# 1996 San Diego Padres season

The 1996 San Diego Padres season was the 28th season in franchise history. They finished in first place in the National League West with a 91–71 won-loss record, one game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. After trailing the Dodgers by two games heading into the final series of the season against them, the Padres recorded a three-game sweep to win the division crown.

## Offseason

* October 28, 1995: Rico Rossy was signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
* November 29, 1995: Mike Sharperson signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
* December 7, 1995: Fernando Valenzuela signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
* December 14, 1995: Doug Dascenzo was signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
* December 21, 1995: Wally Joyner was traded by the Kansas City Royals with Aaron Dorlarque (minors) to the San Diego Padres for Bip Roberts and Bryan Wolff (minors).
* December 21, 1995: Mike Oquist was signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
* December 29, 1995: Rickey Henderson signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
* March 22, 1996: Melvin Nieves was traded by the San Diego Padres with Raul Casanova and Richie Lewis to the Detroit Tigers for Sean Bergman, Todd Steverson, and Cade Gaspar (minors).

## Regular season

* On August 16, the San Diego Padres played the New York Mets in a game held at the Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.

### Opening Day starters

* Brad Ausmus
* Ken Caminiti
* Andújar Cedeño
* Steve Finley
* Tony Gwynn
* Joey Hamilton
* Rickey Henderson
* Wally Joyner
* Jody Reed

### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| San Diego Padres | 91 | 71 | .562 | — | 45‍–‍36 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 90 | 72 | .556 | 1 | 47‍–‍34 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Colorado Rockies | 83 | 79 | .512 | 8 | 55‍–‍26 | 28‍–‍53 |
| San Francisco Giants | 68 | 94 | .420 | 23 | 38‍–‍44 | 30‍–‍50 |

### Record vs. opponents

1996 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 9–4 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 9–4 |
| Chicago | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 5–8 |
| Cincinnati | 5–7 | 8–5 | — | 7–6 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 5–8 |
| Colorado | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | — | 5–8 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 8–4 |
| Florida | 7–6 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 8–5 | — | 7–5 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–6 |
| Houston | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 5–7 | — | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–11 |
| Los Angeles | 7–5 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 8–4 |
| Montreal | 3–10 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 9–4 | 3–9 | — | 7–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 8–4 |
| New York | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–7 | — | 7–6 | 8–5 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–7 |
| Philadelphia | 4–9 | 6–7 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 2–10 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–7 | — | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–9 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 5–7 | — | 4–9 | 8–4 | 3–10 |
| San Diego | 4–9 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 10–3 | 8–4 | 9–4 | — | 11–2 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 5–7 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 2–11 | — | 7–6 |
| St. Louis | 4–9 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 11–2 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 10–3 | 8–4 | 6–7 | — |

### Game log

1996 Game Log: 91–71 (Home: 45–36; Away: 46–35) :
April: 17–10 (Home: 8–6; Away: 9–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 1@ Cubs4–5 (10)PattersonHoffman (0–1)—38,7340–1
2April 3@ Cubs7–5Hamilton (1–0)CastilloHoffman (1)29,6381–1
3April 5@ Astros10–4Tewksbury (1–0)Kile—28,6292–1
4April 6@ Astros8–4 (13)Hoffman (1–1)Small—24,5103–1
5April 7@ Astros17–2Bergman (1–0)Swindell—16,2584–1
6April 8Marlins9–2Hamilton (2–0)Hammond—44,4705–1
7April 9Marlins2–5 (10)LeiterBlair (0–1)—15,1605–2
8April 10Marlins3–0Tewksbury (2–0)RappHoffman (2)10,5106–2
9April 11Braves2–1Ashby (1–0)MadduxHoffman (3)19,0477–2
10April 12Braves3–5SchmidtBergman (1–1)Wohlers25,7477–3
11April 13Braves6–2Hamilton (3–0)GlavineBochtler (1)45,2508–3
12April 14Braves0–4SmoltzValenzuela (0–1)—45,0148–4
13April 15@ Rockies9–11RuffinBlair (0–2)Leskanic48,0278–5
14April 16@ Rockies10–6Ashby (2–0)Reynoso—48,0319–5
15April 17@ Rockies11–6Florie (1–0)Freeman—48,01110–5
16April 19@ Braves1–7SmoltzHamilton (3–1)—27,37510–6
17April 20@ Braves5–6McMichaelBochtler (0–1)Wohlers31,89310–7
18April 21@ Braves2–1 (15)Worrell (1–0)ThobeBochtler (2)28,82911–7
19April 22@ Marlins5–3Ashby (3–0)Burkett—17,47312–7
20April 23@ Marlins7–2Bergman (2–1)Hammond—19,66713–7
21April 24Cubs5–4Hamilton (4–1)FosterHoffman (4)15,60814–7
22April 25Cubs8–3Tewksbury (3–0)Bullinger—18,73615–7
23April 26Astros3–2Worrell (2–0)HamptonHoffman (5)21,25416–7
24April 27Astros0–6ReynoldsAshby (3–1)—38,30916–8
25April 28Astros2–3KileBergman (2–2)Jones27,20816–9
26April 29Astros2–0Hamilton (5–1)Brocail—8,97917–9
27April 30Giants4–9WatsonTewksbury (3–1)—14,17017–10 :
May: 17–10 (Home: 9–5; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
28May 1Giants9–4Valenzuela (1–1)Gardner—14,87818–10
29May 3Cardinals1–3OsborneAshby (3–2)Eckersley21,33518–11
30May 4Cardinals3–4StottlemyreBergman (2–3)Eckersley44,37518–12
31May 5Cardinals10–4Hamilton (6–1)Benes—27,43519–12
32May 8@ Pirates5–4Tewksbury (4–1)MayHoffman (6)—20–12
33May 8@ Pirates3–4ChristiansenSanders (0–1)Cordova8,50820–13
34May 9@ Pirates7–1Ashby (4–2)Wagner—10,86321–13
35May 10@ Reds6–8McElroyFlorie (1–1)Brantley22,50821–14
36May 11@ Reds0–1SmileyHamilton (6–2)Brantley24,98321–15
37May 12@ Reds5–0Tewksbury (5–1)Burba—22,78622–15
38May 13Mets5–2Valenzuela (2–1)Isringhausen—12,82923–15
39May 14Mets9–4Ashby (5–2)Wilson—12,16824–15
40May 15Mets4–3 (10)Worrell (3–0)Franco—12,16625–15
41May 16Mets3–6HarnischHamilton (6–3)Franco17,34125–16
42May 17Expos2–1 (12)Hoffman (2–1)Rojas—26,46926–16
43May 18Expos2–3UrbinaValenzuela (2–2)Rojas31,74926–17
44May 19Expos4–3Worrell (4–0)VeresHoffman (7)28,76927–17
45May 21Phillies4–5MulhollandBergman (2–4)Bottalico11,95427–18
46May 22Phillies5–2Hamilton (7–3)GraceHoffman (8)13,11828–18
47May 23Phillies7–5Sanders (1–1)SpringerHoffman (9)16,63229–18
48May 24@ Mets13–1Valenzuela (3–2)Isringhausen—24,75130–18
49May 25@ Mets7–2Ashby (6–2)Wilson—21,05731–18
50May 26@ Mets0–1JonesBergman (2–5)Franco20,40531–19
51May 27@ Expos4–3Hamilton (8–3)FasseroHoffman (10)44,63632–19
52May 28@ Expos3–2 (10)Hoffman (3–1)ScottBochtler (3)16,53733–19
53May 29@ Expos4–9UrbinaValenzuela (3–3)—14,38633–20
54May 31@ Phillies4–2Ashby (7–2)MulhollandHoffman (11)22,11034–20 :
June: 9–19 (Home: 3–12; Away: 6–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
55June 1@ Phillies8–3Bergman (3–5)Mimbs—27,62335–20
56June 2@ Phillies8–9 (12)BorlandHoffman (3–2)—32,03535–21
57June 3Cardinals0–3BenesTewksbury (5–2)—13,62535–22
58June 4Cardinals5–11PetkovsekWorrell (4–1)—13,42735–23
59June 5Cardinals6–4Hoffman (4–2)Fossas—12,21636–23
60June 7Pirates0–10SmithBergman (3–6)—20,31236–24
61June 8Pirates8–9 (14)CordovaBlair (0–3)—41,37836–25
62June 9Pirates0–6DarwinTewksbury (5–3)—30,93236–26
63June 10Reds3–6SmithBochtler (0–2)Brantley41,12036–27
64June 11Reds1–4JarvisValenzuela (3–4)Brantley12,02936–28
65June 12Reds4–9SmileyFlorie (1–2)—11,41136–29
66June 13@ Cubs3–6 (14)JonesBlair (0–4)—28,95336–30
67June 14@ Cubs1–5TrachselTewksbury (5–4)—30,87736–31
68June 15@ Cubs2–1Worrell (5–1)NavarroHoffman (12)39,46537–31
69June 16@ Cubs4–8CastilloValenzuela (3–5)Bullinger33,37637–32
70June 17@ Braves3–9MadduxBergman (3–7)—32,93437–33
71June 18@ Braves3–5ClontzHamilton (8–4)Wohlers32,73037–34
72June 19@ Braves1–5SmoltzTewksbury (5–5)—34,82337–35
73June 20Cubs2–3NavarroWorrell (5–2)Wendell19,96937–36
74June 21Cubs2–1 (10)Hoffman (5–2)Wendell—49,50338–36
75June 22Cubs6–9 (16)MyersBlair (0–5)—51,91738–37
76June 23Cubs5–4Hamilton (9–4)TelemacoHoffman (13)30,67239–37
77June 25Astros4–9JonesSanders (1–2)—13,45839–38
78June 26Astros3–4WallWorrell (5–3)Wagner12,38839–39
79June 27@ Giants11–1Valenzuela (4–5)Gardner—12,32540–39
80June 28@ Giants6–1Ashby (8–2)FernandezHoffman (14)13,12941–39
81June 29@ Giants7–6Blair (1–5)BeckHoffman (15)24,54042–39
82June 30@ Giants7–4Tewksbury (6–5)VanLandinghamHoffman (16)26,37343–39 :
July: 15–12 (Home: 9–4; Away: 6–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
83July 1Dodgers2–10CandiottiWorrell (5–4)—40,34343–40
84July 2Dodgers3–7AstacioValenzuela (4–6)—28,29443–41
85July 3Dodgers3–2Hamilton (10–4)MartinezHoffman (17)48,84144–41
86July 4Giants8–4Tewksbury (7–5)Leiter—14,11145–41
87July 5Giants7–6 (11)Bergman (4–7)Bautista—22,58946–41
88July 6Giants7–3Worrell (6–4)BourgeoisHoffman (18)51,02147–41
89July 7Giants10–3Valenzuela (5–6)Fernandez—32,69348–41
90July 11@ Rockies5–8 (10)RuffinHoffman (5–3)—45,70348–42
91July 12@ Rockies12–13HolmesBlair (1–6)—48,05348–43
92July 13@ Rockies6–11RitzSanders (1–3)—48,00948–44
93July 14@ Rockies4–8ReynosoValenzuela (5–7)—48,06548–45
94July 15@ Dodgers0–1 (10)GuthrieHoffman (5–4)—44,36848–46
95July 16@ Dodgers10–1Tewksbury (8–5)MartinezWorrell (1)52,43649–46
96July 17@ Dodgers5–4Florie (2–2)OsunaHoffman (19)42,42350–46
97July 18Rockies9–2Sanders (2–3)Ritz—24,21251–46
98July 19Rockies4–3Valenzuela (6–7)ReynosoHoffman (20)26,55952–46
99July 20Rockies4–5LeskanicBochtler (0–3)Ruffin55,04652–47
100July 21Rockies2–0Tewksbury (9–5)FreemanHoffman (21)36,68653–47
101July 22@ Astros0–1ReynoldsHamilton (10–5)Wagner21,56353–48
102July 23@ Astros7–4Sanders (3–3)HamptonHoffman (22)19,62054–48
103July 24@ Astros4–6 (10)HernandezVillone (0–1)—19,16854–49
104July 26@ Marlins3–0 (11)Hoffman (6–4)Pall—19,67755–49
105July 27@ Marlins20–12Villone (1–1)Mathews—26,18256–49
106July 28@ Marlins2–8LeiterHamilton (10–6)—22,68356–50
107July 29@ Marlins5–3Sanders (4–3)BrownHoffman (23)18,28157–50
108July 30Braves2–1Valenzuela (7–7)MadduxHoffman (24)24,11058–50
109July 31Braves4–7GlavineTewksbury (9–6)Wohlers24,25458–51 :
August: 18–10 (Home: 9–4; Away: 9–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
110August 1Braves2–3BieleckiWorrell (6–5)Wohlers24,08958–52
111August 2Marlins2–1Hoffman (7–4)Perez—18,23959–52
112August 3Marlins2–5BrownSanders (4–4)Nen55,41259–53
113August 4Marlins6–4Valenzuela (8–7)HammondHoffman (25)35,30260–53
114August 5@ Cardinals2–8BenesTewksbury (9–7)—28,65360–54
115August 6@ Cardinals1–0Worrell (7–5)OsborneHoffman (26)25,78261–54
116August 7@ Cardinals0–1PetkovsekBochtler (0–4)—24,82361–55
117August 8@ Pirates12–3Sanders (5–4)Peters—8,38862–55
118August 9@ Pirates4–1Valenzuela (9–7)MiceliHoffman (27)30,06663–55
119August 10@ Pirates6–2Veras (1–0)Plesac—21,90264–55
120August 11@ Pirates7–5Bergman (5–7)ParrisHoffman (28)27,22765–55
121August 13@ Reds4–10JarvisHamilton (10–7)—20,20565–56
122August 14@ Reds1–2 (13)SmithBergman (5–8)—20,98365–57
123August 15@ Reds2–3BurbaTewksbury (9–8)Brantley23,14365–58
124August 16Mets15–10Valenzuela (10–7)Person—23,69966–58
125August 17Mets3–7ClarkWorrell (7–6)Henry20,87366–59
126August 18Mets8–0Hamilton (11–7)Wilson—22,81067–59
127August 19Expos7–3Sanders (6–4)MartinezHoffman (29)33,49068–59
128August 20Expos3–0Tewksbury (10–8)CormierHoffman (30)18,42669–59
129August 21Expos7–2Valenzuela (11–7)Urbina—29,18270–59
130August 23Phillies4–7HunterWorrell (7–7)Bottalico22,10270–60
131August 24Phillies7–1Hamilton (12–7)Beech—31,02371–60
132August 25Phillies11–2Sanders (7–4)West—30,03672–60
133August 27@ Mets4–3Blair (2–6)MlickiHoffman (31)17,92573–60
134August 28@ Mets3–2 (12)Bergman (6–8)WallaceHoffman (32)17,44274–60
135August 29@ Mets3–2Hamilton (13–7)WilsonHoffman (33)17,01675–60
136August 30@ Expos6–0Sanders (8–4)Paniagua—14,13376–60
137August 31@ Expos2–4DaalTewksbury (10–9)Rojas18,23576–61 :
September: 15–10 (Home: 7–5; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
138September 1@ Expos6–7FasseroAshby (8–3)Rojas20,66676–62
139September 2@ Phillies5–1Valenzuela (12–7)Hunter—15,26377–62
140September 3@ Phillies2–8MimbsHamilton (13–8)Ryan16,79777–63
141September 4@ Phillies2–1Sanders (9–4)BeechHoffman (34)18,75478–63
142September 6@ Cardinals3–8PetkovsekTewksbury (10–10)—28,11678–64
143September 7@ Cardinals3–8OsborneAshby (8–4)—42,84678–65
144September 8@ Cardinals5–4Valenzuela (13–7)StottlemyreHoffman (35)30,89779–65
145September 9Pirates6–5Hermanson (1–0)WilkinsHoffman (36)15,72780–65
146September 10Pirates6–5Hoffman (8–4)Boever—15,69481–65
147September 11Pirates8–7Bochtler (1–4)Ericks—33,77182–65
148September 13Reds1–3MorganAshby (8–5)Brantley26,52482–66
149September 14Reds3–2 (12)Veras (2–0)Smith—25,23183–66
150September 15Reds8–0Hamilton (14–8)JarvisBlair (1)29,00584–66
151September 16@ Giants2–1 (11)Hoffman (9–4)Beck—8,85385–66
152September 17@ Giants7–9PooleVeras (2–1)Beck12,73785–67
153September 18@ Giants8–5Bochtler (2–4)DeLuciaHoffman (37)11,99686–67
154September 19Dodgers0–7MartinezValenzuela (13–8)—41,28786–68
155September 20Dodgers4–2Hamilton (15–8)CandiottiHoffman (38)51,21787–68
156September 21Dodgers2–9ValdezSanders (9–5)—53,62987–69
157September 22Dodgers3–2Ashby (9–5)NomoHoffman (39)51,09288–69
158September 24Rockies4–5 (11)RuffinHoffman (9–5)Swift23,55688–70
159September 25Rockies3–5ThompsonHamilton (15–9)Ruffin32,70688–71
160September 27@ Dodgers5–2 (10)Worrell (8–7)OsunaHoffman (40)53,29489–71
161September 28@ Dodgers4–2Worrell (9–7)DreifortHoffman (41)52,97790–71
162September 29@ Dodgers2–0 (11)Veras (3–1)ParkHoffman (42)53,27091–71 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Padres team member :

### Detailed records

National League :
| Opponent | W | L | WP | RS | RA |
| NL East |||||||
| Atlanta Braves | 4 | 9 | 0.308 | 34 | 56 |
| Florida Marlins | 9 | 3 | 0.750 | 66 | 45 |
| Montreal Expos | 8 | 4 | 0.667 | 50 | 37 |
| New York Mets | 10 | 3 | 0.769 | 77 | 43 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 8 | 4 | 0.667 | 67 | 46 |
| Total | 39 | 23 | 0.629 | 294 | 227 |
| NL Central |||||||
| Chicago Cubs | 6 | 6 | 0.500 | 49 | 54 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 3 | 9 | 0.250 | 38 | 48 |
| Houston Astros | 6 | 6 | 0.500 | 60 | 45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 9 | 4 | 0.692 | 72 | 62 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | 8 | 0.333 | 39 | 58 |
| Total | 28 | 33 | 0.459 | 258 | 267 |
| NL West |||||||
| Colorado Rockies | 5 | 8 | 0.385 | 83 | 83 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 8 | 5 | 0.615 | 43 | 49 |
| San Diego Padres | | | | | |
| San Francisco Giants | 11 | 2 | 0.846 | 93 | 56 |
| Total | 24 | 15 | 0.615 | 219 | 188 |
| Season Total | 91 | 71 | 0.562 | 771 | 682 |
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| April | 27 | 17 | 10 | 0.630 | 145 | 108 |
| May | 27 | 17 | 10 | 0.630 | 129 | 87 |
| June | 28 | 9 | 19 | 0.321 | 113 | 155 |
| July | 27 | 15 | 12 | 0.556 | 148 | 133 |
| August | 28 | 18 | 10 | 0.643 | 134 | 91 |
| September | 25 | 15 | 10 | 0.600 | 102 | 108 |
| Total | 162 | 91 | 71 | 0.562 | 771 | 682 |
| | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| Home | 81 | 45 | 36 | 0.556 | 356 | 337 |
| Away | 81 | 46 | 35 | 0.568 | 415 | 345 |
| Total | 162 | 91 | 71 | 0.562 | 771 | 682 |

### Notable transactions

* July 31, 1996: Marc Newfield was traded by the San Diego Padres with Bryce Florie and Ron Villone to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later and Greg Vaughn. The Milwaukee Brewers sent Gerald Parent (minors) (September 16, 1996) to the San Diego Padres to complete the trade.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | John Flaherty | 72 | 263 | 80 | .303 | 9 | 41 |
| 1B | Wally Joyner | 121 | 433 | 120 | .277 | 8 | 64 |
| 2B | Jody Reed | 146 | 495 | 121 | .244 | 2 | 49 |
| SS | Chris Gomez | 89 | 328 | 86 | .262 | 3 | 29 |
| 3B | Ken Caminiti | 146 | 546 | 178 | .326 | 40 | 130 |
| LF | Rickey Henderson | 148 | 465 | 112 | .241 | 9 | 29 |
| CF | Steve Finley | 161 | 655 | 195 | .298 | 30 | 95 |
| RF | Tony Gwynn | 116 | 451 | 159 | .353 | 3 | 50 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Brian Johnson | 82 | 243 | 66 | .272 | 8 | 35 |
| Archi Cianfrocco | 79 | 192 | 54 | .281 | 2 | 32 |
| Marc Newfield | 84 | 191 | 48 | .251 | 5 | 26 |
| Scott Livingstone | 102 | 172 | 51 | .297 | 2 | 20 |
| Andújar Cedeño | 49 | 154 | 36 | .234 | 3 | 18 |
| Brad Ausmus | 50 | 149 | 27 | .181 | 1 | 13 |
| Greg Vaughn | 43 | 141 | 29 | .206 | 10 | 22 |
| Luis López | 63 | 139 | 25 | .180 | 2 | 11 |
| Craig Shipley | 33 | 92 | 29 | .315 | 1 | 7 |
| Chris Gwynn | 81 | 90 | 16 | .178 | 1 | 10 |
| Rob Deer | 25 | 50 | 9 | .180 | 4 | 9 |
| Jason Thompson | 13 | 49 | 11 | .224 | 2 | 6 |
| Doug Dascenzo | 21 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Tatum | 5 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Mulligan | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Todd Steverson | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Joey Hamilton | 34 | 211.2 | 15 | 9 | 4.17 | 184 |
| Bob Tewksbury | 36 | 206.2 | 10 | 10 | 4.31 | 126 |
| Fernando Valenzuela | 33 | 171.2 | 13 | 8 | 3.62 | 95 |
| Andy Ashby | 24 | 150.2 | 9 | 5 | 3.23 | 85 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Scott Sanders | 46 | 144.0 | 9 | 5 | 3.38 | 157 |
| Tim Worrell | 50 | 121.0 | 9 | 7 | 3.05 | 99 |
| Sean Bergman | 41 | 113.1 | 6 | 8 | 4.37 | 85 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Trevor Hoffman | 70 | 9 | 5 | 42 | 2.25 | 111 |
| Doug Bochtler | 63 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3.02 | 68 |
| Willie Blair | 60 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4.60 | 67 |
| Bryce Florie | 39 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.01 | 51 |
| Dario Veras | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.79 | 23 |
| Ron Villone | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.95 | 19 |
| Al Osuna | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | 4 |
| Dustin Hermanson | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.56 | 11 |
| Mike Oquist | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.35 | 4 |
| Andrés Berumen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 4 |
| Glenn Dishman | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 | 0 |
| Pete Walker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |

## National League Division Series
### St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres

St. Louis wins the series, 3-0
| Game | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Date | Series |
| 1 | St. Louis | 3 | San Diego | 1 | October 1 | 1-0 (STL) |
| 2 | St. Louis | 5 | San Diego | 4 | October 3 | 2-0 (STL) |
| 3 | San Diego | 5 | St. Louis | 7 | October 5 | 3-0 (STL) |
The Cardinals and Padres began their rivalry in this series. The Cardinals' first of three postseason victories against the Padres took place here. Their dominance is overwhelming to the tune of only one loss against the Padres lifetime in the postseason.
A 3-run homer by Gary Gaetti off Joey Hamilton in Game 1 put the Cardinals up for good. Todd Stottlemyre pitched masterfully, allowing only one earned run on a solo home run by Rickey Henderson. Rick Honeycutt and Dennis Eckersley shut the Padres down for the win.
A well fought Game 2 saw the Cardinals squander two leads. Scott Sanders faced Andy Benes. Willie McGee put the Cardinals on top on the 3rd with an RBI single. Ken Caminiti tied the game with a leadoff homer in the 5th. Ron Gant cleared the bases with a double in the Cardinals 5th to make it 4-1. A 2 run single by Tony Gwynn made it a one run game in the Padres 6th. An RBI ground out by Steve Finley tied the game in the Padres 8th. But the Cardinals would score a run in the 8th on an RBI ground out that scored Brian Jordan. Dennis Eckersley got his 2nd save of the postseason.
In Game 3, the Cardinals looked to Donovan Osborne to put the Padres away. Opposing the potential sweep would be Andy Ashby. Brian Jordan put the Cardinals ahead when he singled to center field to score Royce Clayton. A would-be double play ball in the bottom of the 2nd helped the Padres take the lead 2-1. Then Ken Caminiti homered to make it 3-1 in the 3rd. An RBI single in the bottom of the 4th made it 4-1 Padres and Osborne was done. But the Cardinals were not about to let the series go another game. A leadoff homer by Ron Gant made it 4-2 in the 6th. But a one-out triple by John Mabry scored Jordan and a single would bring him home to tie the game at 4. The Cardinals would take the lead in the 7th when Ray Lankford scored on a double play. The Padres were now 6 outs from being eliminated. But when Caminiti hit his second homer of the game to tie it at 5, the Padres were still alive. However, the Cardinals put the game away in the top of the 9th when Jordan hit a two-run homer that proved to be the series winner. A one-out single by Rickey Henderson in the 9th put the tying run at the plate but nothing would be made of it as Eckersley got his 3rd save in as many tries to win the series.

## Award winners

* Ken Caminiti, National League Most Valuable Player
1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
* Tony Gwynn
* Ken Caminiti

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Las Vegas Stars | Pacific Coast League | Jerry Royster |
| AA | Memphis Chicks | Southern League | Ed Romero |
| A | Rancho Cucamonga Quakes | California League | Mike Basso |
| A | Clinton LumberKings | Midwest League | Mike Ramsey |
| Rookie | AZL Padres | Arizona League | Larry See |
| Rookie | Idaho Falls Braves | Pioneer League | Don Werner |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: AZL Padres