List of San Diego Padres seasons

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

View of a baseball stadium, taken from the upper deck and looking out over the field.
Petco Park, home field of the Padres since the 2004 season.

The San Diego Padres are a professional baseball franchise based in San Diego, California.

They began play in 1969, but did not achieve their first winning season until 1978, though they failed to sustain this over the next half-decade. However, in 1984 the Padres surprisingly reached their first-ever postseason appearance and won the National League Championship before losing to a very strong Detroit Tigers team in the World Series.

This did not usher in a prolonged period of success for the Padres, who failed to achieve a second postseason appearance until 1996, and after a disappointing 1997 they rebounded again with a franchise-best 98 wins and reached the World Series only to face another exceptionally formidable opponent in the late-1990s Yankees dynasty. The Padres yet again faltered, but achieved four consecutive winning seasons for the only time in franchise history between 2004 and 2007 without winning more than one playoff game. In 2020, the Padres returned to the postseason for the first time since 2006 but they were swept by the eventual 2020 World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2020 NLDS.

In 2022, the team rode a late season surge to a NL Wild Card berth and for the first time faced the New York Mets in the postseason. The Mets had been NL East favorites all year, winning 101 games and eventually finishing second to the Atlanta Braves and drawing the 4th seed, forcing the Padres to into traveling to New York to play all 3 games at Citi Field. The Padres ambushed future Hall of Fame pitcher Max Scherzer in Game 1, with Josh Bell and Trent Grisham hitting home runs in the first and second innings, respectively. The Mets won Game 2 behind Jacob Degrom. In the elimination Game 3, the Padres secured advancement to the NLDS when Joe Musgrove, Robert Suarez, and Josh Hader held the Mets batters to just one hit. Controversary erupted in the 6th inning, when Mets manager Buck Showalter asked the umpiring crew to check Musgrove for sticky substances, resulting in a bizarre moment where crew chief Alfonso Márquez tenderly rubbed Musgrove's ears to the amazement of a national audience.

Regular season record-by-year

NL champions * Division champions ^ Wild card berth (1995–present) ¤

Since 1969, the Padres have had eighteen seasons in which they have finished with a win percentage of .500 or better. During only seven of those years, the team has made playoff appearances, including during the shortened 2020 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Padres, on October 2, 2022, clinched a berth in the National League Wild-Card series, following a 4-3 twelfth-inning loss by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Miami Marlins.

Season Level League Division Finish Wins Losses Win% GB Postseason Awards
1969 MLB NL West 6th 52 110 .321 41
1970 MLB NL West 6th 63 99 .389 39
1971 MLB NL West 6th 61 100 .379 28½
1972 MLB NL West 6th 58 95 .379 36½
1973 MLB NL West 6th 60 102 .370 39
1974 MLB NL West 6th 60 102 .370 42
1975 MLB NL West 4th 71 91 .438 37
1976 MLB NL West 5th 73 89 .451 29 Randy Jones (CYA)
Butch Metzger (ROY)
1977 MLB NL West 5th 69 93 .426 29
1978 MLB NL West 4th 84 78 .519 11 Gaylord Perry (CYA)
1979 MLB NL West 5th 68 93 .422 22
1980 MLB NL West 6th 73 89 .451 19½
1981 MLB NL West 6th 23 33 .411 12½
6th 18 36 .333 15½
1982 MLB NL West 4th 81 81 .500 8
1983 MLB NL West 4th 81 81 .500 10
1984 MLB NL * West ^ 1st 92 70 .568 Won NLCS (Cubs) 3–2
Lost World Series (Tigers) 4–1 *
1985 MLB NL West 3rd 83 79 .512 12
1986 MLB NL West 4th 74 88 .457 22
1987 MLB NL West 6th 65 97 .401 25 Benito Santiago (ROY)
1988 MLB NL West 3rd 83 78 .516 11
1989 MLB NL West 2nd 89 73 .549 3 Mark Davis (CYA)
1990 MLB NL West 4th 75 87 .463 16
1991 MLB NL West 3rd 84 78 .519 10
1992 MLB NL West 3rd 82 80 .506 16
1993 MLB NL West 6th 61 101 .377 43
1994 MLB NL West 4th 47 70 .402 12½ Playoffs cancelled
1995 MLB NL West 3rd 70 74 .486 8
1996 MLB NL West ^ 1st 91 71 .562 Lost NLDS (Cardinals) 3–0 Ken Caminiti (MVP)
Bruce Bochy (MOY)
1997 MLB NL West 4th 76 86 .469 14
1998 MLB NL * West ^ 1st 98 64 .605 Won NLDS (Astros) 3–1
Won NLCS (Braves) 4–2
Lost World Series (Yankees) 4–0 *
1999 MLB NL West 4th 74 88 .457 26
2000 MLB NL West 5th 76 86 .469 21
2001 MLB NL West 4th 79 83 .488 13
2002 MLB NL West 5th 66 96 .407 32
2003 MLB NL West 5th 64 98 .395 36½
2004 MLB NL West 3rd 87 75 .537 6
2005 MLB NL West ^ 1st 82 80 .506 Lost NLDS (Cardinals) 3–0
2006 MLB NL West ^ 1st 88 74 .543 Lost NLDS (Cardinals) 3–1
2007 MLB NL West 3rd [A] 89 74 .546 Jake Peavy (CYA)
2008 MLB NL West 5th 63 99 .389 21
2009 MLB NL West 4th 75 87 .463 20
2010 MLB NL West 2nd 90 72 .555 2 Bud Black (MOY)
2011 MLB NL West 5th 71 91 .435 23
2012 MLB NL West 4th 76 86 .469 18
2013 MLB NL West T-3rd 76 86 .469 16
2014 MLB NL West 3rd 77 85 .475 17
2015 MLB NL West 4th 74 88 .457 18
2016 MLB NL West 5th 68 94 .420 23
2017 MLB NL West 4th 71 91 .438 33
2018 MLB NL West 5th 66 96 .407 26
2019 MLB NL West 5th 70 92 .432 36
2020 MLB NL West 2nd ¤ 37 23 .617 6 Won NLWC (Cardinals) 2–1
Lost NLDS (Dodgers) 3–0
2021 MLB NL West 3rd 79 83 .488 28
2022 MLB NL West 2nd ¤ 89 73 .549 22 Won NLWC (Mets) 2–1
Won NLDS (Dodgers) 3–1
Lost NLCS (Phillies) 4–1
2023 MLB NL West 3rd 82 80 .506 18 Blake Snell (CYA)
Totals Wins Losses Win%
4,034 4,648 .462 All-time regular season record (1969–2022)
20 32 .385 All-time postseason record
4,054 4,680 .462 All-time regular and postseason record

A The Padres finished tied with the Colorado Rockies for the wild card spot. Colorado defeated San Diego 9–8, in a one-game playoff to clinch the wild card spot.[1]

Record by decade

The following table describes the Padres' MLB win–loss record by decade.

Decade Wins Losses Pct
1960s 52 110 .321
1970s 667 942 .415
1980s 762 805 .486
1990s 758 799 .487
2000s 769 852 .474
2010s 739 881 .456
2020s 287 259 .526
All-time 3952 4568 .464

These statistics are from Baseball-Reference.com's San Diego Padres History & Encyclopedia,[2] and are current as of February 19, 2020.

Postseason appearances

Year Wild Card Game/Series LDS LCS World Series
1984 None (Won NL West) Chicago Cubs W (3–2) Detroit Tigers L (1–4)
1996 None (Won NL West) St. Louis Cardinals L (0–3)
1998 None (Won NL West) Houston Astros W (3–1) Atlanta Braves W (4–2) New York Yankees L (0–4)
2005 None (Won NL West) St. Louis Cardinals L (0–3)
2006 None (Won NL West) St. Louis Cardinals L (1–3)
2020 St. Louis Cardinals W (2–1) Los Angeles Dodgers L (0–3)
2022 New York Mets W (2–1) Los Angeles Dodgers W (3–1) Philadelphia Phillies L (1–4)

Post-season record by year

The Padres have made the postseason seven times in their history, with their first being in 1984 and the most recent being in 2022.

Year Finish Round Opponent Result
1984 National League Champions NLCS Chicago Cubs Won 3 2
World Series Detroit Tigers Lost 1 4
1996 NL West Champions NLDS St. Louis Cardinals Lost 0 3
1998 National League Champions NLDS Houston Astros Won 3 1
NLCS Atlanta Braves Won 4 2
World Series New York Yankees Lost 0 4
2005 NL West Champions NLDS St. Louis Cardinals Lost 0 3
2006 NL West Champions NLDS St. Louis Cardinals Lost 1 3
2020 NL Wild Card Champions NLWCS St. Louis Cardinals Won 2 1
NLDS Los Angeles Dodgers Lost 0 3
2022 NL Division Series Champions NLWCS New York Mets Won 2 1
NLDS Los Angeles Dodgers Won 3 1
NLCS Philadelphia Phillies Lost 1 4
7 Totals 6–7 20 32

References

  1. ^ "San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies Box Score, October 1, 2007". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "San Diego Padres History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.