The '79 season started with a bang for the Padres. Out of the gate they had a tenuous 2 game lead over the historicaly dominating Giants. The Padres record had improved every year since comming under the guidance of GM Brian Wohldmann at the beginning of the 1976 season. So there was plenty of reason to be hopeful.
San Diego's early-season lead quickly slipped away as the slumbering Giants awoke. The period from May till the All-Star break saw the Padres consistently trailing Frisco by 6-7 games. If there was going to be a run for the division, San Diego was going to have to make a trade. Fortunately there was a man in Boston willing to make things happen...
July saw a rebuilding Boston make a whopping 6 trades before the deadline. One of them sent SS Rico Petrocelli and a bag of cats to San Fransisco for Padres 1st round pitching prospect Richard Dotson and a REALLY big bag of cats. The trade left the Padres with no depth at starting pitcher, but with a sorely needed big reliable bat in the lineup. Certainly a gamble since any injury to San Diego's starting rotation could spell doom.
In the end though, even a blockbuster trade wasn't enough to catch San Fransisco. J.R. Richard did go down to injury, but Free Agent castaway Bill Burbach pitched exceptionally well, especially for someone who hadn't played major league ball in two years. The horrible seasons of Dave Kingman and Cesar Cedeno weighed the Padres down too much to catch the Giants.
Can San Diego contend next season? Unfortunately it doesn't look good. San Diego may be one of the older teams in the league, and 36 year old Grant Jackson will certainly begin to show signs of age in the near future. The Padres do not have a first round pick in the upcomming draft (theirs being one of the six that Boston has horded this year), and are fairly capped out of any major free agent acqusitions.
If Bannister steps up, Jackson maintains, and Cruz regains some speck of control; they may have a chance. If Cedeno and Kingman start swinging more consistant bats, there could be a glimmer of hope. If not... it's time to see how many first round picks the Padres squirel can nest away.
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Season in review:
The Padres pitching staff was one of the best in baseball during the first half of the season. Veteran Grant Jackson was putting up numbers to rival his Cy-Young caliber performance of a year ago. Long time Padres Clay Kirby and Stan Bahnsen put in respectable numbers, each throwing a complete game shutout (Kirby's was a no-hitter). Floyd Bannister finally began to put up numbers that justified him being a first round draft pick 2 years earlier.
San Diego's bullpen appeared less than stellar at the beginning of the season, but the group of veteran journeymen led by Jack Billingham (who had his best year since his rookie season on 1968) performed well beyond expectations. The same couldn't be said for Victor Cruz who suffered from a bad case of the sohpmore jinx and spent most of the season bouncing between AAA Portland and the big club.
The Padres lineup was little changed from a year previous. Rookie 3B John Castino provided a much needed solution to the Padres future concerns as Nettles begins to wear out his welcome. While 1B Dave Kingman may end the year with 100 RBIs, he will also likely end it with 180+ Ks. OF Cesar Cedeno had the worst year of his career, hitting a paltry .233. Billy Conigliaro picked up the offensive slack, as the outfielder had a career year and was selected for his second all-star game since joining the team.
Saturday 9/9/1979 BOSTON - Dennis Eckersley had some fun again. REAL fun. Boston hitters did not. Baltimore's right-hander fired a no-hitter in his 5th shutout of the season.
He now has 10 career shutouts in 162 games started. Eckersley (21-9) fanned 3 and walked 1, throwing 102 pitches. 'My catcher called a very good game. I have to give credit to him. He was the main reason I accomplished this feat.' Ken Mcmullen helped Eckersley at the plate, he finished 1 for 4, hitting a double. Baltimore scored 1 run on 3 hits.
Wednesday 9/6/1979 BALTIMORE - Great things can happen when you throw strikes. And Bill Butler did so today, in a no-hit shutout against Chicago (A). Butler (20-7) struck out 7 and issued 1 BB, throwing 65 of 103 pitches for strikes. 'Well, the ball went where I wanted it. I was able
to hit the corners with all of my pitches. I'm so happy that it was enough to pitch such a great game.' The hitting star for Baltimore was first baseman Gary Thomasson, he got 1 hit in 4 AB, homering once, and collecting 2 RBI. Baltimore scored 7 runs on 9 hits.
Saturday 9/2/1979 MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee's southpaw Steve Carlton will not pitch again this year, suffering a serious injury in the game against Minnesota on Saturday. Doctors
examined him after the game and diagnosed a Torn Back Muscle which will require surgery. In 29 starts this year Steve struck out 234 batters in 212.1 innings of work. His ERA is 3.65, his record 11-12. Steve has pitched one shutout and 9 complete games.
American League-Pitcher of the Month :
Joe Decker (SEA) !!
He had a record of 4-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 1.51.
American League-Batter of the Month :
Bill Melton (KC) !!
He batted .303 in 99 AB, with 8 homers and 25 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month :
Pat Zachry (NY) !!
He had a record of 5-1 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.18.
National League-Batter of the Month :
Gary Carter (CHN) !!
He batted .333 in 102 AB, with 14 homers and 29 RBI.