BASEBALL 1992 PREVIEW : San Diego PADRES

The Padres have new faces at second and third bases. The Pitching Staff Anchored by starters Bruce Hurst, Andy Benes and Greg Harris--who combined for a 39-24 record and a 2.94 ERA in 577 innings--Padre pitching ranked fifth in the NL last season. Randy Myers, acquired in a trade with Cincinnati, becomes the bullpen stopper. The Bench If he doesn’t win the left field job outright, speedy Thomas Howard will play a key reserve role. The Padres also will rely heavily on utility infielders Tim Teufel and Craig Shipley. The Skipper Greg Riddoch, 46, who became manager July 11, 1990, returns for his second full season after last year’s surprise third place finish. Riddoch’s record is 122-122 in 1 1/2 seasons. C-BENITO SANTIAGO P-BRUCE HURST 1B-FRED MCGRIFF 2B-KURT STILLWELL 3B-GARY SHEFFIELD SS-TONY FERNANDEZ LF-JERALD CLARK CF-DARRIN JACKSON RF-TONY GWYNN Batting Order Opening Day 1992: C-BENITO SANTIAGO P-BRUCE HURST 3B-GARY SHEFFIELD 1B-FRED MCGRIFF 2B-KURT STILLWELL SS-TONY FERNANDEZ LF-JERALD CLARK CF-DARRIN JACKSON FR-TONY GWYNN Padre Mish Mash The Padres’ payroll has more than doubled in four seasons, but four-time batting champion Tony Gwynn will have only the sixth-highest salary on the team in 1992. Team Salaries Going Up... In Millions ‘89: $14 ‘90: $17 ‘91: $23 ‘92: $29* * Projected Five Fruitful Padres

Player 1992 Salary FRED MCGRIFF $3.75 million BENITO SANTIAGO $3.3 million BRUCE HURST $2.75 million RANDY MYERS $2.35 million TONY FERNANDEZ $2.1 million

Career Batting Leaders/Active*

Player AVG. Wade Boggs / BOSTON .345 Tony Gwynn / PADRES .328 Frank Thomas / CHI SOX .321 Hal Morris / CINCINNATI .320 Kirby Puckett / MINNESOTA .320 Don Mattingly / NY YANKEES .314 Mike Greenwell / BOSTON .311 George Brett / KANSAS CITY .308 Will Clark / SAN FRANCISCO .302 Julio Franco / TEXAS .302 Pedro Guerrero / ST LOUIS .302

The Future Ed Lynch took over as director of minor leagues before last season.

Level Team ’91 Record Pct. AAA Las Vegas Stars 65-75 .464 AA Wichita Wranglers 71-64 .526 A High Desert Mavericks 73-63 .537 A Waterloo Diamonds 75-63 .543 A Charleston Rainbows 69-72 .489

The Kid to Watch Relief pitcher Jeremy Hernandez, had 13 saves last season at Las Vegas. Seen as the closer of the future, he should see some action in ’92. The Fans Padre fans like a winner--the team’s top three annual gates correspond to the Padres’ best two seasons. The 1985 franchise record came the year after their World Series appearance. In millions ‘87: 1.45 ‘88: 1.51 ‘89: 2.01 ‘90: 1.86 ‘91: 1.80 Best: 2,210,352 (1985) The Victories The Padres have finished over .500 five out of the past eight seasons. ‘87: 65 (Games Behind: 25) ‘88: 83 (Games Behind: 11 ‘89: 89 (Games Behind: 3) ‘90: 75 (Games Behind: 16) ‘91: 84 (Games Behind: 10) Best: 92-70 (1984). Lost to Detroit in World Series. FACTOR OF 3 Tony Gwynn, Fred McGriff and Benito Santiago compose the meat of the Padre batting order. They combined to hit .287 last season with 255 RBIs. RF Tony Gwynn A knee injury that sidelined Gwynn with 21 games remaining effectively took him out of the running for his fifth batting championship. Gwynn earned his fifth All-Star game start and his fifth Gold Glove Award. Season Average (Career) Hits: 189 Runs: 85 HRs: 6 RBIs: 61 1B Fred McGriff McGriff’s 31 homers last season were the most by a Padre since Dave Winfield hit 34 in 1979, and the National League noticed. He received a major league-leading 26 intentional walks. He also became only the 13th major leaguer to hit grand slams in consecutive games. Season Average (Career) Hits: 137 Runs: 86 HRs: 31 RBIs: 85 C Benito Santiago Named for the fourth time in five seasons to The Sporting News’ Silver Slugger team, which recognizes the best offensive players at their positions. He also was voted as the starting National League All-Star catcher for the third consecutive year. Season Average (Career) Hits: 132 Runs: 55 HRs: 15 RBIs: 67