About San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the National League West Division. The team plays its home games at Petco Park in downtown San Diego. Founded in 1969 as an expansion franchise, the Padres adopted their name from the Pacific Coast League team that arrived in San Diego in 1936. The team's name, Spanish for "fathers", refers to the Spanish Franciscan friars who founded Mission San Diego in 1769.
In 1976, Randy Jones achieved the first Cy Young Award for the Padres. In the 1980s, Tony Gwynn became a major star, winning eight National League batting titles. Under manager Dick Williams, the Padres clinched their first NL pennant, losing to the Detroit Tigers in the 1984 World Series. In 1995, Kevin Towers became general manager; under his lead, Ken Caminiti became the first Padres player to win the MVP Award. The Padres achieved their second NL pennant alongside Trevor Hoffman, eventually being swept by the New York Yankees in the 1998 World Series.
The Padres are owned by the estate of Peter Seidler, who owned the team from 2012 until his death in 2023. The team has won two NL pennants, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both years; they are the oldest team that has never won the World Series, along with the Milwaukee Brewers. As of 2024, the Padres have had 18 winning seasons in franchise history. Despite reaching the postseason five times from 2005 to 2024, the team has yet to return to the World Series. From 1969 through 2024, the Padres have an overall record of 4,127–4,717–2 .
The Padres adopted their name from the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League, a team that arrived in San Diego in 1936. This minor league franchise won the PCL title in 1937, led by 18-year-old Ted Williams, the future Hall of Famer who was a native of San Diego.
In 1969, the Padres joined the ranks of Major League Baseball as one of four new expansion teams, along with the Montreal Expos , the Kansas City Royals, and the Seattle Pilots .
One of its earliest owners was C. Arnholt Smith, a prominent San Diego businessman and former owner of the PCL Padres. Despite initial excitement, the guidance of longtime baseball executives, Eddie Leishman and Buzzie Bavasi, as well as a new stadium, the team struggled; the Padres finished in last place in each of its first six seasons in the NL West, losing 100 games or more four times. One of the few bright spots on the team during the early years was first baseman and slugger Nate Colbert, an expansion draftee from the Houston Astros and was the long-time home run leader until 2024, when Manny Machado overtook him.
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