# 1998 San Diego Padres season

The 1998 San Diego Padres season was the 30th season in franchise history. The Padres won the National League championship and advanced to the World Series for the second time in franchise history.
San Diego featured five All-Stars: pitchers Andy Ashby, Kevin Brown, and Trevor Hoffman, and outfielders Tony Gwynn and Greg Vaughn. Brown and Hoffman were two of the premier pitchers in baseball for 1998. Brown led the staff in wins, earned run average, and strikeouts, and he also finished in the league's top five in each category. Hoffman saved 53 games and was voted the NL Rolaids Relief Man Award for best closer in the league. Ashby was the team's number two starter with 17 wins.
The Padres offense was led by Vaughn, who had the greatest season of his career in 1998. He ended up winning both the Comeback Player of the Year Award and the Silver Slugger Award. And in a season headlined by sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, Vaughn was matching them in home runs before finishing with 50 (compared to 70 for McGwire and 66 for Sosa). Former MVP Ken Caminiti was second on the team in home runs and runs batted in. Gwynn had a .321 batting average.
In the regular season, San Diego won the NL Western Division. Their 98–64 record was third-best in the National League, behind the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves. Facing those teams in the NLDS and NLCS respectively, the Padres defeated both teams 3-1 and 4-2 to win their second NL pennant. The Padres were swept in the World Series by the New York Yankees.

## Offseason

* November 26, 1997: Jorge Velandia was traded by the San Diego Padres with Doug Bochtler to the Oakland Athletics for David Newhan and Don Wengert.
* December 15, 1997: Derrek Lee was traded by the San Diego Padres with Steve Hoff (minors) and Rafael Medina to the Florida Marlins for Kevin Brown.

## Regular season
### Opening Day starters

| Player | Pos |
| Quilvio Veras | 2B |
| Steve Finley | CF |
| Tony Gwynn | RF |
| Ken Caminiti | 3B |
| Greg Vaughn | LF |
| Wally Joyner | 1B |
| Carlos Hernández | C |
| Chris Gomez | SS |
| Kevin Brown | P |

### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| San Diego Padres | 98 | 64 | .605 | — | 54‍–‍27 | 44‍–‍37 |
| San Francisco Giants | 89 | 74 | .546 | 9½ | 49‍–‍32 | 40‍–‍42 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 83 | 79 | .512 | 15 | 48‍–‍33 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Colorado Rockies | 77 | 85 | .475 | 21 | 42‍–‍39 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 65 | 97 | .401 | 33 | 34‍–‍47 | 31‍–‍50 |

### Game Log

1998 game log: 98–64 (Home: 54–27; Away: 44–37) :
March/April: 19–7 (Home: 9–3; Away: 10–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
1March 31@ Reds10–2Brown (1–0)Remlinger (0–1)—54,5781–0W1
2April 1@ Reds10–9Hamilton (1–0)Sullivan (0–1)Hoffman (1)13,7062–0W2
3April 2@ Reds1–5Cooke (1–0)Ashby (0–1)Shaw (1)13,6302–1L1
4April 3@ Cardinals13–5Langston (1–0)Aybar (0–1)—26,7603–1W1
5April 4@ Cardinals6–8Mercker (1–0)Smith (0–1)Bottenfield (1)34,2923–2L1
6April 5@ Cardinals8–7Hoffman (1–0)Looper (0–1)Miceli (1)35,4994–2W1
7April 7Reds3–2 (10)Hoffman (2–0)Shaw (0–1)—55,4545–2W2
8April 8Reds6–3Ashby (1–1)White (0–1)Hoffman (2)19,6266–2W3
9April 9Reds6–2Boehringer (1–0)Tomko (1–1)—24,4827–2W4
10April 10Diamondbacks6–4Miceli (1–0)Rodriguez (0–1)—27,2438–2W5
11April 11Diamondbacks7–0Smith (1–1)Adamson (0–1)—37,7539–2W6
12April 12Diamondbacks4–2Hamilton (2–0)Blair (0–3)Hoffman (3)26,21710–2W7
13April 13Diamondbacks1–0Ashby (2–1)Anderson (1–2)—36,27811–2W8
14April 14@ Giants7–13Tavarez (2–1)Boehringer (1–1)—11,66911–3L1
15April 15@ Giants1–0Brown (2–0)Darwin (1–1)—16,25512–3W1
16April 17@ Pirates7–5Boehringer (2–1)Tabaka (0–1)Hoffman (4)12,55513–3W2
17April 18@ Pirates7–5 (10)Miceli (2–0)Loiselle (1–1)Hoffman (5)14,72814–3W3
–April 19@ PiratesPostponed (rain); rescheduled for May 20
18April 21@ Cubs3–5Trachsel (3–1)Brown (2–1)Beck (7)20,36314–4L1
19April 22@ Cubs3–2 (14)Boehringer (3–1)Telemaco (0–1)Reyes (1)15,85215–4W1
20April 23@ Cubs4–1Ashby (3–1)Clark (2–2)Hoffman (6)20,27616–4W2
21April 24Pirates2–4Schmidt (3–1)Smith (1–2)Rincon (1)26,41316–5L1
22April 25Pirates4–3 (16)Reyes (1–0)Martinez (0–1)—53,71017–5W1
23April 26Pirates0–6Lieber (1–3)Brown (2–2)—42,28117–6L1
24April 27Cubs1–3Tapani (4–1)Hamilton (2–1)Beck (8)20,10617–7L2
25April 28Cubs7–3Ashby (4–1)Clark (2–3)Hitchcock (1)21,02418–7W1
26April 30@ Marlins4–1Smith (2–2)Meadows (3–3)Hoffman (7)14,56219–7W2 :
May: 16–14 (Home: 8–2; Away: 8–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
27May 1@ Marlins5–6 (11)Powell (3–2)Miceli (2–1)—19,46519–8L1
28May 2@ Marlins8–7Hamilton (3–1)Ludwick (1–3)Hoffman (8)22,38320–8W1
29May 3@ Marlins0–1Sanchez (1–1)Ashby (4–2)Powell (1)18,64420–9L1
30May 4@ Brewers13–5Hitchcock (1–0)Mercedes (2–2)Wengert (1)9,35721–9W1
31May 5@ Brewers13–4Smith (3–2)Wagner (1–3)—9,16222–9W2
32May 6@ Brewers2–3D. Jones (2–1)Reyes (1–1)—13,38122–10L1
33May 7@ Braves3–6Smoltz (3–0)Hamilton (3–2)Ligtenberg (3)31,81122–11L2
34May 8@ Braves3–2Ashby (5–2)Glavine (4–2)Hoffman (9)37,49023–11W1
35May 9@ Braves4–6Millwood (5–1)Van Ryn (0–1)Ligtenberg (4)46,16023–12L1
36May 10@ Braves5–8Cather (2–1)Wall (0–1)Ligtenberg (5)33,37623–13L2
37May 11Mets2–1Brown (3–2)A. Leiter (3–2)Hoffman (10)15,29124–13W1
–May 12MetsPostponed (rain); rescheduled for May 14
38May 13Mets3–4B. Jones (2–3)Hamilton (3–3)Franco (7)14,92924–14L1
39May 14 (1)Mets3–1Boehringer (4–1)Cook (2–2)Hoffman (11)N/A25–14W1
40May 14 (2)Mets6–2Miceli (3–1)McMichael (1–1)—26,48826–14W2
41May 15Phillies7–6Boehringer (5–1)Grace (1–5)Hoffman (12)25,15727–14W3
42May 16Phillies3–2Reyes (2–1)M. Leiter (2–1)—53,11728–14W4
43May 17Phillies3–1Wall (1–1)Schilling (5–4)Hoffman (13)27,91329–14W5
44May 19@ Pirates0–3Silva (5–3)Hamilton (3–4)Loiselle (10)10,49329–15L1
45May 20 (1)@ Pirates2–5Cordova (5–3)Ashby (5–3)Loiselle (11)N/A29–16L2
46May 20 (2)@ Pirates8–3Hitchcock (2–0)Peters (0–3)—17,24830–16W1
47May 21@ Pirates2–3Schmidt (7–1)Brown (3–3)Rincon (2)10,22230–17L1
48May 22@ Astros9–6Miceli (4–1)Nitkowski (1–2)Hoffman (14)28,55031–17W1
49May 23@ Astros3–4Miller (2–0)Miceli (4–2)Wagner (12)36,28131–18L1
50May 24@ Astros2–5Schourek (2–2)Hamilton (3–5)Wagner (13)25,70131–19L2
51May 25@ Diamondbacks2–3Springer (3–2)Ashby (5–4)Olson (5)45,36731–20L3
52May 26@ Diamondbacks12–1Brown (4–3)Suppan (1–5)—41,20432–20W1
53May 27@ Diamondbacks6–4Wall (2–1)Benes (3–5)Hoffman (15)42,84433–20W2
54May 29Cardinals3–8Petkovsek (3–1)Hamilton (3–6)—36,64833–21L1
55May 30Cardinals3–2Ashby (6–4)Brantley (0–1)—54,08934–21W1
56May 31Cardinals7–3Brown (5–3)Lowe (0–1)—42,61835–21W2 :
June: 18–9 (Home: 13–4; Away: 5–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
57June 1Cardinals3–2Hitchcock (3–0)Stottlemyre (6–5)Hoffman (16)22,15636–21W3
58June 2Astros3–4Reynolds (6–3)Reyes (2–2)Wagner (15)15,73536–22L1
59June 3Astros2–8Bergman (5–3)Hamilton (3–7)—13,22936–23L2
60June 4Astros5–1Ashby (7–4)Hampton (7–3)—21,02737–23W1
61June 5@ Rangers7–8Crabtree (3–0)Wall (2–2)Wetteland (15)37,90337–24L1
62June 6@ Rangers0–3Burkett (4–5)Hitchcock (3–1)Wetteland (16)46,02237–25L2
63June 7@ Rangers17–8Miceli (5–2)Patterson (1–2)—46,37238–25W1
64June 8Reds4–2Hamilton (4–7)Sullivan (1–3)Hoffman (17)14,62039–25W2
65June 9Reds5–1Ashby (8–4)Tomko (5–5)Hoffman (18)14,85740–25W3
66June 10Reds2–1Brown (6–3)Shaw (1–3)—12,95741–25W4
67June 12Giants10–3Miceli (6–2)Reed (2–1)—60,78942–25W5
68June 13Giants4–2Hamilton (5–7)Gardner (5–3)Hoffman (19)54,39043–25W6
69June 14Giants3–2Ashby (9–4)Darwin (6–4)Hoffman (20)40,15144–25W7
70June 16Dodgers10–6Brown (7–3)Park (5–4)Hoffman (21)38,16645–25W8
71June 17Dodgers3–2 (12)Hoffman (3–0)Reyes (0–2)—35,76546–25W9
72June 18@ Giants7–6Ramirez (1–0)Johnstone (2–4)Miceli (2)16,89947–25W10
73June 19@ Giants9–5Ashby (10–4)Darwin (6–5)—23,03448–25W11
74June 20@ Giants2–5Estes (6–5)Langston (1–1)Nen (22)35,78248–26L1
75June 21@ Giants5–1Brown (8–3)Hershiser (6–5)Hoffman (22)46,50649–26W1
76June 22@ Mariners5–3Miceli (7–2)Fassero (5–5)Hoffman (23)41,57150–26W2
77June 23@ Mariners3–5Moyer (5–6)Hamilton (5–8)Slocumb (2)30,96150–27L1
78June 24Mariners1–2Johnson (7–6)Ashby (10–5)—36,90050–28L2
79June 25Mariners6–0Langston (2–1)Cloude (3–7)Wall (1)32,62651–28W1
80June 26Angels6–3Brown (9–3)Dickson (8–5)Hoffman (24)40,62152–28W2
81June 27Angels5–1Hitchcock (4–1)Olivares (5–3)—31,94853–28W3
82June 28Angels3–11Washburn (4–0)Hamilton (5–9)—41,54753–29L1
83June 30@ Athletics10–12Taylor (3–5)Miceli (7–3)Fetters (4)10,26353–30L2 :
July: 18–8 (Home: 8–2; Away: 10–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
84July 1@ Athletics8–4Brown (10–3)Stein (3–5)—10,15454–30W1
85July 2@ Athletics2–7Rogers (8–3)Hitchcock (4–2)—40,37454–31L1
86July 3Rockies4–2Hamilton (6–9)DeJean (3–1)Hoffman (25)40,58855–31W1
87July 4Rockies9–1Langston (3–1)Jones (2–3)—61,14856–31W2
88July 5Rockies7–2Ashby (11–5)Astacio (6–9)—32,64957–31W3
69th All-Star Game in Denver, Colorado
89July 9@ Dodgers3–12Park (8–5)Langston (3–2)—41,25057–32L1
90July 10@ Dodgers2–6Osuna (5–0)Miceli (7–4)—53,24557–33L2
91July 11@ Dodgers4–1Ashby (12–5)Valdez (6–9)Hoffman (26)48,95058–33W1
92July 12@ Dodgers6–3Hamilton (7–9)Bohanon (2–5)Hoffman (27)42,05659–33W2
93July 13@ Rockies5–9Jones (3–3)Hitchcock (4–3)—48,09859–34L1
94July 14@ Rockies8–7Sanders (1–2)Kile (6–12)Hoffman (28)48,11460–34W1
95July 15@ Rockies6–2Brown (11–3)Wright (5–9)—48,36961–34W2
96July 17@ Reds13–3Ashby (13–5)Remlinger (6–10)—26,44362–34W3
97July 18@ Reds2–1Hamilton (8–9)Harnisch (7–4)Hoffman (29)30,28963–34W4
98July 19@ Reds7–6Wall (3–2)Hudek (2–5)Hoffman (30)23,43964–34W5
99July 20Cardinals1–13Morris (1–0)Langston (3–3)—32,33964–35L1
100July 21Cardinals6–3Brown (12–3)Mercker (5–8)Hoffman (31)37,14565–35W1
101July 22Diamondbacks9–3Ashby (14–5)Blair (4–14)—18,78066–35W2
102July 23Diamondbacks3–0Hamilton (9–9)Anderson (7–9)Hoffman (32)24,27867–35W3
103July 24Astros1–2Schourek (6–6)Hitchcock (4–4)Magnante (2)31,04767–36L1
104July 25Astros6–5Langston (4–3)Reynolds (12–6)Hoffman (33)54,17668–36W1
105July 26Astros5–4 (10)Wall (4–2)Magnante (3–5)—41,03469–36W2
106July 28@ Mets3–7Nomo (5–8)Ashby (14–6)McMichael (2)21,00569–37L1
107July 29@ Mets6–7Rojas (4–2)Wall (4–3)Franco (21)23,69469–38L2
108July 30@ Mets3–1 (10)Miceli (8–4)Cook (6–4)Hoffman (34)22,88270–38W1
109July 31@ Expos5–4Brown (13–3)Pavano (3–5)Hoffman (35)10,34071–38W2 :
August: 18–11 (Home: 10–6; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
110August 1@ Expos2–4Bennett (4–4)Langston (4–4)Urbina (24)28,93771–39L1
111August 2@ Expos4–1Ashby (15–6)Vasquez (3–10)Hoffman (36)14,48572–39W1
112August 3@ Expos1–6Hermanson (9–9)Boehringer (5–2)—10,12972–40L1
113August 4Phillies3–1Hitchcock (5–4)Beech (3–8)Hoffman (37)22,12573–40W1
114August 5Phillies4–0Brown (14–3)Schilling (10–11)—19,10974–40W2
115August 6Phillies2–3 (11)Leiter (6–2)Hoffman (3–1)—19,00774–41L1
116August 7Marlins6–3 (13)Sanders (2–2)Speier (0–1)—39,14575–41W1
117August 9Marlins6–5Hitchcock (6–4)Larkin (3–7)Hoffman (38)21,06576–41W2
118August 10Marlins2–3Hernandez (10–8)Brown (14–4)—41,51476–42L1
119August 11Braves3–1Hamilton (10–9)Neagle (11–10)Hoffman (39)31,43077–42W1
120August 12Braves5–1Ashby (16–6)Maddux (15–6)—40,59778–42W2
121August 13Braves0–5Glavine (16–4)Langston (4–5)—34,54778–43L1
122August 14Brewers7–0Hitchcock (7–4)Karl (9–7)—38,63979–43W1
123August 16 (1)Brewers4–0Brown (15–4)Roque (0–1)—N/A80–43W2
124August 16 (2)Brewers2–4Pulsipher (1–0)Hamilton (10–10)Wickman (20)29,31980–44L1
125August 18@ Marlins7–5Miceli (9–4)Alfonseca (2–6)Hoffman (40)23,27581–44W1
126August 19@ Marlins0–6Meadows (10–9)Hitchcock (7–5)—15,40981–45L1
127August 20@ Braves2–0Brown (16–4)Millwood (14–7)Hoffman (41)43,73082–45W1
128August 21@ Braves4–5Smoltz (12–2)Hamilton (10–11)Ligtenberg (21)48,26882–46L1
129August 22@ Brewers4–8Roque (1–1)Langston (4–6)Wickman (21)26,25382–47L2
130August 23@ Brewers13–11 (10)Hoffman (4–1)Wickman (6–7)—27,64183–47W1
131August 24@ Brewers7–2Hitchcock (8–5)Woodard (9–9)—14,12184–47W2
132August 25@ Phillies5–3Brown (17–4)Schilling (12–12)Hoffman (42)18,10085–47W3
133August 26@ Phillies2–0Hamilton (11–11)Portugal (8–4)Hoffman (43)15,65686–47W4
134August 27@ Phillies8–1Spencer (1–0)Byrd (2–1)—23,37187–47W5
135August 28Expos12–8Wall (5–3)Maddux (2–3)—21,51888–47W6
136August 29Expos1–3Hermanson (12–10)Hitchcock (8–6)Urbina (27)52,66188–48L1
137August 30Expos1–2Bullinger (1–0)Brown (17–5)Urbina (28)21,76588–49L2
138August 31Expos5–2Hamilton (12–11)Pavano (4–7)Hoffman (44)13,44989–49W1 :
September: 9–15 (Home: 6–10; Away: 3–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
139September 1Mets9–8Myers (4–4)Wendell (4–1)Hoffman (45)18,48990–49W2
140September 2Mets1–4Reynoso (6–1)Ashby (16–7)Franco (31)17,56590–50L1
141September 4@ Rockies5–11Veres (3–1)Sanders (2–3)—44,59690–51L2
142September 5@ Rockies4–2Brown (18–5)Kile (10–16)Hoffman (46)42,93091–51W1
143September 6@ Rockies2–12Wright (9–12)Hamilton (12–12)—46,24091–52L1
144September 7Giants4–5Tavarez (4–3)Myers (4–5)Nen (35)19,39391–53L2
145September 8Giants1–5Rueter (15–9)Ashby (16–8)—19,36291–54L3
146September 9Giants8–3Hitchcock (9–6)Estes (7–10)Hoffman (47)26,58992–54W1
147September 10Dodgers3–4Park (13–8)Brown (18–6)Shaw (42)26,01892–55L1
148September 11Dodgers1–0Hamilton (13–12)Bohanon (6–10)Hoffman (48)32,83093–55W1
149September 12Dodgers8–7Sanders (3–3)Maloney (0–1)Hoffman (49)60,82394–55W2
150September 13Dodgers4–5 (10)Weaver (1–0)Wall (5–4)Shaw (43)37,39094–56L1
151September 14Cubs4–3Miceli (10–4)Karchner (5–5)Hoffman (50)23,94895–56W1
152September 15Cubs2–4Tapani (19–7)Brown (18–7)Beck (47)37,99595–57L1
153September 16Cubs3–6Mulholland (5–5)Miceli (10–5)Beck (48)49,98195–58L2
154September 17Cubs3–4 (10)Heredia (3–3)Hoffman (4–2)Beck (49)32,04795–59L3
155September 18Rockies1–4Astacio (13–14)Ashby (16–9)Veres (6)28,15895–60L4
156September 19Rockies4–1Clement (1–0)Thomson (8–11)Hoffman (51)54,04296–60W1
157September 20Rockies0–1 (11)Kile (13–16)Myers (4–6)Veres (7)37,93996–61L1
158September 22@ Dodgers2–3Park (14–9)Hamilton (13–13)Shaw (45)29,25596–62L2
159September 23@ Dodgers3–2Ashby (17–9)Bohanon (7–11)Hoffman (52)29,16397–62W1
160September 25@ Diamondbacks3–6Olson (3–4)Myers (4–7)—47,28897–63L1
161September 26@ Diamondbacks2–3Telemaco (7–10)Hitchcock (9–7)Olson (30)48,19697–64L2
162September 27@ Diamondbacks3–2Clement (2–0)Small (4–2)Hoffman (53)48,39098–64W1 :

### Postseason

1998 postseason game log: 7-7 (Home: 3-4; Away: 4-3) :
National League Division Series: 3-1 (Home: 2-0; Away: 1-1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceSeries
1Sep 29@ Astros2–150,0801-0
2Oct 1@ Astros4–545,5501-1
3Oct 3Astros2–165,2352-1
4Oct 4Astros6–164,8983-1 :
National League Championship Series: 4-2 (Home: 1-2; Away: 3-0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceSeries
1Oct 7@ Braves3–2 (10)42,1171-0
2Oct 8@ Braves3–043,0832-0
3Oct 10Braves4–162,7993-0
4Oct 11Braves3–865,0423-1
5Oct 12Braves6–758,9883-2
6Oct 14@ Braves5–050,9884-2 :
World Series: 0-4 (Home: 0-2; Away: 0-2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceSeries
1Oct 17@ Yankees6–956,7120-1
2Oct 18@ Yankees3–956,6920-2
3Oct 20Yankees4–564,6670-3
4Oct 21Yankees0–365,4270-4 :

### Record vs. opponents

1998 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LA | MIL | MTL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | AL |
| Arizona | — | 1–8 | 5–7 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 6–2 | 4–5 | 4–8 | 6–3 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 2–7 | 6–3 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 5–8 |
| Atlanta | 8–1 | — | 3–6 | 7–2 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 8–1 | 7–2 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 9–7 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | 6–3 | — | 6–5 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 4–7 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 7–2 | 4–5 | 3–6 | 8–3 | 5–4 | 7–3 | 4–7 | 5–8 |
| Cincinnati | 5–4 | 2–7 | 5–6 | — | 4–5 | 9–0 | 3–8 | 5–4 | 6–5 | 8–1 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 5–7 | 1–11 | 2–7 | 8–3 | 7-6 |
| Colorado | 6–6 | 3–5 | 2–7 | 5–4 | — | 6–3 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 7–2 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 3–6 | 4–8 |
| Florida | 2–6 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 0–9 | 3–6 | — | 3–6 | 4–5 | 0–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 0–9 | 4–5 | 8–8 |
| Houston | 5–4 | 5–4 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 6-3 | — | 3–6 | 9–2 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 7–2 | 9–2 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 5–7 | 10–4 |
| Los Angeles | 8–4 | 1–8 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 5–4 | 6–3 | — | 5–4 | 5–4 | 3–5 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 4–5 | 8–5 |
| Milwaukee | 3–6 | 2–7 | 6–6 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 9–0 | 2–9 | 4–5 | — | 6–3 | 1–8 | 4–5 | 6–5 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 3–8 | 8–6 |
| Montreal | 7–2 | 6–6 | 2–7 | 1–8 | 2–7 | 7–5 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 3–6 | — | 8–4 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 4–4 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 6–10 |
| New York | 5–4 | 3–9 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 6–3 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 5–3 | 8–1 | 4–8 | — | 8–4 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 9–7 |
| Philadelphia | 7-2 | 4–8 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 4–8 | — | 8–1 | 1–8 | 2–6 | 3–6 | 7–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–6 | 2–7 | 3–8 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 2–9 | 5–7 | 5–6 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 1–8 | — | 5–4 | 2–7 | 6–5 | 6–7 |
| San Diego | 9–3 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 11–1 | 7–5 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 7–5 | 6–3 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 8–1 | 4–5 | — | 8–4 | 6–3 | 6–7 |
| San Francisco | 7–5 | 2–7 | 3–7 | 7–2 | 5–7 | 9–0 | 3–6 | 6–6 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 6–2 | 7–2 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 8–5 |
| St. Louis | 7–2 | 3–6 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 6–3 | 5-4 | 7–5 | 5–4 | 8–3 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 6–3 | 5–6 | 3–6 | 5–7 | — | 4–9 |

### Notable transactions

* April 8, 1998: Buddy Carlyle was traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the San Diego Padres for Marc Kroon.
* June 20, 1998: Jim Leyritz was traded by the Boston Red Sox with Ethan Faggett (minors) to the San Diego Padres for Carlos Reyes, Mandy Romero, and Darío Veras.
* August 6, 1998: Randy Myers was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the San Diego Padres for Brian Loyd (minors).
* August 31, 1998: John Vander Wal was traded by the Colorado Rockies to the San Diego Padres for a player to be named later. The San Diego Padres sent Kevin Burford (minors) (October 29, 1998) to the Colorado Rockies 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 | Carlos Hernández | 129 | 390 | 102 | .262 | 9 | 52 |
| 1B | Wally Joyner | 131 | 439 | 131 | .298 | 12 | 80 |
| 2B | Quilvio Veras | 138 | 517 | 138 | .267 | 6 | 45 |
| SS | Chris Gomez | 145 | 449 | 120 | .267 | 4 | 39 |
| 3B | Ken Caminiti | 131 | 452 | 114 | .252 | 29 | 82 |
| LF | Greg Vaughn | 158 | 573 | 156 | .272 | 50 | 119 |
| CF | Steve Finley | 159 | 619 | 154 | .249 | 14 | 67 |
| RF | Tony Gwynn | 127 | 461 | 148 | .321 | 16 | 69 |

#### 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 |
| Andy Sheets | 88 | 194 | 47 | .242 | 7 | 29 |
| Mark Sweeney | 122 | 192 | 45 | .234 | 2 | 15 |
| Rubén Rivera | 95 | 172 | 36 | .209 | 6 | 29 |
| Greg Myers | 69 | 171 | 42 | .246 | 4 | 20 |
| Jim Leyritz | 62 | 143 | 38 | .266 | 4 | 18 |
| Ed Giovanola | 92 | 139 | 32 | .230 | 1 | 9 |
| Archi Cianfrocco | 40 | 72 | 9 | .125 | 1 | 5 |
| James Mouton | 55 | 63 | 12 | .190 | 0 | 7 |
| George Arias | 20 | 36 | 7 | .194 | 1 | 4 |
| Eddie Williams | 17 | 28 | 4 | .143 | 0 | 3 |
| John Vander Wal | 20 | 25 | 6 | .240 | 0 | 0 |
| Mandy Romero | 6 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Davis | 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 |
| Kevin Brown | 36 | 257.0 | 18 | 7 | 2.38 | 257 |
| Andy Ashby | 33 | 226.2 | 17 | 9 | 3.34 | 151 |
| Joey Hamilton | 34 | 217.1 | 13 | 13 | 4.27 | 147 |
| Sterling Hitchcock | 39 | 176.1 | 9 | 7 | 3.93 | 158 |
| Mark Langston | 22 | 81.1 | 4 | 6 | 5.86 | 56 |
| Stan Spencer | 6 | 30.2 | 1 | 0 | 4.70 | 31 |

#### 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 |
| Pete Smith | 10 | 43.1 | 3 | 2 | 4.78 | 36 |
| Matt Clement | 4 | 13.2 | 2 | 0 | 4.61 | 13 |

#### 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 | 66 | 4 | 2 | 53 | 1.48 | 86 |
| Dan Miceli | 67 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3.22 | 70 |
| Brian Boehringer | 56 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4.36 | 67 |
| Donne Wall | 46 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2.43 | 56 |
| Scott Sanders | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4.11 | 26 |
| Roberto Ramírez | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.14 | 17 |
| Carlos Reyes | 22 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3.58 | 24 |
| Randy Myers | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6.28 | 9 |
| Don Wengert | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5.93 | 5 |
| Ben Van Ryn | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10.13 | 1 |
| Jim Bruske | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 4 |
| Will Cunnane | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 1 |
| Marc Kroon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |

## League honors
### All-Stars

* Andy Ashby
* Kevin Brown
* Tony Gwynn, starter
* Trevor Hoffman
* Greg Vaughn

### Awards

* Rolaids Relief Award: Trevor Hoffman
* Comeback Player of the Year Award: Greg Vaughn
* Silver Slugger Award: Greg Vaughn (OF)

### Statistical leaders

Kevin Brown
* #2 ERA (2.38)
* #2 Strikeouts (257)
* #2 WHIP (1.07)
* #2 Innings Pitched (257)
* #4 Wins (18)
* #4 Complete Games (7)
Tony Gwynn
* #1 At-Bats Per Strikeout (25.6)
Trevor Hoffman
* #1 Saves (53)
Greg Vaughn
* #3 Home runs (50)
* #5 Slugging percentage (.597)
* #5 Total Bases (342)

## National League Division Series
### Houston Astros vs. San Diego Padres

San Diego wins the series, 3-1
| Game | Visitor | Score | Home | Score | Date | Series |
| 1 | San Diego | 2 | Houston | 1 | September 29 | 1-0 (SD) |
| 2 | San Diego | 4 | Houston | 5 | October 1 | 1-1 |
| 3 | Houston | 1 | San Diego | 2 | October 3 | 2-1 (SD) |
| 4 | Houston | 1 | San Diego | 6 | October 4 | 3-1 (SD) |

## National League Championship Series

| Game | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Score | Record (SD-Atl) | Attendance |
| 1 | October 7 | San Diego | 3 | Atlanta | 2 | 1-0 | 42,117 |
| 2 | October 8 | San Diego | 3 | Atlanta | 0 | 2-0 | 43,083 |
| 3 | October 10 | Atlanta | 1 | San Diego | 4 | 3-0 | 62,779 |
| 4 | October 11 | Atlanta | 8 | San Diego | 3 | 3-1 | 65,042 |
| 5 | October 12 | Atlanta | 7 | San Diego | 6 | 3-2 | 58,988 |
| 6 | October 14 | San Diego | 5 | Atlanta | 0 | 4-2 | 50,988 |
| San Diego wins series 4–2 and advances to the World Series ||||||||

## World Series
### Game 1

October 17, 1998, at Yankee Stadium in New York City
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| San Diego | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 1 |
| New York | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | X | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| WP: David Wells (1-0) LP: Donne Wall (0-1) Sv: Mariano Rivera (1) Home runs: SD: Greg Vaughn 2 (2), Tony Gwynn (1) NYY: Chuck Knoblauch (1), Tino Martinez (1) |||||||||||||
In Game 1, Kevin Brown took the hill for the Padres and he was opposed by Yankee ace and ALCS MVP David Wells. The Yankees began the scoring in the 2nd inning, when rookie Ricky Ledée laced a 2-run double into the right field corner with the bases loaded. Wells was battered hard for the only time in the postseason beginning with the 3rd when Greg Vaughn homered to right-center with a man aboard tying the game up at 2 runs apiece. In the 5th, Tony Gwynn smashed a 2-run shot off the facing of the upper deck and that was followed up immediately by Vaughn's second dinger of the night. Trailing 5–2, the Yanks made their comeback in the 7th. Jorge Posada singled and Ledee walked ending the night for Brown. It turned out to be a bad move by Padres manager Bruce Bochy. New York took advantage of the Padres bullpen with a 3-run homer by Chuck Knoblauch that tied the game at 5. Later in the inning, a 2-2 count call by home plate umpire Rich Garcia was decisive. Mark Langston's pitch was shown on television replays to be a strike, which Rich Garcia called a ball. Tino Martinez took advantage of Garcia's call and on the next pitch sent a grand slam into the upper deck making it a 9–5 lead. The Padres score only one more run as the Yankees won game one, 9–6.

### Game 2

October 18, 1998, at Yankee Stadium in New York City
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| San Diego | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| New York | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 9 | 16 | 0 |
| WP: Orlando Hernández (1-0) LP: Andy Ashby (0-1) Home runs: SD: None NYY: Bernie Williams (1), Jorge Posada (1) |||||||||||||
In Game 2, the Bombers took a big early lead, thanks to a dreadful outing by San Diego starter Andy Ashby. Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada hit home runs to assist the Yankees on offense. New York started Cuban import, Orlando Hernández, who was outstanding.

### Game 3

October 20, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| San Diego | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| WP: Ramiro Mendoza (1-0) LP: Trevor Hoffman (0-1) Sv: Mariano Rivera (2) Home runs: NYY: Scott Brosius 2 (2) SD: None |||||||||||||
With the Yankees up 2–0, they sent David Cone to the mound to face former Yankee pitcher, Sterling Hitchcock, the MVP of the NLCS. Both teams were kept off the scoreboard until the bottom of the 6th when Hitchcock himself led off the inning with a single off Cone. He and Qulivio Veras both scored two batters later when Tony Gwynn shot a double down the line past Tino Martinez at first base. Gwynn also scored in the inning to give San Diego a 3–0 lead. However, a half inning later the Yanks jumped on Hitchcock for two runs beginning with a home run to left-center by Scott Brosius. The second run came in after Shane Spencer doubled and scored on an error by Ken Caminiti. In the 8th, the call was made to Trevor Hoffman after Randy Myers walked Paul O'Neill to open the inning. Hoffman then walked Tino Martinez before Scott Brosius tagged a three-run blast over the fence in dead center. With a 5–3 lead, the Yankees wrapped up the victory when Mariano Rivera picked up the save in the 9th to end it.

### Game 4

October 21, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| San Diego | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| WP: Andy Pettitte (1-0) LP: Kevin Brown (0-1) Sv: Mariano Rivera (3) |||||||||||||
New York's Andy Pettitte outpitched San Diego's Kevin Brown with 71⁄3 strong innings for the 3-0 Yankees victory, giving the Bombers their 24th title. Though New York's reliever Jeff Nelson allowed the Padres to load the bases, Mariano Rivera came in to end the threat by getting Jim Leyritz, known for his clutch postseason homers with San Diego, to fly out. Rivera added another scoreless inning for the save.

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Las Vegas Stars | Pacific Coast League | Jerry Royster |
| AA | Mobile BayBears | Southern League | Mike Ramsey |
| A | Rancho Cucamonga Quakes | California League | Carlos Lezcano |
| A | Clinton LumberKings | Midwest League | Tom LeVasseur |
| Rookie | AZL Padres | Arizona League | Randy Whisler |
| Rookie | Idaho Falls Braves | Pioneer League | Don Werner |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Mobile, Idaho Falls