Trevor Hoffman Retirement Ceremony

In the history of the San Diego Padres, there have been a few names that have been able to associate with the team.  Tony Gywnn, Randy Jones, Ken Caminiti, and Trevor Hoffman.  Trevor Hoffman, who by a huge margin is the best closer to ever play the game, was the face of the Padres organization for over a decade and one of the nicest people you would ever meet.

This past Sunday, the Padres organization honored Trevor with a beautiful ceremony, retiring the number 51 and making sure that nobody ever wears that number ever again.

A few interesting notes about the ceremony were:

• The ceremony lasted 51 minutes
• The lead singer of AC/DC referred to Hells Bells as Trevor's song
• August 21, 2011 was dedicated Trevor Hoffman Day in San Diego County

Here is a link to the Channel 4 broadcast of the ceremony.  

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=18291081&topic_id=&c_id=sd&v=3&tcid=tw_video_18291081

I was unable to attend, but watching this video gave me goosebumps.  Remembering everything that I learned through observing Trevor go about his business as a professional and just being an amazing human being.  

Thank you Trevor, for everything you have done for the city of San Diego and for having such a huge impact on myself as a player and a fan.

Enjoy the video!

Week One Update

Going into the season, everybody had already written off the Padres.  It is very interesting to see that with three series under their belt so far, everyone has already seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Right out of the gate, the Pads took it straight to the St. Louis Cardinals, making Mr. Albert look like an amateur.  The Pitching has looked the way we have become accustomed to see, and with timely hitting and a never-die attitude they took two of three from the Red Birds.

Then they decide to come home and split with the World Champion Giants, the same team that be the Pads for the "play in" game last year.  The bats were very quiet as they had been, for the most part of this early season, but they stuck to what works and their pitching kept them in one of the ballgames.

The Padres then decided to be too hospitable to the visiting Dodgers and gave away game one. Granted the rain had everything to do with that.  Game two was just complete domination by the Dodgers and took that game with ease.  Then in game three, the bats decided to show up and the hitting synced up with the runners in scoring position and the Pad Squad took game three.

Nobody is picking SD in the West, but the same thing was said last year and they went on to lead for about half the season and end up only two games back.  In this very young season, I have seen many mistakes that have made me cringe, but I have also seen promise, that I wasn't expecting to see this early.  One thing is for certain, pitching will continue to be solid.  If their bats can just be consistent from more than two players, they might be dangerous as well.

Petco Park

As a Die-Hard San Diego Padres Fan, growing up in So Cal, I have had the opportunity see many games at the legendary Jack Murphy Stadium (Qualcomm) and now the beautiful State-Of-The-Art, not a bad seat on the field, Petco Park.  Although I am not the biggest fan of the name, Petco Park has to be one of the most innovative complexes in the game today.  This "Pitcher's Park" is located in one of the most desired pieces of land in all of America.  Located right next to the Gaslamp District and San Diego Harbor, in the heart of downtown, has any pre- or post-game activities that you could ever desire.

Sure, other stadiums have waterfalls, giant apples, or slides, but Petco features it's own beach, and park inside the park.  I pay homage to Jack Murphy Stadium, and the history that is found within it's walls, but nowhere in this world will you find a more pleasant setting to come watch a ballgame in the world that compares to Petco Park.

This blog is dedicated to the San Diego Padres' ball club, fan base, and city.  There is no better team or city in the MLB and my hope is that the Pads will stay for a long, long time.