just six games into the season, the Padres sent their starting shortstop, Rafael Robles, to the minor league baseball, minor leagues, and tabbed DaVanon as his replacement. His tenure as Robles' replacement didn't last much longer, as he was benched in mid-May after hitting just .145 in 23 games. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Reberger
Frank Beall Reberger (born June 7, 1944) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach in Major League Baseball. He played for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants from 1968 to 1972. Early life and amateur career Born and raised in Caldwell, Idaho, Reberger graduated from Caldwell High School in 1962 and attended the University of Idaho, where he played college baseball for the Idaho Vandals. The Vandals won the inaugural Big Sky title in 1964, and again in 1966, and played in the NCAA playoffs for the first time. They eliminated Colorado State College (now Northern Colorado) and Air Force with three straight road victories and advanced to the District 7 finals, today's "super-regionals" (sweet 16). One round from the College World Series, Idaho lost to Arizona in Tucson, which ended their best-ever season at Professional career Playing career Undrafted in the 1966 MLB draft, he was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs, who had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zoilo Versalles
Zoilo Casanova Versalles Rodriguez (; December 18, 1939 – June 9, 1995), nicknamed "Zorro", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Minnesota Twins. He was the catalyst who led the 1965 Twins to their first World Series after moving from Washington to Minnesota. The same year he also won the American League Most Valuable Player award. Early career Versalles was born in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba and he had difficulty adjusting to life in the U.S., due largely to the language barrier and his fear of failure, leaving him eternally homesick for his native Cuba. Versalles was signed as an amateur free agent by the Washington Senators prior to the 1958 season and was assigned to the Elmira Pioneers in the Class D New York–Penn League where he held his own and hit .292 in 124 games. The following spring, he went north with the Senators and made his major league debut on 1 August 1959. However, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nate Colbert
Nathan Colbert Jr. (April 9, 1946 – January 5, 2023) 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. Colbert played six seasons with San Diego from 1969 to 1974, earning all three of his All-Star selections and becoming the first star player for the young franchise. Through the 2022 season, he still held the Padres' career record for home runs (163) and ranked among the Padres' top 10 in numerous offensive categories. He also played for the Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos, and the Oakland Athletics. A back injury prematurely ended Colbert's career after just 10 seasons. He later became a coach. Early life Colbert was born on April 9, 1946, in St. Louis, Missouri. His father, Nate Sr., played semi-p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Morales
Julio Ruben "Jerry" Morales Torres (born February 18, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from -. Career Morales was originally signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent at the age of 17 in 1966. He went to the San Diego Padres in 1968 in that year's expansion draft, and spent several seasons going up and down in the Padres' farm system, finally becoming a semiregular in and . On November 7, 1973 Morales was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Glenn Beckert and minor league infielder Bobby Fenwick. Morales, who ended up playing seven seasons for the Cubs over two stints (1973-, -1983) was a consistent and quiet outfielder who played all three outfield positions with above average speed and a good glove. He was known for his unusual "basket catch" style. Unless he was running when he caught a ball, he always made a two-handed basket catch, directly in front of his body, below the belt. At the time of the Beckert deal, Cubs general manager John Holl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Kendall
Fred Lyn Kendall (born January 31, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach who appeared in 877 games, primarily as a catcher, in Major League Baseball from to for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox. He was born in Torrance, California. Baseball career Kendall batted and threw right-handed, and was listed as tall and . He entered pro baseball after being selected in the fourth round of the 1967 Major League Baseball Draft out of Torrance High School by the Cincinnati Reds. After two strong seasons in Cincinnati's farm system, the brand-new Padres made Kendall their 14th selection in the 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft. He split his first three seasons with San Diego between the parent team and clubs in the high minors before making the majors for good in . In , he was voted the most-valuable Padre after setting career high marks in batting average (.282) and home runs (10). He was the regular catcher for the 1973–1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
