1984 San Diego Padres: Gwynn’s First Shot

1984 San Diego Padres: Gwynn’s First Shot

[paypal_donation_button]1984 San Diego Padres: Gwynn’s First Shot

Right fielder Tony Gwynn was just in his 3rd season in Major League Baseball when his San Diego Padres went on an amazing run to the Fall Classic in 1984. This would be Gwynn’s first shot at obtaining a World Series championship ring. The Padres had a core group of talent that was as good as any other team in baseball.

The Padres went 92-70 in 1984, winning the National League West division by 12 games over both the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros. The Padres went 11-7 against the Braves and 12-6 against the Astros in head-to-head play. The Padres went 48-33 at their home ballpark of Jack Murphy Stadium, and they went 44-37 on the road.

Tony Gwynn became the National League batting champion by batting .351 with 71 RBI’s and led the National League with 213 hits. Gwynn also had 21 doubles, 10 triples and 33 stolen bases. First baseman Steve Garvey batted .284 with 86 RBI’s, 175 hits and 27 doubles. Center fielder Kevin McReynolds batted .278 with 20 home runs and 75 RBI’s off 146 hits, 26 doubles and 6 triples. Third baseman Graig Nettles had 20 home runs and 65 RBI’s off 90 hits and 11 doubles. Catcher Terry Kennedy had 14 home runs, 127 hits and 16 doubles.

Left fielder Carmelo Martinez had 13 home runs and 66 RBI’s off 122 hits and 28 doubles. Second baseman Alan Wiggins had 154 hits, 19 doubles, 7 triples and an absolutely amazing 70 stolen bases. Shortstop Garry Templeton had 127 hits, 19 doubles and 8 stolen bases. Third baseman Luis Salazar had 11 stolen bases. Outfielder Bobby Brown had 16 stolen bases.

Starting pitcher Eric Show went 15-9 with 104 strikeouts and a 3.40 ERA, recording 3 complete games and 1 shutout. Tim Lollar had 131 strikeouts and a 3.91 ERA, recording 3 complete games and 2 shutouts despite going 11-13. Ed Whitson went 14-8 with 103 strikeouts and a 3.24 ERA, recording 1 complete game. Mark Thurmond went 14-8 with a 2.97 ERA, recording 1 complete game and 1 shutout.

Signed out of free agency on January 4, closer Rich “Goose” Gossage went 10-6 with 25 saves, 84 strikeouts and a 2.90 ERA. Relief pitcher Dave Dravecky went 9-8 with 8 saves and a 2.93 ERA, recording 3 complete games and 2 shutouts as a starter. Craig Lefferts had 10 saves and a 2.13 ERA. Greg Booker went 1-1 with a 3.30 ERA. Luis DeLeon went 2-2 from the bullpen.

The Padres got off to a very rocky start against the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series as they dropped the first 2 games of the series in underwhelming fashion. In Game 1 on October 2 at Wrigley Field the Cubs pummeled the Padres 13-0. Chicago’s Rick Sutcliffe pitched 7 innings, giving up 2 hits and 5 walks while recording 8 strikeouts. The game was broken wide open in the bottom of the 5th when left fielder Garry Matthews crushed a 3-run home run, catcher Jody Davis had an RBI single, shortstop Larry Bowa grounded into a forceout at second base to score third baseman Ron Cey, and second baseman Ryne Sandberg had an RBI single.

The Cubs took Game 2 on October 3 by the score of 4-2. Matthews had an RBI groundout in the bottom of the 1st inning. Cey had an RBI double in the bottom of the 3rd and Davis followed with a sacrifice fly. San Diego tried to come back starting with a sacrifice fly by Kevin McReynolds in the top of the 4th, but an RBI double by Sandberg in the bottom of the 4th halted that attempt. Steve Garvey’s RBI single in the top of the 6th wouldn’t be enough.

Going back to Jack Murphy Stadium for Game 3 on October 4, however, the Padres found the spark they needed to get back in the NLCS as they beat the Cubs 7-5. Tony Gwynn had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 3rd inning and Garvey followed with an RBI double. In the top of the 4th Davis clubbed a 2-run home run, and then first baseman Leon Durham hit a solo home run. Garvey took over with the bat as he would get RBI singles in the bottom of the 5th and 7th innings. A passed ball would later on score Gwynn in the 7th. In the top of the 8th right fielder Keith Moreland had an RBI single and Davis followed with an RBI double. However, Garvey came up big again in the bottom of the 9th when he smacked a walk-off 2-run home run, shifting the momentum of the series.

In the deciding Game 5 on October 7 the Padres won 6-3 to claim the National League pennant. In the top of the 1st inning Durham clubbed a 2-run home run, and in the top of the 2nd Davis hit a solo home run. Chicago’s initial momentum would be trumped by San Diego’s response. In the bottom of the 6th both Nettles and Kennedy had sacrifice flies. In the bottom of the 7th pinch hitting infielder Tim Flannery reached on an error to score Carmelo Martinez, Gwynn had a 2-run double, and Garvey would top things off with an RBI single. Steve Garvey would be named NLCS Most Valuable Player.

The San Diego Padres unfortunately fell short of their goal of winning their first World Series championship in franchise history when they fell to the Detroit Tigers 4 games to 1. In the only game of the Fall Classic they did win, the Padres did show what they were capable of. The Padres won Game 2 on October 10 at Jack Murphy Stadium. In the top of the 1st inning right fielder Kirk Gibson got the Tigers on the board first with an RBI single, followed by catcher Lance Parrish hitting a sacrifice fly out to foul territory, and then third baseman Darrell Evans had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 1st Graig Nettles had a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the 4th Bobby Brown grounded into a forceout at second base to score designated hitter Kurt Bevacqua, and then Bevacqua clobbered a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 5th to clinch the victory.

Tony Gwynn would have to wait until 1996 to return to postseason play, and until 1998 to return to the World Series. While he wouldn’t be able to obtain a World Series championship ring, baseball fans would soon realize through the 1980’s how special of a player Tony Gwynn would be.