# 1969 San Diego Padres season

The 1969 San Diego Padres season was the inaugural season in franchise history. They joined the National League along with the Montreal Expos via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion. In their inaugural season, the Padres went 52–110 (the same record as their expansion counterpart), finishing last in the newly created National League West, 41 games behind the division champion Atlanta Braves. The Padres finished last in the majors as a team in runs scored (468), hits (1,203) and batting average (225).

## Offseason
### Expansion draft

The 1968 MLB expansion draft was held on October 14, 1968. Below is a list of players drafted by the Padres. "Pick" refers to the overall draft position of a pick.
| Player | Former Team | Pick |
| Ollie Brown | San Francisco Giants | 1st |
| Dave Giusti | St. Louis Cardinals | 3rd |
| Dick Selma | New York Mets | 5th |
| Al Santorini | Atlanta Braves | 7th |
| José Arcia | Chicago Cubs | 9th |
| Clay Kirby | St. Louis Cardinals | 12th |
| Fred Kendall | Cincinnati Reds | 14th |
| Jerry Morales | New York Mets | 16th |
| Nate Colbert | Houston Astros | 18th |
| Zoilo Versalles | Los Angeles Dodgers | 20th |
| Frank Reberger | Chicago Cubs | 22nd |
| Jerry DaVanon | St. Louis Cardinals | 24th |
| Larry Stahl | New York Mets | 26th |
| Dick Kelley | Atlanta Braves | 28th |
| Al Ferrara | Los Angeles Dodgers | 30th |
| Mike Corkins | San Francisco Giants | 31st |
| Tom Dukes | Houston Astros | 33rd |
| Rick James | Chicago Cubs | 35th |
| Tony González | Philadelphia Phillies | 37th |
| Dave Roberts | Pittsburgh Pirates | 39th |
| Don Shaw | New York Mets | 40th |
| Ivan Murrell | Houston Astros | 42nd |
| Jim Williams | Los Angeles Dodgers | 44th |
| Billy McCool | Cincinnati Reds | 46th |
| Roberto Peña | Philadelphia Phillies | 48th |
| Al McBean | Pittsburgh Pirates | 50th |
| Rafael Robles | San Francisco Giants | 51st |
| Fred Katawczik | Cincinnati Reds | 53rd |
| Ron Slocum | Pittsburgh Pirates | 55th |
| Steve Arlin | Philadelphia Philles | 57th |
| Cito Gaston | Atlanta Braves | 59th |

### Other transactions

* December 3, 1968: Dave Giusti was traded by the Padres to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ed Spiezio, Danny Breeden, Ron Davis and Phil Knuckles (minors).
* March 28, 1969: Ron Davis and Bobby Klaus were traded by the Padres to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Chris Cannizzaro and Tommie Sisk.

### 1968 MLB June amateur draft

The Padres and Montreal Expos, along with the two American League expansion teams set to debut in 1969, the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots, were allowed to participate in the June 1968 MLB first-year player draft, although the new teams were barred from the lottery's first three rounds. The Padres drafted only 16 players in the 1968 June draft, and of the players the Padres were able to sign, one (outfielder Dave Robinson) reached the major leagues.

## Regular season
### The first game
#### Scorecard

April 8, 1969 at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Houston | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| San Diego | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| WP: Dick Selma (1–0) LP: Don Wilson (0–1) Home runs: HOU: None SD: Ed Spiezio (1) |||||||||||||

#### Batting

| Houston Astros | AB | R | H | RBI | San Diego Padres | AB | R | H | RBI |
| Alou rf | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Robles ss | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Morgan 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Peña 2b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Miller cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | González cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rader 3b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Brown rf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Blefary 1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Davis 1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Watson lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Colbert 1b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Menke ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stahl lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Edwards c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Spiezio 3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wilson p | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cannizzaro c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Geiger ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Selma p | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Billingham p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NONE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 32 | 1 | 5 | 1 | Totals | 28 | 2 | 4 | 2 |

#### Pitching

| Houston Astros | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Wilson, L (0–1) | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Billingham | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| San Diego Padres | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Selma, W (1–0) | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |

### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Atlanta Braves | 93 | 69 | .574 | — | 50‍–‍31 | 43‍–‍38 |
| San Francisco Giants | 90 | 72 | .556 | 3 | 52‍–‍29 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 89 | 73 | .549 | 4 | 50‍–‍31 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 85 | 77 | .525 | 8 | 50‍–‍31 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Houston Astros | 81 | 81 | .500 | 12 | 52‍–‍29 | 29‍–‍52 |
| San Diego Padres | 52 | 110 | .321 | 41 | 28‍–‍53 | 24‍–‍57 |

### Record vs. opponents

1969 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 3–9 | 12–6 | 15–3 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 9–3 | — | 6–6–1 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 11–1 | 6–6 | 9–9 |
| Cincinnati | 6–12 | 6–6–1 | — | 9–9 | 10–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 8–4 |
| Houston | 3–15 | 4–8 | 9–9 | — | 6–12 | 11–1 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 7–5 |
| Los Angeles | 9–9 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 12–6 | — | 10–2 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 12–6 | 5–13 | 3–9 |
| Montreal | 4–8 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 1–11 | 2–10 | — | 5–13 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 4–8 | 1–11 | 7–11 |
| New York | 8–4 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–4 | 13–5 | — | 12–6 | 10–8 | 11–1 | 8–4 | 12–6 |
| Philadelphia | 6-6 | 6–12 | 2–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 6–12 | — | 10–8 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–11 |
| Pittsburgh | 4–8 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 4–8 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 8–10 | — | 10–2 | 5–7 | 9–9 |
| San Diego | 5–13 | 1–11 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 1–11 | 4–8 | 2–10 | — | 6–12 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 13–5 | 11–1 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 12–6 | — | 3–9 |
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 9–3 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 14, 1969: Chris Krug was signed as a free agent by the Padres.
* April 17, 1969: Al McBean was traded by the Padres to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tommy Dean and Leon Everitt.
* April 25, 1969: Dick Selma was traded by the Padres to the Chicago Cubs for Joe Niekro, Frankie Libran and Gary Ross.
* May 22, 1969: Bill Davis and Jerry DaVanon were traded by the Padres to the St. Louis Cardinals for John Sipin and Sonny Ruberto.
* May 23, 1969: Chris Krug was released by the Padres.
* June 13, 1969: Tony González was traded by the Padres to the Atlanta Braves for Van Kelly, Walt Hriniak and Andy Finlay (minors).

#### Draft picks

* June 5, 1969: 1969 Major League Baseball draft
** Randy Elliott was drafted by the Padres in the 1st round (24th pick).
** Doug DeCinces was drafted by the Padres in the 18th round, but did not sign.

### Roster
## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
| C | Chris Cannizzaro | 134 | 418 | 23 | 92 | .220 | 4 | 33 | 0 |
| 1B | Nate Colbert | 139 | 483 | 64 | 123 | .255 | 24 | 66 | 6 |
| 2B | José Arcia | 120 | 302 | 35 | 65 | .215 | 0 | 10 | 14 |
| 3B | Ed Spiezio | 121 | 355 | 29 | 83 | .234 | 13 | 43 | 1 |
| SS | Tommy Dean | 101 | 273 | 14 | 48 | .176 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| LF | Al Ferrara | 138 | 366 | 39 | 95 | .260 | 14 | 56 | 0 |
| CF | Cito Gaston | 129 | 391 | 20 | 90 | .230 | 2 | 28 | 4 |
| RF | Ollie Brown | 151 | 568 | 76 | 150 | .264 | 20 | 61 | 10 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
| Roberto Peña | 139 | 472 | 44 | 118 | .250 | 4 | 30 | 0 |
| Ivan Murrell | 111 | 247 | 19 | 63 | .255 | 3 | 25 | 3 |
| John Sipin | 68 | 229 | 22 | 51 | .223 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| Van Kelly | 73 | 209 | 16 | 51 | .244 | 3 | 15 | 0 |
| Tony González | 53 | 182 | 17 | 41 | .225 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| Larry Stahl | 95 | 162 | 10 | 32 | .198 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| Walt Hriniak | 31 | 66 | 4 | 15 | .227 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jerry DaVanon | 24 | 59 | 4 | 8 | .136 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bill Davis | 31 | 57 | 1 | 10 | .175 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jerry Morales | 19 | 41 | 5 | 8 | .195 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Fred Kendall | 10 | 26 | 2 | 4 | .154 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Williams | 13 | 25 | 4 | 7 | .280 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ron Slocum | 13 | 24 | 6 | 7 | .292 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Sonny Ruberto | 17 | 21 | 3 | 3 | .143 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rafael Robles | 6 | 20 | 1 | 2 | .100 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Krug | 8 | 17 | 0 | 1 | .059 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frankie Librán | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 1 | 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 |
| Clay Kirby | 35 | 215.2 | 7 | 20 | 3.80 | 113 |
| Joe Niekro | 37 | 202.0 | 8 | 17 | 3.70 | 55 |
| Al Santorini | 32 | 184.2 | 8 | 14 | 3.95 | 111 |
| Dick Kelley | 27 | 136.0 | 4 | 8 | 3.57 | 96 |
| Dick Selma | 4 | 22.0 | 2 | 2 | 4.09 | 20 |
| Al McBean | 1 | 7.0 | 0 | 1 | 5.14 | 1 |

#### 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 |
| Tommie Sisk | 53 | 143.0 | 2 | 13 | 4.78 | 59 |
| Gary Ross | 46 | 109.2 | 3 | 12 | 4.19 | 58 |
| Johnny Podres | 17 | 64.2 | 5 | 6 | 4.31 | 17 |
| Dave Roberts | 22 | 48.2 | 0 | 3 | 4.81 | 19 |
| Mike Corkins | 6 | 17.0 | 1 | 3 | 8.47 | 13 |
| Steve Arlin | 4 | 10.2 | 0 | 1 | 9.28 | 9 |

#### 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 |
| Billy McCool | 54 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4.30 | 35 |
| Frank Reberger | 67 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3.59 | 65 |
| Jack Baldschun | 61 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4.79 | 67 |
| Tom Dukes | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7.25 | 15 |
| Leon Everitt | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.04 | 11 |

## Award winners

1969 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
* Chris Cannizzaro, catcher, reserve

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AA | Elmira Pioneers | Eastern League | Harry Bright |
| A | Key West Padres | Florida State League | Don Zimmer |
| Rookie | Salt Lake City Bees | Pioneer League | Dave Garcia |
Elmira affiliation shared with Kansas City Royals