On This Date 18 Years Ago...

...on May 30, 1994, the Padres beat the Pirates 10-2. Andy Ashby pitched a complete game for his first win of the season after five losses and the Padres' seventeenth against thirty four losses. Ashby struck out eight and walked one; he gave up four hits, the only runs coming from a two run homer by future Padre and polygamist Al Martin in the second inning.

The Padres' offense was led, as it was so many other times, by one Anthony Keith Gwynn. Tony drove in the first five Friar runs on two hits; a two run shot in the first and base clearing double in the seventh. Craig Shipley pitched in a grand slam later in the seventh and Ricky Gutierrez capped off the scoring with a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth.

56

Only four players- all pitchers- have worn 56 for the Padres. Ricky Bones was the first in '91. Kevin Walker had it from 2000 through '03 and Scott Cassidy wore it in '05 and '06. Mike Ekstrom was the most recent in '08 and '09.

Twos For Tuesday

John Sipin was the first Padre to wear the deuce, way back in the inaugural year of 1969. Johnny Grubb was the second, from '74 through '76. After Grubb, Luis Menendez and Jerry Turner had the digit in '77 and Rick Sweet followed suit in '78. Alan Wiggins locked it down beginning in '81 up until he was shipped to Baltimore in '85. Bip Roberts wore number 2 when he came up in '86 before getting the 10 with which he is most commonly associated. Tony Fernandez had it in '92. Jim Vatcher also wore it in '92 and did so again in '93. Keith Lockhart wore it for a single season in '94, as did Jody Reed in '95, Jim Tatum in '96 and Andy Sheets in the year of our second National League Championship. Damian Jackson bridged the millenium gap from 1999 through 2001 and again when he returned in '05. Cesar Crespo in '02, Jason Bay in '03 and Kerry Robinson in '04 wore it in Jackson's absence. Jon Knott wore number 2 for three hitless plate appearances in '06 and Morgan Ensberg wore it after he was picked up at the deadline in '07. Luis Rodriguez and Edgar Gonzalez both wore it in '08. Gonzalez wore it again in '09 and  Lance Zawadzki had it for 20 games in the 2010 season and Everth Cabrera took it in '11 when Orlando Hudson showed up and felt entitled to the #1 which Cabrera had been wearing. Am I still resentful toward that jerk? You bet.

PV & Tha D-O-Double-G

Jake Peavy has been having a great season so far, showing White Sox fans the form we saw back in '07 when he picked up his Cy Young Award by notching the pitchers' Triple Crown. But even better than being good at your job is having the chance to hang out with Tha Doggfather. Snoop recently threw out the first pitch at a White Sox game; both the pitch and the pitcher were high and outside.

Nine Years Ago Today...

...Bruce Bochy's brave, brawny bunch beat Bob Brenly's bastards behind Brian's bat breaking. Lawrence went a full nine, allowing one run on a third inning sacrifice fly by future Friar farmhand Alex Cintron. As for the Padres offense, Rondell White homered and drove in two and a young Jason Bay doubled in a run and scored as well the day after he homered in his Major League debut and a day before having his Padres career come to an end at three games when his hand was broken by an Elmer Dessens fastball.

Untitled

I used to have a hat kinda like that except it was just red and white like it should be. I know my mother (who disowned me and I'll likely never see again) has a picture somewhere of me wearing it and a Mariners t-shirt upon the back of which I had painted "CORA" and "28"... Anyway, be sure to keep the faith in our Padres, as absurd as it may seem at times. Stay in school, work your hardest, don't mess with drugs and just try to be the best you you can be to those around you. Love. In the end, it's all a question of heart.

Tuesday's Tony Gwynn: The Tull Group

On a side note before I get to the gist of this post, I have to say that every time I see the above card, I instantly start mentally singing "Tony, yoooooouu arrrre my shining star..."
Yesterday, the rumors were confirmed. Tony Gwynn is on board with Thomas Tull's group vying for ownership of the Padres. For those who are unaware who Tull is, Gaslamp Ball Entertainment Correspondent matthewverygood profiled him a week ago. To quote mvg, "He is a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He runs the hugely-successful Legendary Pictures and is responsible for bringing us such films as Inception, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, and 300. He's one of the most powerful men in Hollywood - Thomas Tull, the hero San Diego deserves." All of that is well and good but what got me on board was the inclusion of Gwynn. As far as I'm concerned, Tony Gwynn's endorsement is as good as Ron Swanson's.

Gary Matthews, Jr. Or Whatever

I was going to write about Gary Matthews, Jr. for Mustache Monday so I snapped these pics of another card from the whole bunch of awesome ones Nick of Dime Boxes fame sent my way. I was at a loss to come up with anything interesting to say about Matthews other than the standard trope about him being a second generation Major Leaguer and, of course, making mention of his 55 million dollar catch. You probably also know he came up with the Padres and wasn't anything special there. If you didn't know that, that makes perfect sense too because, yeah, the whole nothing special thing. Anyway, sorry for the crappy post; I'll put up a better one in the morning. Go watch some Futurama. I've been half-watching In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela (s6e2); I guess I'll give it my full attention now...

Will Wins It!

Before the bottom of the ninth today, with the score tied 2-2, I predicted William would win it. I wasn't right then and I wasn't right yet when he came up in the eleventh. But after a two out single by pinch hitting pitcher Clayton Richard in the 13th inning, Venable came through. Will laced a single to left and Clay Dick raced around as de facto left fielder Howie Kendrick bobbled the ball and threw wide to the first base side. Win! And guess what else- we aren't in last place anymore!

Ben Davis: Back In Baseball

The last time I wrote about Ben Davis he was still trying to work his way back to the Majors as a pitcher. He officially announced his retirement a little over a year ago after beginning Spring Training for what would have been his second season as a pitcher for the Camden Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League. "It's something I've been thinking of for a couple of years," he told the Philadelphia Inquirer at the time. "My numbers started to decline and I just figured, you know what, I'm going to shut it down now." Davis added that he felt it was time "to go get a real job" and did so; he got hired on as a sales rep for the Wells Fargo Center, selling premium seating for the home of the Flyers and 76ers. He recently took on a second job with mother corporation Comcast doing pregame and postgame analysis for Phillies games; he also dabbles in the radio end of things. He lives in nearby West Chester, also home to Jackass jackass Bam Margera, with his wife Megan and three children. Much like how Geoff considers Kory the MVP of Team Blum, Ben is in awe of the work his wife does. “Doing what I do is fun," said Davis. "What Megan does is the toughest job in the world, I think.” Davis seems at peace with his past career and happy in his new one; he confirms as much by stating that he is "very blessed".

Happy Birthday, Ed Whitson!

Eric Show wasn't the only pitcher for the Padres in the 80s born on May 19th. His former rotation-mate Ed Whitson was once a year older to the day. Whitson served two tours of duty in San Diego, sandwiching his infamously disastrous time with the Yankees. In his early career, he spent time in Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Cleveland. The list of players he was traded with and for during his career reads like a who's who of 70s and 80s baseball. In '79, he was traded from the Pirates to the Giants with others for Bill Madlock- who had won two batting titles and would go on to win two more, the original Dave Roberts and Lenny Randle, who is best known for punching his manager in the face and trying to blow a fair ball foul. After the '81 season, Whitson was sent to Cleveland for Joe Posnanski's favorite player Duane Kuiper. A year later, he came to San Diego for Juan Eichelberger (that name keeps coming up, doesn't it, WG?) and Broderick Perkins. After his rocky time in New York which involved Whitson doing some manager punching of his own (but it was Billy Martin so it doesn't count), he came back to the Padres in exchange for Tim Stoddard and spent his final 5 1/2 seasons there. He now spends his days in Dublin, Ohio, where he serves as a volunteer coach for his son's high school team.

I Wish Eric Show Was Turning 56 Today

Today would have been Eric Show's 56th birthday. Sadly, the last birthday he celebrated was 19 years ago as he didn't make it to see 38. A deep and troubled man, Show took his last breath a mere 2 1/2 years after throwing his last Major League pitch. He was a resident at an inpatient rehab facility when he shot his fatal speedball, a lethal combination of heroin and cocaine that had already taken John Belushi and would eventually claim Chris Farley and Ken Caminiti. Show sits atop many pages in the pitching section of the Padres' record book and is also remembered by casual fans for surrendering Pete Rose's record breaking hit and taking a seat on the mound during the hullaballoo that followed. Friends remember him as much more; a thoughtful man, one eager to learn and question those doing the teaching. He was a talented musician, intrigued with politics and was a quiet philanthropist who kept his giving out of the public eye. A child of abuse, he searched his entire life for peace, seeking relief in religion, drugs and alcohol. Like many, he never found it here.