# 1984 San Diego Padres season

The 1984 San Diego Padres season was the 16th season in franchise history. San Diego won the National League (NL) championship and advanced to the World Series, which they lost to the Detroit Tigers four games to one. The Padres were led by manager Dick Williams and third-year player Tony Gwynn, who won the NL batting title and finished third in voting for the NL Most Valuable Player Award.
In their first 15 seasons, the Padres had an overall won–lost record of 995–1372 for a .420 winning percentage, and finished with a winning record just once (1978). They had never finished higher than fourth in the National League West, and eight times they had finished in last place. However, they were coming off consecutive 81–81 seasons in Williams' two years as San Diego's manager. They won the NL West in 1984 with a 92–70 record, and set a then-franchise record in attendance, drawing nearly two million fans (1,983,904). They defeated the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS, three games to two, becoming the first NL team to win the pennant after being down 2–0. Steve Garvey was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player.
Owner Ray Kroc died on January 14, making this the Padres' first season under the sole ownership of Kroc's widow Joan. Joan Kroc would continue to own the team until 1990. This would be the final season that the team would wear their pullover mustard yellow & chocolate brown uniforms. They would switch to a more traditional buttoned down look with pinstripes the next season.

## Offseason

* October 21, 1983: Sandy Alomar Jr. was signed by the Padres as an amateur free agent.
* December 6, 1983: Joe Pittman and a player to be named later were traded by the Padres to the San Francisco Giants for Champ Summers. The Padres completed the deal by sending Tommy Francis (minors) to the Giants on December 7.
* December 7: Gary Lucas was traded by the Padres to the Montreal Expos as part of a three-team trade. The Expos sent Al Newman to the Padres, and the Chicago Cubs sent Carmelo Martínez, Craig Lefferts, and Fritzie Connally to the Padres. The Expos traded Scott Sanderson to the Cubs.
* January 6, 1984: Rich Gossage was signed as a free agent by the Padres.
* January 14: Owner Ray Kroc dies. Ownership passes to his wife, Joan B. Kroc.
* January 17: Rodney McCray was drafted by the Padres in the 9th round of the 1984 amateur draft.
* March 25: Second baseman Juan Bonilla waived.
* March 30: Dennis Rasmussen and a player to be named later were traded by the Padres to the New York Yankees for Graig Nettles. The Padres completed the deal by sending Darin Cloninger (minors) to the Yankees on April 26.

## Regular season

After spending $6 million to acquire free-agent first baseman Steve Garvey in 1983, the Padres signed free-agent reliever Goose Gossage to a five-year contract for $6.25 million in January 1984. The deal made Gossage the highest-salaried pitcher in baseball at the time. Manager Dick Williams, who had asked general manager Jack McKeon to obtain a strikeout-type reliever, declared that the acquisition made San Diego a playoff contender. Eight days after signing Gossage, Padres owner Ray Kroc died at the age of 81. The season was dedicated to his memory with the team wearing his initials, "RAK" on their jersey's left sleeve during the entire season. Ownership of the team passed to his wife, Joan Kroc.
In February, All-Star catcher Terry Kennedy underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after being bothered by continuous inflammation since the middle of 1983. During spring training, Alan Wiggins was named the team's new second baseman over incumbent Juan Bonilla, who was subsequently waived. In a gamble to generate offense, Wiggins had been moved from the outfield to make room in left field for Carmelo Martínez, who was moved from first base after being acquired in the offseason from the Chicago Cubs. The Padres were hoping to bolster their starting outfield, which produced just 23 homers in 1983. The rookie Martinez and center fielder Kevin McReynolds, whose 140 at-bats during the prior season disqualified him from being considered a rookie in 1984, were hyped by the media as the M&M Boys, alluding to the Yankees' 1960s power-hitting duo of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. The two Padre outfielders along with Garvey, Nettles, and Kennedy supplied San Diego with five regulars who had the potential to hit at least 20 home runs. Third-year right fielder Tony Gwynn entered the season with a .302 lifetime batting average, the highest on the club. Gwynn, McReynolds, and Martinez formed the youngest outfield in the majors. Shortstop Garry Templeton was relieved of pain from a left knee that had bothered him for years and was expected to anchor the infield, especially with Wiggins moving to second base. Templeton was also projected to bat leadoff for the Padres, but he was dropped to No. 8 in the order after he took a spike to his right knee toward the end of spring training. Three days before the season opener, 39-year-old third baseman Graig Nettles, a San Diego native, approved a trade from the New York Yankees to the Padres. A left-handed batter who had hit 333 career home runs, he was open to platooning with incumbent Luis Salazar, although Nettles was expected to get the majority of playing time given the larger number of right-handed starting pitchers in the majors. Heading into the season, Williams' biggest concern was their pitching. The starters largely relied on finesse and off-speed pitches, and none of them had ever won more than 16 games.
The Padres won their first four games of the season, and were 9–2 before leaving on their first road trip. They were 18–11 before losing seven in a row, their longest losing streak of the season. The streak was snapped on May 17, when Wiggins tied an NL record with five stolen bases, and the club swiped a team record of seven in a 5–4 home win over Montreal. They were tied for first in the West at the end of May, and were 2+1⁄2 games up by the end of June. After moving back into first place on June 9, they did not relinquish the lead the rest of the season. San Diego played at a steady pace, never falling below .500, while their longest winning streak was only six. For much of the final two months, they led the division by eight to ten games. San Diego clinched the division on September 20, when they beat San Francisco 5–4 behind a three-run homer by pitcher Tim Lollar, and Houston lost to Los Angeles 6–2 three hours later. The Padres finished the season with a 92–70 record, winning the NL West division by 12 games. It was just the second winning season in the franchise's history. The future Hall-of-Famer Gwynn batted .351 to capture the first of his eight NL batting titles, while also gathering 213 hits to shatter the Padres record of 194 established by Gene Richards in 1980. Eric Show (15–9, 3.40 ERA) was the only starting pitcher with 15 wins, though the four main starters all recorded at least 11. The acquisition of Gossage, who finished the season 10–6 with a 2.90 ERA and 25 saves, was a strong factor in San Diego's 34–24 record in one-run games.
The team relied on small ball and moving runners from base to base. With the exception of Gwynn, who finished third in balloting for the NL Most Valuable Player Award, no Padre enjoyed an outstanding season individually. McReynolds led the team with a .465 slugging percentage and was tied with Nettles for the team lead in home runs with 20. Only two other Padres exceeded 10 homers. Garvey led the club with 86 RBIs, the only Padre with more than 75. Coming off his thumb injury from 1983, he hit only eight home runs and drew just 24 walks, but had 175 hits and did not commit an error. Wiggins' move to second base proved successful, as he exhibited excellent range with his quickness in spite of his 32 fielding errors. Offensively as the leadoff hitter, he batted .258 and drew 75 walks for an on-base percentage of .342, while setting club records by stealing 70 bases and scoring 106 runs. Benefitting from the higher number of fastballs opposing pitchers threw in response to Wiggins' speed, Gwynn batted above .400 when his speedy teammate was on base. According to Williams, Wiggins "was absolutely the most valuable player in the National League in 1984." No longer a .300 hitter like in his earlier days with St. Louis, Templeton enjoyed his most successful season since 1981. Hitting eighth in the lineup, he did not receive many pitches to hit. He batted .258 with 24 extra-base hits and six game-winning RBI, and was praised by Williams for his defense. Both Templeton and Gwynn were honored by The Sporting News with Silver Slugger Awards, and Martinez (.249, 13 HR, 68 walks) was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Martinez however, hit only three homers in the second half, and just one after July 18, after hitting 10 in the first half. Troubled by his knees, Kennedy slumped to .240 while his RBIs fell to 57 from 98 a year earlier. Nettles hit .222, which was 29 points below his career average, and most of his homers came in two hot streaks. However, his averages of .252/.355/.469 against right-handed pitching were near his career norms.
San Diego's pitching staff was last in the league in strikeouts per nine innings, and were among the team leaders in most home runs allowed and walks allowed. Still, they were adept at forcing fly balls and had a low ground ball/fly ball ratio. In addition to Show, the starting rotation included fellow 28-year-old Mark Thurmond (14–8, 2.97), as well as veterans Ed Whitson (14–8, 3.24) and Lollar (11–13, 3.91). Andy Hawkins (8–9, 4.68) and Dave Dravecky (9–8, 2.93) split time as the fifth starter. In the bullpen, Gossage and Craig Lefferts (2.13 ERA and 10 saves) each appeared in 62 games and logged over 100 innings apiece. Unlike modern closers, Gossage often entered games in the seventh or eighth innings, with Lefferts filling in as the stopper when Gossage needed a game off after working successive long stints. Dravecky also recorded eight saves. At age 33, Gossage experienced a decline in his fastball, and did not record a save after August 25.
Williams led the team with a tough, no-nonsense approach. He cited the advantage of having the experience of veterans Garvey, Nettles, and Gossage on the team. Prior to joining the Padres, Garvey and Nettles had advanced to the World Series four times, while Gossage had participated in two. Throughout the season, they stressed the value of consistency and an even temperament to youngsters like Gwynn, McReynolds, and Martinez, who were among the 11 players on the team with less than four years of major league experience. Gossage and Nettles, in particular, would stay after games and talk baseball and have a beer with the youngsters. Additionally, Templeton befriended Wiggins, helping his transition from the outfield to second base.

### Brawl with the Atlanta Braves

The Padres' regular season is most remembered for an August 12 Sunday afternoon game at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium against the Atlanta Braves. From the start, the game was tense and errupted into a series of brawls which ended with a total of 13 ejections and 5 arrests. All fans who participated in the taunting and brawls were detained and arrested. The Braves eventually won the game by a score of 5-3.
Fines and suspensions were issued four days later on August 16 to Williams ($10,000, ten days) and Summers, Brown, Torre ($1,000), Perry ($700), Bedrosian ($600) and Mahler ($700) who each received three-day suspensions. Virgil, Krol, Whitson, Booker, Lefferts, Bevacqua, Flannery, Nettles and Gossage for the Padres (all undisclosed) and Moore ($350) and Pérez ($300) for the Braves were all fined but not suspended.

### Opening Day starters

* Steve Garvey
* Tony Gwynn
* Terry Kennedy
* Carmelo Martínez
* Kevin McReynolds
* Graig Nettles
* Eric Show
* Garry Templeton
* Alan Wiggins

### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| San Diego Padres | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 48‍–‍33 | 44‍–‍37 |
| Atlanta Braves | 80 | 82 | .494 | 12 | 38‍–‍43 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Houston Astros | 80 | 82 | .494 | 12 | 43‍–‍38 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 79 | 83 | .488 | 13 | 40‍–‍41 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 70 | 92 | .432 | 22 | 39‍–‍42 | 31‍–‍50 |
| San Francisco Giants | 66 | 96 | .407 | 26 | 35‍–‍46 | 31‍–‍50 |

### Record vs. opponents

1984 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 3–9 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 6–12 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 5–7 |
| Chicago | 9–3 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 10–7 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 13–5 |
| Cincinnati | 5–13 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 4–8 |
| Houston | 6–12 | 6–6 | 10–8 | — | 9–9 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 8–4 |
| Los Angeles | 12–6 | 5–7 | 7–11 | 9–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 3–9 | 4–8 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 6–6 |
| Montreal | 7–5 | 7–10 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 7–11 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–9 |
| New York | 8–4 | 6–12 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 11–7 | — | 10–8 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–11 |
| Philadelphia | 5-7 | 9–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–11 | 8–10 | — | 7–11 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–10 |
| Pittsburgh | 4–8 | 10–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 11–7 | — | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–14 |
| San Diego | 11–7 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–4 | — | 13–5 | 7–5 |
| San Francisco | 8–10 | 3–9 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–13 | — | 7–5 |
| St. Louis | 7–5 | 5–13 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 14–4 | 5–7 | 5–7 | — |

### Notable transactions

* July 20, 1984: Al Newman was traded by the San Diego Padres to the Montreal Expos for Greg Harris.

### Game log

1984 regular season game log: 92–70 (Home: 48–33; Away: 44–37) :
April: 15–8 (Home: 13–5; Away: 2–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox Streak
1April 3Pirates5–144,5531-0W1
2April 5Pirates8–619,3612-0W2
3April 6Cubs3–2 (wo)15,8343-0W3
4April 7Cubs7–627,7994-0W4
5April 8Cubs5–824,2854-1L1
6April 10Cardinals7–315,1155-1W1
7April 11Cardinals7–515,8356-1W2
8April 12Braves6–112,4197-1W3
9April 13Braves5–222,6148-1W4
10April 14Braves1–546,3228-2L1
11April 15Braves6–427,9739-2W1
12April 17@ Giants2–113,99810-2W2
13April 19@ Dodgers0–446,59510-3L1
14April 20@ Dodgers2–850,91610-4L2
15April 21@ Dodgers9–643,78411-4W1
16April 22@ Dodgers7–1547,93811-5L1
17April 23Giants8–225,56912-5W1
18April 24Giants6–112,34113-5W2
19April 25Giants3–013,05914-5W3
20April 26Dodgers5–639,60914-6L1
21April 27Dodgers0–1 (7)34,22214-7L2
22April 28Dodgers5–142,57615-7W1
23April 29Dodgers0–636,14715-8L1 :
May: 10–13 (Home: 3–7; Away: 7–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox Streak
24May 1@ Braves3–210,74816-8W1
25May 3@ Braves5–68,07216-9L1
26May 4@ Cubs6–7 (wo)6,53316-10L2
27May 5@ Cubs5–6 (10/wo)28,44116-11L3
28May 6@ Cubs8–531,70017-11W1
29May 9@ Cardinals3–214,73418-11W2
30May 10@ Cardinals0–720,92618-12L1
31May 11Phillies4–618,00918-13L2
32May 12Phillies2–336,91618-14L3
33May 13Phillies3–838,64518-15L4
34May 14Expos6–7 (10)9,38918-16L5
35May 15Expos4–611,02518-17L6
36May 16Expos2–311,46218-18L7
37May 17Expos5–417,06619-18W1
38May 18Mets5–417,31920-18W2
39May 19Mets8–320,01721-18W3
40May 20Mets2–4 (10)20,26321-19L1
41May 22@ Expos2–319,84721-20L2
42May 23@ Expos2–1 (11)8,57322-20W1
43May 25@ Phillies7–325,96423-20W2
44May 26@ Phillies2–732,89823-21L1
45May 27@ Phillies4–034,35224-21W1
46May 28@ Mets5–436,20425-21W2 :
June: 19–10 (Home: 10–6; Away: 9–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox Streak
47Jun 1@ Giants7–1110,08725-22L1
48Jun 2@ Giants3–212,66226-22W1
49Jun 3 (1)@ Giants7–527-22W2
50Jun 3 (2)@ Giants7–622,86328-22W3
51Jun 4Astros3–09,92229-22W4
52Jun 5Astros3–011,79930-22W5
53Jun 6Astros4–3 (10/wo)11,08731-22W6
54Jun 7Reds1–1215,50731-23L1
55Jun 8Reds6–014,00232-23W1
56Jun 9Reds12–248,80533-23W2
57Jun 10Reds7–518,72334-23W3
58Jun 11Braves5–4 (wo)9,27135-23W4
59Jun 12Braves7–6 (12/wo)19,92036-23W5
60Jun 14Giants2–517,31036-24L1
61Jun 15Giants3–220,35337-24W1
62Jun 16Giants3–648,37537-25L1
63Jun 17Giants3–5 (15)24,18337-26L2
64Jun 19@ Astros2–012,76538-26W1
65Jun 20@ Astros6–212,54339-26W2
66Jun 21@ Astros5–1112,93439-27L1
67Jun 22@ Reds7–8 (wo)23,55239-28L2
68Jun 23@ Reds5–222,19240-28W1
69Jun 24@ Reds8–3 (13)19,18341-28W2
70Jun 25@ Dodgers9–436,62942-28W3
71Jun 26@ Dodgers5–048,28743-28W4
72Jun 27@ Dodgers4–549,13243-29L1
73Jun 28Cardinals7–314,09744-29W1
74Jun 29Cardinals0–545,46844-30L1
75Jun 30Cardinals1–431,43244-31L2 :
July: 19–11 (Home: 12–5; Away: 7–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox Streak
76Jul 1Cardinals3–117,66445-31W1
77Jul 2Cubs5–113,44446-31W2
78Jul 3Cubs2–320,28746-32L1
79Jul 4Cubs1–252,13446-33L2
80Jul 5Pirates2–114,90747-33W1
81Jul 6Pirates7–318,36848-33W2
82Jul 7Pirates1–028,99549-33W3
83Jul 8Pirates3–417,95049-34L1
84Jul 12@ Cardinals4–127,41950-34W1
85Jul 13@ Cardinals4–7 (10/wo)29,95450-35L1
86Jul 14@ Cardinals6–741,26050-36L2
87Jul 15@ Cardinals6–133,20551-36W1
88Jul 16@ Cubs4–023,64252-36W2
89Jul 17@ Cubs6–529,49953-36W3
90Jul 18@ Cubs1–427,47153-37L1
91Jul 19@ Pirates1–510,04853-38L2
92Jul 20 (1)@ Pirates3–453-39L3
93Jul 20 (2)@ Pirates3–218,00754-39W1
94Jul 21@ Pirates6–411,59355-39W2
95Jul 22 (1)@ Pirates5–156-39W3
96Jul 22 (2)@ Pirates2–3 (11/wo)22,97156-40L1
97Jul 24Reds2–418,38156-41L2
98Jul 25Reds6–5 (wo)16,24857-41W1
99Jul 26Reds8–220,92458-41W2
100Jul 27Astros7–328,86859-41W3
101Jul 28 (1)Astros1–359-42L1
102Jul 28 (2)Astros1–034,73060-42W1
103Jul 29Astros9–023,08461-42W2
104Jul 30Dodgers12–040,56862-42W3
105Jul 31Dodgers1–035,70463-42W4 :
August: 15–14 (Home: 5–4; Away: 10–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox Streak
106Aug 1Dodgers4–339,07664-42W5
107Aug 3@ Astros2–616,45664-43L1
108Aug 4@ Astros5–219,48265-43W1
109Aug 5@ Astros9–511,63766-43W2
110Aug 6@ Reds1–010,79867-43W3
111Aug 7@ Reds7–8 (wo)11,76767-44L1
112Aug 8@ Reds2–4 (wo)11,22267-45L2
113Aug 9@ Reds0–810,88167-46L3
114Aug 10 (1)@ Braves1–367-47L4
115Aug 10 (2)@ Braves10–441,28768-47W1
116Aug 11@ Braves4–145,09969-47W2
117Aug 12@ Braves3–523,91269-48L1
118Aug 14Phillies3–223,79970-48W1
119Aug 15Phillies4–3 (wo)21,07871-48W2
120Aug 16Phillies3–823,12571-49L1
121Aug 17Expos4–817,13671-50L2
122Aug 19Expos0–321,69771-51L3
123Aug 20Mets3–150,86972-51W1
124Aug 21Mets7–420,99873-51W2
125Aug 22Mets2–525,25073-52L1
126Aug 24 (1)@ Expos1–473-53L2
127Aug 24 (2)@ Expos5–434,62674-53W1
128Aug 25@ Expos4–3 (13)29,66575-53W2
129Aug 26@ Expos2–131,77876-53W3
130Aug 27@ Phillies1–926,30276-54L1
131Aug 28@ Phillies8–1125,67976-55L2
132Aug 29@ Phillies2–025,13177-55W1
133Aug 31 (1)@ Mets5–178-55W2
134Aug 31 (2)@ Mets0–438,32378-56L1 :
September: 14–14 (Home: 5–6; Away: 9–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox Streak
135Sep 1 (1)@ Mets4–778-57L2
136Sep 1 (2)@ Mets6–1035,68878-58L3
137Sep 2@ Mets2–3 (12/wo)36,91578-59L4
138Sep 3@ Dodgers4–343,17679-59W1
139Sep 4@ Dodgers1–2 (wo)31,98879-60L1
140Sep 5Reds15–1117,75980-60W1
141Sep 6Reds3–1011,98680-61L1
142Sep 7Astros4–623,71380-62L2
143Sep 9Astros8–414,15381-62W1
144Sep 11Dodgers2–524,50581-63L1
145Sep 12Dodgers1–828,56081-64L2
146Sep 14@ Astros4–213,11982-64W1
147Sep 15@ Astros2–315,45682-65L1
148Sep 16@ Astros9–1010,39782-66L2
149Sep 17@ Reds3–2 (11)7,72883-66W1
150Sep 18@ Reds2–010,41484-66W2
151Sep 19Giants5–4 (10/wo)32,96485-66W3
152Sep 20Giants5–415,76686-66W4
153Sep 21Braves1–346,13786-67L1
154Sep 22Braves2–547,21786-68L2
155Sep 23Braves2–1 (11/wo)40,91087-68W1
156Sep 24 (1)@ Giants7–188-68W2
157Sep 24 (2)@ Giants8–6 (11)3,29689-68W3
158Sep 25@ Giants3–44,19989-69L1
159Sep 26@ Giants4–05,63490-69W1
160Sep 28@ Braves4–215,73391-69W2
161Sep 29@ Braves6–230,13192-69W3
162Sep 30@ Braves3–413,48992-70L1 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Padres team member :

### Postseason game log

1984 postseason game log: 4–6 (Home: 4–1; Away: 0–5) :
National League Championship Series: 3–2 (Home: 3–0; Away: 0–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceSeries
1Oct 2@ Cubs0–1336,2820-1
2Oct 3@ Cubs2–436,2820-2
3Oct 4Cubs7–158,3461-2
4Oct 6Cubs7–5 (wo)58,3542-2
5Oct 7Cubs6–358,3593-2 :
World Series: 1–4 (Home: 1–1; Away: 0–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceSeries
1Oct 9Tigers2–357,9080-1
2Oct 10Tigers5–357,9111-1
3Oct 12@ Tigers2–551,9701-2
4Oct 13@ Tigers2–452,1301-3
5Oct 14@ Tigers4–851,9011-4 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Padres team member :

## 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 | Terry Kennedy | 148 | 530 | 127 | .240 | 14 | 57 |
| 1B | Steve Garvey | 161 | 617 | 175 | .284 | 8 | 86 |
| 2B | Alan Wiggins | 158 | 596 | 154 | .258 | 3 | 34 |
| 3B | Graig Nettles | 124 | 395 | 90 | .228 | 20 | 65 |
| SS | Garry Templeton | 148 | 493 | 127 | .258 | 2 | 35 |
| LF | Carmelo Martínez | 149 | 488 | 122 | .250 | 13 | 66 |
| CF | Kevin McReynolds | 147 | 525 | 146 | .278 | 20 | 75 |
| RF | Tony Gwynn | 158 | 606 | 213 | .351 | 5 | 71 |

#### 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 |
| Luis Salazar | 93 | 228 | 55 | .241 | 3 | 17 |
| Bobby Brown | 85 | 171 | 43 | .251 | 3 | 29 |
| Tim Flannery | 86 | 128 | 35 | .273 | 2 | 10 |
| Bruce Bochy | 37 | 92 | 21 | .228 | 4 | 15 |
| Kurt Bevacqua | 59 | 80 | 16 | .200 | 1 | 9 |
| Mario Ramírez | 48 | 59 | 7 | .119 | 2 | 9 |
| Champ Summers | 47 | 54 | 10 | .185 | 1 | 12 |
| Ron Roenicke | 12 | 20 | 6 | .300 | 1 | 2 |
| Eddie Miller | 13 | 14 | 4 | .286 | 1 | 2 |
| Doug Gwosdz | 7 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 1 |

### 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 |
| Eric Show | 32 | 207.0 | 15 | 9 | 3.40 | 104 |
| Tim Lollar | 31 | 195.2 | 11 | 13 | 3.91 | 131 |
| Ed Whitson | 31 | 189.0 | 14 | 8 | 3.24 | 103 |
| Mark Thurmond | 32 | 178.2 | 14 | 8 | 2.97 | 57 |

#### 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 |
| Dave Dravecky | 50 | 156.2 | 9 | 8 | 2.93 | 71 |
| Andy Hawkins | 36 | 146.0 | 8 | 9 | 4.68 | 77 |

#### 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 |
| Goose Gossage | 62 | 10 | 6 | 25 | 2.90 | 84 |
| Craig Lefferts | 62 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 2.13 | 56 |
| Greg Booker | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.30 | 28 |
| Luis DeLeón | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5.48 | 44 |
| Greg Harris | 19 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2.70 | 30 |
| Floyd Chiffer | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 | 20 |
| Sid Monge | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4.80 | 7 |

## NLCS

In the 1984 NLCS, the Padres faced the NL East champion Chicago Cubs, who were making their first post-season appearance since 1945 and featured NL Most Valuable Player Ryne Sandberg and Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe. The Cubs would win the first two games at Wrigley Field, but the Padres swept the final three games at then-Jack Murphy Stadium (the highlight arguably being Steve Garvey's dramatic, game-winning home run off of Lee Smith in Game 4) to win the 1984 National League pennant. They became the first National League team to win a playoff series after being down 2–0. Garvey finished the series batting .400 with seven RBIs, and was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career.
After returning from Chicago on a delayed flight, the team boarded buses from the airport, and was boosted by the surprising 2,000 fans waiting to greet them at the Jack Murphy Stadium parking lot at about 9:45 P.M. Goose Gossage, a former New York Yankee, said the San Diego crowd at Game 3 was "the loudest crowd I've ever heard anywhere." Gwynn agreed as well. Jack Murphy Stadium played "Cub-Busters", a parody of the theme song from the 1984 movie Ghostbusters. Cub-Busters T-shirts inspired from the movie were popular attire for Padres fans.
San Diego won the series, 3–2.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | October 2 | San Diego Padres – 0, Chicago Cubs – 13 | Wrigley Field | 2:49 | 36,282 |
| 2 | October 3 | San Diego Padres – 2, Chicago Cubs – 4 | Wrigley Field | 2:18 | 36,282 |
| 3 | October 4 | Chicago Cubs – 1, San Diego Padres – 7 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 2:19 | 58,346 |
| 4 | October 6 | Chicago Cubs – 5, San Diego Padres – 7 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 3:13 | 58,354 |
| 5 | October 7 | Chicago Cubs – 3, San Diego Padres – 6 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 2:41 | 58,359 |

## World Series

In the 1984 World Series, the Padres faced the powerful Detroit Tigers, who steamrolled through the regular season with 104 victories (and had started out with a 35–5 record, the best ever through the first 40 games). The Tigers were managed by Sparky Anderson and featured shortstop and native San Diegan Alan Trammell and outfielder Kirk Gibson, along with Lance Parrish and DH Darrell Evans. The pitching staff was bolstered by ace Jack Morris (19-11, 3.60 ERA), Dan Petry (18-8), Milt Wilcox (17-8), and closer Willie Hernández (9-3, 1.92 ERA with 32 saves). Jack Morris would win games 1 and 4 and the Tigers would go on to win the Series in five games.
San Diego's starting pitchers crumbled in the postseason with a combined ERA of 9.09, including 13.94 against Detroit, surpassing the Cubs mark of 9.50 in 1932 as the worst in the then-82-year history of the World Series. Show, Thurmond, Lollar, and Whitson combined to throw only 10+2⁄3 innings versus the Tigers while surrendering 25 hits, eight walks, and 16 earned runs. Only once did a starter pitch at least five innings. Whitson (NLCS Game 3) was the only starter to earn a win in the playoffs. Out of the bullpen, Lefferts was excellent in the postseason with 10 scoreless innings in six appearances, while Hawkins and Dravecky pitched well in the playoffs as well.
After a disappointing season for 37-year-old journeyman Kurt Bevacqua, he hit .412 in the World Series as the Padres designated hitter, hitting the game-winning home run in Game 2 as well as an eighth-inning homer in the finale, which had cut San Diego's deficit to 5–4. Playing in place of the injured McReynolds, Bobby Brown had the team's only two RBIs by Padres outfielders against the Tigers, but he batted just 1-for-15.
Reporter Barry Bloom of MLB.com wrote in 2011 that "the postseason in '84 is still the most exciting week of Major League Baseball ever played in San Diego." Gossage, who is mostly remembered as a Yankee, called it "special being a part of turning on a city for the first time, going to the World Series for the first time".
AL Detroit Tigers (4) vs. NL San Diego Padres (1)
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | October 9 | Detroit Tigers – 3, San Diego Padres – 2 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 3:18 | 57,908 |
| 2 | October 10 | Detroit Tigers – 3, San Diego Padres – 5 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 2:44 | 57,911 |
| 3 | October 12 | San Diego Padres – 2, Detroit Tigers – 5 | Tiger Stadium | 3:11 | 51,970 |
| 4 | October 13 | San Diego Padres – 2, Detroit Tigers – 4 | Tiger Stadium | 2:20 | 52,130 |
| 5 | October 14 | San Diego Padres – 4, Detroit Tigers – 8 | Tiger Stadium | 2:55 | 51,901 |

## Award winners

* Tony Gwynn, National League Batting Champion (.351)
* Tony Gwynn, National League Leader in Hits (213)
1984 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
* Steve Garvey, first baseman (starter) – 9th selection
* Tony Gwynn, left field (starter) – 1st selection
* Goose Gossage, pitcher (reserve) – 8th selection

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Las Vegas Stars | Pacific Coast League | Bob Cluck |
| AA | Beaumont Golden Gators | Texas League | Bobby Tolan |
| A | Reno Padres | California League | Jim Skaalen |
| A | Miami Marlins | Florida State League | Steve Smith |
| A-Short Season | Spokane Indians | Northwest League | Jack Maloof |