Finished 1st?

Around 2 or 3 weeks ago, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, a host replied to a comment from a listener. That listener is a die-hard Padres fan and mentioned the rivalry between the Dodgers and the Padres. Meanwhile, the listener emphasized one thing, which is that he would like to see the Padres win the division title.

 

After listening to the reply from the host, I was just thinking about the Padres records in recent years. They frequently clinched a spot in the postseason. However, when was the last time that the Padres won the division title? To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the great baseball reference website.

 

Back in 1984, the Padres finished the season with 92 wins and 70 losses. They clinched the NL West title. The manager was Dick Williams, who’s a Hall of Famer, and he led the Padres to win the first NL pennant. In that season, Tony Gwynn led the majors with 213 hits and a .351 batting average. Oh, by the way, a catcher called Bruce Bochy played 37 games for the Padres in 1984.

 

In addition, there were 4 teams in the NL West in 1996. The Padres finished the season with 91 wins and 71 losses. The skipper was Bruce Bochy. However, the Padres fell short in the division series. They lost to the Cardinals. Ken Caminiti won the 1996 NL MVP award. He slashed .326/.408/.621 with 40 home runs and 130 RBI. At the same time, Steve Finley smashed 30 home runs and collected 95 RBI. Furthermore, Trevor Hoffman collected 42 saves in 1996. Two years later, the Padres won 98 games and took 64 losses. They clinched the NL West again. Bochy led the team to win the NL pennant. Nonetheless, they lost to the Yankees in the Fall Classic. In the 1998 season, Greg Vaughn smashed 50 home runs and collected 119 RBI. On the mound, Kevin Brown earned 18 wins with a 2.38 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. In the meantime, Trevor Hoffman led the majors with 53 saves.

 

Moreover, the Padres won the NL West title in 2005. Bochy led the team to win 82 games during the regular season. But they lost to the Cardinals in the NLDS. Brian Giles led the majors with 119 walks and he finished the season with an OPS over .900. At the same time, Trevor Hoffman picked up 43 saves.

 

Finally, in 2006, the Padres and the Dodgers each finished the season with 88 wins and 74 losses. Nevertheless, the Padres took the division title because they owned a superior record against the Dodgers. Nonetheless, the Padres lost to the Cardinals in the NLDS. Back then, Trevor Hoffman led the NL with 46 saves.

 

Looking at the Padres franchise history, the team won the NL West title 5 times. Interestingly, there are 4 times that Bruce Bochy led the team to win the division title. And, he played for the Padres in 1984. Hence, it’s quite clear that Bochy has played an important role in franchise history. Nevertheless, as we can see, the last time that the Padres won the NL West Champions was in 2006. It was surely a while ago.