Key Players to Watch on the San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres may not be the most well-known or successful franchise in Major League Baseball history, but they have still produced a handful of superstar players. The Friars have compiled an all-time record of 3,952–4,568 as of 2022. They have only had seven postseason appearances since their first season in 1969, though two of those resulted in National League pennants. And while the Padres have finished last in their division 20 times and haven’t had a winning record from 2011 to ’19, they’re still a franchise worth celebrating—and one that has found a resurgence with young talent.

There have been 13 Hall of Famers to play for the Padres—though only Tony Gwynn, Trevor Hoffman, and Dave Winfield played predominantly with the franchise—and 17 players have made multiple All-Star mlb jerseys appearances in a San Diego uniform.

Selection Criteria for This List

Narrowing down the top five players in San Diego Padres history got a little tricky after establishing the top three. Many players have the credentials needed to be included on the list, so I added a handful of honorable-mention candidates after the top five. The criteria used to develop this list included:

Legacy Honors (Hall of Fame, retired number, etc.)
Single-Season Honors (MVP, All-Star, etc.)
On-Field Success (league leader, playoff appearances, records, etc.)
Longevity (years with the Padres, percentage of career with the Padres, etc.)

Only games played with the Padres are factored into this list, so while Hall of Famer Greg Maddux would be a great choice on a list about the Atlanta Braves, his two seasons in San Diego won’t make the cut here. Now, without further ado, let’s count down the top five players in San Diego Padres history!

5. Randy Jones

Years with Padres: 1973-1980
Position: Pitcher
Accolades: Two-time All-Star and NL Cy Young Award

Randy Jones made his major league debut with the Padres in June of 1973. After a dud of a rookie season in 1974, he turned around in a big way. Jones posted a paltry 8-22 record in his first full season, but he then captured the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1975 when he recorded 20 wins and led the league with a 2.24 earned-run average. One year later, he was the National League’s Cy Young Award winner following a 22-win campaign. He also was superb defensively as he committed no errors on 112 chances. His 22 wins and 22 losses both remain single-season franchise records.

The best starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres in recent years was Jake Peavy, who is most known for unanimously winning the Cy Young Award in 2007 when he earned the pitching Triple Crown. Peavy led the National League with 19 wins, 240 strikeouts, and a 2.54 earned-run average that season to become just the eighth player since 1969 to accomplish the feat. That was far from his only successful season in San Diego, however, as he recorded an ERA under 3.00 in four of his seven and a half years with the Padres. He compiled a 92-68 record on the West Coast and struck out 1,348 batters over 1,342⅔ innings.

In 2006, Peavy was named a captain for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, and he pitched the U.S. to a win in the opening game of the event, which was played in San Diego. Peavy was a two-time All-Star (2005 and ’07) and twice led the league in strikeouts and ERA, including a career-low 2.27 mark in 2004. After the 2007 season, Peavy signed a four-year extension worth $52 million, which was the largest contract ever handed out by the Padres. In the middle of the 2009 season, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox. He went on to play for the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants before retiring in 2016.

3. Dave Winfield

Years with Padres: 1973-1980
Position: Right fielder
Accolades: Four-time All-Star and two Gold Glove Awards

Dave Winfield became a Hall of Famer, but his legendary career that started in San Diego almost never happened. Winfield is one of six athletes to ever be selected in a draft in three different professional sports (he was also selected by the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings), but he chose to build a baseball career. The first eight seasons of that career were spent in San Diego, where he established himself as a power-hitting outfielder.

He made the All-Star team for the first time 1977, which was the first of four straight seasons that he hit at least 20 home runs to close out his tenure with the Padres. Winfield signed with the New York Yankees following the 1980 season, but he didn’t leave the Padres empty-handed. Winfield appeared in four All-Star games, won two Gold Gloves, and hit 154 home runs with San Diego. In addition to the Yankees, he played for the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cleveland Indiansbefore retiring in 1995. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001 after appearing on 84.5 percent of the ballots in his first year of eligibility, and he wears a Padres hat on his plaque.

2. Trevor Hoffman

Years with Padres: 1993-2008
Position: Relief pitcher
Accolades: Six-time All-Star

An underappreciated but dominant closer, Trevor Hoffman dazzled the San Diego fan base for 16 seasons. He only led the league in saves twice, but he recorded at least 40 in nine seasons. Hoffman became the first reliever in Major League history to reach 500 and 600 career saves, and he held the career saves record from 2006 to 2011. He finished his career with 601 saves, including 552 with the Padres, which were preceded by his entrance song, “Hell’s Bells” by AC/DC.

Hoffman became one of the few closers to be inducted to the Hall of Fame when he was sent in with 79.9 percent of the vote on his third try in 2018. He was a seven-time All-Star (six of those selections were with the Padres) and twice finished as the runner-up in the Cy Young voting. He recorded at least 30 saves in 14 seasons (13 with the Padres). Hoffman was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds, but he was then taken in the 1992 Expansion Draft by the Florida Marlins. In the middle of the 1993 season, he came to San Diego as part of the Gary Sheffield trade, and along with Tony Gwynn, became a face of the franchise. He played two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers after leaving the Padres in 2008.

1. Tony Gwynn

Years with Padres: 1982-2001
Positions: Right fielder
Accolades: 15-time All-Star, five Gold Glove Awards, and seven Silver Slugger Awards

One of the greatest hitters of all-time was Tony Gwynn, and he blessed the San Diego fan base by playing his entire career there. As an astounding contact hitter, Gwynn hit .338 over a 20-year career, locking up his Hall of Fame induction on the first ballot in 2007 with 97.6 percent of the vote. “Mr. Padre” led the National League in hitting a record-tying eight times, including a career-high .394 average in the strike-shortened 1994 season and three other seasons at .368 or better. Gwynn had 3,141 career hits, and he had over 200 hits in a season five times. Perhaps most impressive of all, however, is that Gwynn struck out just 434 times in his career, an average of once every 5.6 games.

Gwynn was selected to the All-Star game 15 times, earned seven Silver Sluggers, and won five Gold Gloves in right field. He’s the only player to have played in both World Series in which the Padres have appeared (1984 and 1998), though they lost both times. Gwynn holds most of San Diego’s single-season and career offensive franchise records, and he’s the only player in baseball history to hit at least .300 in 19 straight seasons.

Honorable Mentions

The following are a handful of players who left an indelible mark on the San Diego Padres but fell just outside of the top five of all-time.

Adrian Gonzalez (2006-10)

Labeled as a can’t-miss prospect after the Florida Marlins selected him as the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2008, Adrian Gonzalez took a little longer than expected to develop. Once he finally arrived in his native San Diego and got consistent playing time, however, he became a star. He made three straight All-Star teams from 2008 to 2010, slugged 40 homers in 2009, and hit 161 home run over his six seasons with the Padres. He was then traded to the Boston Red Sox and played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets until he retired in 2018.

Nate Colbert (1969-74)

The Padres haven’t had a prominent slugger in their history, which leaves Nate Colbert as the franchise’s all-time leader in home runs. A player taken from the Houston Astros in the 1968 Expansion Draft, Colbert smashed 163 home runs in his San Diego career, and he finished eighth in the 1972 Most Valuable Player voting after hitting 38 homers. Colbert is perhaps best known for hitting five home runs and driving in a record 13 runs during a doubleheader in 1972, and he was an All-Star each season from 1971-73. After his San Diego career ended, Colbert played for the Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos, and Oakland Athletics until his retirement in 1976.

Benito Santiago (1986-92)

A steady force behind home plate, Benito Santiago was among the best catchers in the National League during his seven years in San Diego. He unanimously won the league’s Rookie of the Year award in 1987, and then he made four straight All-Star teams from 1989-92. Santiago added three Gold Gloves (1988-90) and four Silver Slugger awards (1987-88, 1990-91) while with the Padres. After becoming the highest-paid catcher in baseball in 1992, he elected to sign with the expansion Florida Marlins for the 1993 season. He’d continue to play until 2005, spending time with seven other teams along the way.

Selection Criteria for This List

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