Padres Special: This Day in Padres History (Three Trades & Big Signing)

The San Diego Padres history is very deep and on this day in history the team pulled off three separate trades and also made one of the biggest signings in teams history. 17 different players changed hands on this date in Padres history (December 8th).

The first two trades are for the very old school fans out there and the last trade was a little controversial at the time. Any time a fan favorite is traded, the team is under immediate scrutiny.

Trade #1

December 8, 1976

The San Diego Padres acquire George Hendrick from the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Johnny Grubb, catcher Fred Kendall and short stop Hector Torres

The Padres acquired a very nice outfielder in this deal at the expense of young Johnny Grub and veterans Kendall and Torres. Grub went on to have a decent career. He played a total of 16 years and had a .278 career batting average. Kendall was a fan favorite and actually returned to the ball club two years later as a free agent. Torres was a utility infielder from Mexico who never played for the Indians and was traded to the Blue Jays in spring training.

The key acquisition was Hendricks who was just beginning to come into his own. He put up a .311/.381/.492 season in is first season as a Padres outfielder. Those numbers are fantastic for that time. Hendrick put up a 5.8 WAR rating that year. He was dealt the next season after a slow start for young pitcher Eric Rasmussen. That deal turned out to be horrible for the Padres as Hendrick played 11 more seasons including two all-star appearances. Rasmussen pitched in and out of the rotation and was released in 1980.

Trade #2

December 8, 1980

San Diego Padres trade pitcher Rollie Fingers, catchers Gene Tenace and Bob Geren and pitcher Bob Shirley to the St. Louis Cardinals for catchers Terry Kennedy and Steve Swisher, shortstop Mike Phillips, and pitchers John Littlefield, John Urrea, Kim Seaman, and Al Olmstead

Wow what a huge trade as 11 players were exchanged and each team exchanged two catchers each. The big loss for the Padres was all-star closer Rollie Fingers. He was 34-40 as a Padres pitcher saving 108 games in his 265 appearances. He recorded a 3.12 ERA while leading the National League in saves twice in his four years in San Diego. Ironically he was dealt four days later by the Cardinals to the Milwaukee Brewers in a seven player deal.

The Padres made the trade and obtained a valuable young catcher. Terry Kennedy was a left-handed hitting catcher with a very nice swing. Kennedy produced quite well for the Padres in his six-year career. He hit .274 with 76 home runs and 424 RBIs and made three all-star games in his six years as a Padres back stop. The Padres got one decent year out of Urrea and that was it. The rest of the package produced little to no return. Swisher proved to be a decent backup catcher but the other prospects were a failure.

Trade #3

December 8, 1991

San Diego Padres acquire pitcher Randy Myers from the Cincinnati Reds for infielder Bip Roberts and outfielder Craig Pueschner

The ultimate fan favorite Roberts was dealt after having an injury riddled season in 1991 where he only managed to play in 117 games. Roberts put it all out there every night and the Padres fans recognized that and enjoyed watching him play the game. Roberts responded in 1992 to the trade by having his best year in the major leagues. He hit .323 with an on base percentage of .393 and stole 44 bases in 147 games. Bip made his first and only all-star game and walked 62 times on the season while only striking out 54 times. He rejoined the Padres in 1994 after being granted free agency only to be dealt again in 1995 to the Royals for first baseman Wally Joyner.

Randy Myers had an up and down career as a San Diego Padres player. The Reds had an excess of closers as the team had Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton at the back-end of the bullpen. Myers was the oldest and was deemed expendable. The Padres needed a closer and the deal made sense. Myers went 3-6 with a 4.29 ERA and had 38 saves in his contract year. He left via free agency at the end of the year. In 1998 the Padres made one of the worst moves in franchise history as the team claimed Randy Myers who was put on waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays. The 35-year-old Myers was on the downside of his career and ended up being hurt. The Padres were stuck with his salary for the next two seasons at over $13.5 million dollars. Myers never pitched again after the 1998 season and the Padres let Ken Caminiti and Steve Finley walk away as free agents.

Free Agent Signing

December 8, 1988

Pitcher Bruce Hurst formerly of the Boston Red Sox signs a $5.25 million, three-year contract with the San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres never really spent too much in the free agent market. Sire the team signed Steve Garvey away from the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1982, but that was not typically their style. The team rolled the dice in December of 1988 and decided to go after veteran left-handed pitcher Bruce Hurst. I can remember vividly how excited fans were and how the local media went out of their way to recruit Hurst to come to San Diego. A true testament to how special this fan base can be when it wants to.

The big left-handed provided immediate dividends as he went 15-11 his first season in San Diego with a league leading 10 complete games. Hurst had a 2.69 ERA and a 1.144 WHIP. In his four-year Padres career he went 55-38 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.181 WHIP. He was dealt to the Colorado Rockies in 1993 for Andy Ashby.

James Clark

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.