Padres Special: Remembering the 1984 N.L. Champion San Diego Padres
TERRY KENNEDY- CATCHER
The backstop and back bone of the San Diego Padres in 1984 was veteran catcher Terry Kennedy. The former 1st round pick (6th overall) in the 1977 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, was coming off three fantastic years for the Padres.
He had hit .301, .295 and .284 his first three years in Padres brown and was a young offensive catcher at the time. Not well-known for his defense, Kennedy made up for it by being a left-handed catcher with power.
Kennedy was acquired in a huge 11 player trade on December 12, 1980. Kennedy, John Littlefield, Al Olmsted, Mike Phillips, Kim Seaman, Steve Swisher and John Urrea were added to the Padres in exchange the St. Louis Cardinals received Rollie Fingers, Bob Shirley, Gene Tenace and Bob Geren.
Fingers was then dealt by the Cardinals to the Milwaukee Brewers for David Green, Dave LaPoint, Sixto Lezcano and Lary Sorensen. A massive off season of wheeling and dealing.
Terry Kennedy played six seasons for the San Diego Padres. He proved to be very durable as he totaled 140 plus games in all but one of those seasons (101 games in 1981, Kennedy’s first season in SD). He played in 835 games for the Friars and slugged 76 home runs and drove in 424 runners. A .274/.319/.407 slashing line is very respectable for this era of the game.
On May 9th 1984 Kennedy hit his second home run of the year in leading the Padres over the Cardinals 3-2. September 3rd of 1984 Terry Kennedy homers as the Padres beat the rival Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3.
The 1984 season ironically was Kennedy’s worst statistical season. He his .240 in 148 games with 14 homers and 57 RBI’s. Terry Kennedy didn’t do much in the postseason either as he hit .216 in 37 at bats with 1 home run. The team was out gunned by a Detroit Tigers team that was just on fire.
These days Kennedy is still involved in baseball. He was a minor league manager with the St. Louis Cardinals, Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Padres. Terry Kennedy is currently a Major League scout with the Cubs organization.
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James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
I went to all 3 playoff games that year. Lost my voice for a week afterward. Greatest week in San Diego sports history without a doubt
Still get goose bumps thinking about that magical season