The San Diego Padres, based in San Diego, CA, are members of the MLB’s National League West Division. Their name came from the Pacific Coast League team that came to San Diego in 1936. That minor league team, led by then 18-year-old Ted Williams of San Diego, won the PCL title in 1937. The Padres will begin the 2008 season on March 31st at home against the Houston Astros. They will try to win a third division title in 4 years and their 5th straight winning season.

The Padres joined the MLB as one of 4 new expansion teams in 1969, with the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals), the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots (now the Milwaukee Brewers). The team struggled at first, finishing in last place in its first 6 seasons; one of the few really good players on the team was 1st baseman and hitter Nate Colbert, a draftee from the Houston Astros. Before the 1974 season started, the team was on the verge of being sold to Joseph Danzansky, who was thinking of relocating to Washington, D.C. Everyone thought this was going to happen, even baseball card company Topps, who printed Padres’ cards with “Washington National League” as the team’s name on almost half of the player cards. Then owner, C. Arnholt Smith, decided to sell the team to McDonald’s cofounder Ray Kroc instead. The team stayed in San Diego and Washington, D.C. would just have to wait until after the 2004 season to get the Montreal Expos, the Padres’ sister NL expansion team in 1969, who became the Washington Nationals.

The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team established in 1969 in San Diego, California and they play in the National League Western Division since their formation. The teams uniform colors are dark blue, sand, and white and the logo is white interlocking 'S' and 'D'. They are nicknamed the Friars and the Pads, the owner is John Moores and the menager is Bud Black. The teams spring training facility is Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria, AZ. In the 1998 NLDS, the Padres defeated the Houston Astros with 3 games to 1, in the 1998 NLCS faced the Atlanta Braves and in the 1998 World Series faced the New York Yankees. Their finish in the 2004 season with an 87-75 record was good enough for 3rd in the NL West. The Padres defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 3-1 on September 30, 2006. Overall the San Diego Padres have a post-season record of 12-22, they have lost 10 of their last 11 games since winning the National League pennant in 1998. On April 3, began the Padres 2007 season in an away game against the San Francisco Giants, winning it 7-0 at AT&T Park. At PETCO Park on April 17, 2008 was played the longest game in team history, in terms of innings 22, against the Colorado Rockies, the Padres lost with 2-1.