NL West Divisional Battles

Lore & Background

The Padres adopted their name from the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), a team that arrived in San Diego in 1936. The name, Spanish for 'fathers', honors the friars of the Franciscan order who founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769. The team joined MLB in 1969 as an expansion franchise. The Padres have won two NL pennants, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times.

Reader's Guide

The Padres play their home games at Petco Park in downtown San Diego. They moved into Petco Park in 2004. The team has retired six numbers: Steve Garvey (1988), Randy Jones (1997), Dave Winfield (2001), Tony Gwynn (2004), Trevor Hoffman (2011), and Jackie Robinson's No. 42 (retired throughout MLB in 1997).

Did You Know?

• Randy Jones won the first Cy Young Award for the Padres in 1976.
• Tony Gwynn won eight National League batting titles.
• Ken Caminiti was the first Padres player to win the MVP Award, in 1995.
• On August 20, 2020, the Padres became the first team in MLB history to hit a grand slam in four consecutive games.
• Joe Musgrove threw the Padres' first no-hitter on April 9, 2021.