Tag / Padres

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All Time Team Records

After a long winter, the 2026 baseball season got underway yesterday.  To celebrate, it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have identified as having attended dating back to 1984.  Last year, I posted my thirteenth highest total, an increase of twelve games from the year before, and managed to see 21 out of the 30 teams, so there should be some nice changes.

The White Sox are coming off their third-straight 100 loss season and are hoping to avoid adding a fourth this year.  On the other side of town, the Cubs made it back into playoff contention last year and are hoping to move beyond the NLDS this year.  The 2026 season may look completely different on each side of town.

All-Time Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 17 4 0.810
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Cleveland Guardians 7 4 0.636
Toronto Blue Jays 20 12 0.625
New York Yankees 20 13 0.606
Philadelphia Phillies 13 10 0.565
Boston Red Sox 22 17 0.564
Colorado Rockies 11 9 0.550
Los Angeles Angels 20 17 0.541
Washington Nationals 7 6 0.538
Detroit Tigers 35 30 0.538
Cleveland Indians 31 27 0.534
Chicago Cubs 246 217 0.531
Houston Astros 27 25 0.519
Chicago White Sox 387 378 0.506
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Padres All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the San Diego Padres.

The Padres began life in 1969, joining the National League along with the Montreal Expos.  I’ve seen 197 players wearing the Padres uniform in the 27 of their games that I’ve attended live at five different ballparks, first in 1985 at Wrigley Field and, most recently, this past September at Rate Field.  I had plans to take in the three-game series between them and the White Sox at PETCO Park in 2020, but that kind of fell apart for… reasons.

Home Runs

Name Total
Adrian Gonzalez 2
Ramon Hernandez 2
Mike Cameron 2
Khalil Greene 2

Hits

Name Total
Ryan Klesko 9
Sean Burroughs 9
Brian Giles 8

Runs

Name Total
Adrian Gonzalez 7
Mark Loretta 5
Ramon Hernandez 4
Mike Cameron 4
Fernando Tatis Jr. 4

RBI

Name Total
Khalil Greene 8
Ramon Hernandez 6
Ryan Klesko 6

Doubles

Name Total
Ryan Klesko 3
Adrian Gonzalez 3
Will Venable 3

Triples Continue reading →

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2025 Final Standings

After fighting back of an 0-2 hole against the Brewers in the NLDS, the Cubs dropped the decisive Game 5 last night, bringing the 2025 Chicago baseball season to a close.  Despite blowing an early season lead in the NL Central, the Cubs held on to take the top Wild Card slot and managed to advance to the second round of the playoffs.  The White Sox managed to improve on their record-setting season from 2024 and managed to not be the worst team in MLB, but still managed to lose 100 games for the third straight year.  Overall, I managed to attend 39 games, tied for my thirteenth highest total.  Along the way, I managed to see 21 of the 30 teams.

2025 Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
St. Louis Cardinals 2 0 1.000
Toronto Blue Jays 2 0 1.000
Houston Astros 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 8 2 0.800
Cleveland Guardians 3 2 0.600
Miami Marlins 1 1 0.500
Baltimore Orioles 1 1 0.500
Boston Red Sox 1 1 0.500
New York Yankees 1 1 0.500
Kansas City Royals 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 15 18 0.455
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2025 Predictions Revisited

Six months ago, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what in the 2025 MLB season.  With the Division Series round in full swing, it is time to revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Red Sox

While the Red Sox returned to the postseason as a wild card, the Blue Jays managed to take home their first division title since 2015.

Central: Guardians

The Tigers held first place for most of the season, but a late September surge by the Guardians gave them the crown.

West: Mariners

Hey, that’s two right now.  After years of falling short, the Mariners finally held off the Astros to take home their first division title since 2001.

Wild Cards: Rays, Twins, Orioles

Not a single correct guess here.  The Twins and Orioles bottomed out, while the Rays hung around the race for most of the season, but couldn’t make a run.  Instead, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Tigers topped the wild card standings.

AL Champion: Guardians

Well, their hot run couldn’t last forever.  Since the Guardians are out, the field looks to be wide open.  What a story it would be for the Mariners to make their first World Series appearance.

Cy Young: Garrett Crochet

While Tiger starter Tarik Skubal looks to be the front-runner, Crochet has a chance to get some support here.

MVP: Julio Rodriguez

It’s going to come down to Rodriguez’s teammate Cal Raleigh or Aaron Judge, who had another monster season.

National League

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Playoff Pitching Leaders

The Cubs dispatched the Padres yesterday to win their Wild Card series and will be heading to the NLDS against the Brewers this weekend.  While we wait, it’s time to take our updated look at the pitching leaders from the now 33 post-season games I’ve attended since the White Sox won the AL Central in 2000.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 2
Jon Lester 2
Jake Arrieta 2
27 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Matt Clement 2
31 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Aroldis Chapman 0.00
Stephen Strasburg 0.00
Kyle Freeland 0.00
Johnny Cueto 1.13
Chad Billingsley 1.35

Strikeouts

Name Total
Jon Lester 25
Jake Arrieta 22
Mark Buehrle 13
Continue reading →
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Playoff Batting Leaders

With their Wild Card Series tied at a game apiece, the Cubs will battle against the Padres this afternoon for the rights to move on and face the Brewers in the NLDS.  With that in mind, it’s time to take an updated look at the offensive leaders from the now 33 post-season games I have attended since 2000.  So, without further ado, we start off with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Kris Bryant 4
Javier Baez 3
Paul Konerko 3
B.J. Upton 3
Dexter Fowler 3
Enrique Hernandez 3

Hits

Name Total
Kris Bryant 11
Javier Baez 11
Dexter Fowler 10
Anthony Rizzo 10
Moises Alou 9
Jason Heyward 9

Runs

Name Total
Dexter Fowler 7
Paul Konerko 6
Daniel Murphy 6
A.J. Pierzynski 5
Kris Bryant 5
Javier Baez 5
Continue reading →
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All Time Playoff Team Records

We’ve made it through 162 games and, for the first time since 2020, the Cubs are in the post-season as the top-seeded Wild Card in the National League.  In a rematch of the 1984 NLCS, they start a best of three series against the Padres at Wrigley Field today.  The winner of that series will advance to the NLDS and face the Brewers starting Saturday.

It’s time to take an updated look at the team records for the now 33 playoff contests I have attended. These contests come from the 2018 Wild Card game, the ALDS in 2000, 2005, 2008, and 2021, the NLDS in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016, and 2017, the NLCS in 2003, 2015, 2016, and 2017, the ALCS in 2005, and, of course, the 2005 and 2016 World Series.

Post-Season Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Florida Marlins 3 0 1.000
Seattle Mariners 2 0 1.000
New York Mets 2 0 1.000
Colorado Rockies 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Chicago White Sox 6 5 0.545
Los Angeles Dodgers 3 3 0.500
Atlanta Braves 1 1 0.500
Cleveland Indians 1 1 0.500
Los Angeles Angels 1 1 0.500
Washington Nationals 1 1 0.500
Tampa Bay Rays 1 1 0.500
Chicago Cubs 9 13 0.409
Houston Astros 1 2 0.333
San Francisco Giants 0 2 0.000
St. Louis Cardinals 0 1 0.000
Boston Red Sox 0 2 0.000
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Still The Worst

With their 4-2 victory over the Padres last night, the Rockies won their 41st game of the season, ensuring that, at worst, they will tie the 2024 White Sox for the most losses in the modern era of Major League Baseball.  With two weeks to go in the season, it seems likely that they will win at least one additional game, leaving the 2024 White Sox to stand alone in disgrace.

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Hanging Up His Platinum Glove

Former Cub Anthony Rizzo announced his retirement this morning after a fourteen-year career.  A three-time All Star, Rizzo spent ten seasons with the Cubs, ranking sixth in franchise history with 242 home runs.  He was also a four-time Gold Glove winner, winning Platinum Glove honors in 2016 as the league’s best defender.  In 2017, Rizzo was bestowed with the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award.

Rizzo, originally drafted by the Red Sox when Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer were in their front office, was the duo’s first big acquisition when they reunited in Chicago, acquiring him from the Padres.  Beginning the 2012 season in Triple A, he was recalled at the end of June and quickly became a mainstay of the lineup and a crowd favorite.  As the Cubs were rebuilding around him, he signed a long-term contract extension in 2013.  He cemented his position in Cubs lore by catching the final out of the 2016 World Series, ending the longest championship drought in American professional sports.  However, as the Cubs struggled to repeat the team success of that season, Rizzo also struggled in later years, contributing to an offense that has severely regressed since 2016 and was one of the Cubs who refused to get the COVID vaccine, keeping the team below the 85% threshold for the 2021 season.  At the trade deadline, he was traded to the Yankees.

After re-signing with the Yankees after the 2021 season, Rizzo spent three injury-marred seasons in New York, culminating in last fall’s World Series loss to the Dodgers.  A free agent following the season, he went unsigned and sat out the 2025 season prior to today’s announcement.  He will officially retire as a Cub and join the organization as a team ambassador.

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Looking Ahead To 2026

Eschewing their traditional day after the All-Star Game release, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2026 schedule on a random Tuesday at the end of August.  For the fourth year in a row, MLB is keeping with a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league.  With a young and improving White Sox team already looking ahead to next year and the Cubs trying to lock down a Wild Card spot, the 2026 season looks like it could be an interesting one for the city of Chicago.  So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox open their season on March 26, the earliest North American start in league history, under the dome in Milwaukee against the Brewers, followed by a trip to South Beach to face the Marlins.  They open up their home schedule against the Blue Jays on April 2.

Aside from the Brewers and Marlins, the interleague schedule sees the White Sox going on the road to face the Phillies, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Padres, while the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals make their way to Rate Field.  The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a three-game weekend series at home Wrigley Field in mid-May followed by a weekday series at Wrigley Field in mid-August.

The White Sox wrap up the 2026 season in September with series against the Twins, Guardians, and Tigers, should it matter.  The season ends at home with a three-game series against the Rockies.

On the north side, the Cubs kick off their season at home against the Nationals and the Angels before heading out on the road in early April.  Aside from the Angels, the Cubs will host the Twins, A’s, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers, while travelling to visit the Mariners, Orioles, Guardians, Red Sox, and Royals.

Twelve of their 24 games in September are against their NL Central rivals, with six coming against the Brewers, which could make a difference should the Cubs find themselves in contention once again.  They end the year with a three-game road trip to Boston to face the Red Sox.