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Charlie Hoke

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  1. Charlie Hoke

    The Wild Card Padres

    By Charlie Hoke,


    Padres Lore
    A torrid summer and trading deadline acquisitions are the key to the Padres’ post season hopes. With the second Wild Card spot, the Padres may go deep into October.
    The Wild Card has kept the Padres’ playoff hopes alive in recent years, when the division crown was out of reach. In 2022, the Padres were 22 games behind the Dodgers for the National League West division title yet went from the Wild Card Series to the National League Championship coming so close to their third World Series appearance.
    In a short series, a strong starting rotation is the key to advancing. The Padres did it in 1998 and almost in 2023.
    If the Wild Card round had started earlier, the Padres would have had more playoff appearances and possibly even another World Series berth and win.
    The MLB Wild Card round was introduced in 1994 but not implemented due to the strike that year. The team with the best record that was not one of the 3 division winners got into the playoffs.
    With only two divisions before 1994, an earlier wild card would have two teams with the next best records be the wild cards who would then play the division winners in a 5-game format.
    The Padres would have qualified in 1989 and 1991.
    1989
    The Padres were 4 games out with 4 to play but lose on Sep 27, 2-1 to the Reds, before facing the division leading Giants in a final 3 game series. This was a strong team with aces Bruce Hurst, Ed Whitson, and a rookie Andy Benes anchored in the bullpen by Cy Young Award winning closer Mark Davis. Tony Gwynn, Roberto Alomar, Benito Santago and Jack Clark paced the offense.
    This was the closest the Padre came to winning their division until 1996. One of the better Padres teams with a good blend of offense and pitching. 
    1991
    Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez replace Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar in a trade from the Blue Jays the year before.  Andy Benes and Bruce Hurst were still in their prime with a fading Ed Whitson in his last year. Veteran Craig Lefferts was the closer. Benito Santiago and Tony Gwynn were still raking along with Darrin Jackson’s career year.
    This would have been a tougher wild card challenge year as the Padres tied with the Cardinals and so they would have to play a single win or go home game before the Wild Card round.
     
    So what does 2026 hold for the Padres who likely will be a Wild Card u nless they can catch the Dodgers for the division.
  2. Charlie Hoke

    Trading Deadline Hopes

    By Charlie Hoke,


    Padres Lore
    Will Casey Mize and Rob Ray bring the Padres post-season success? How will these moves pan out?
    Getting two solid starters from the Tigers and the Giants help the Padres bolster their rotation which is critical for the stretch run and for the short series in the first two rounds of the post-season when having two more ace pitchers give the Padres a chance throw a top of the rotation starter in each game.
    AJ Preller, the Padres’ General Manager has been particularly aggressive at the trading deadline, but at the risk of gutting the future for the present.
    In 2025, getting fireballer Mason Miller, starter JP Sears, catcher Freddy Fermin, and corner outfielders:  Ramon Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn, but these did not help the Padres get past the Cubs in the Wild Card round.
    In 2024, the Padres focused again on pitching and got Tanner Scott from the Marlins, but could not get past the divisional round, losing to the Braves.
    In 2023, the Padres again looked for a starter getting Rich Hill and closer Scott Barlow and offense with the platoon combo of Ji-Man Choi and Garret Cooper, yet the Padres finished at a lackluster one game above .500 at 82-80 and missed the playoffs,
    In 2022, the big blockbuster trades of getting Juan Soto, Josh Hader, Josh Bell helped the Padres to the NLCS; only to falter against the Phillies and made the worse because of the failures of the two key stars in 2023.
    In 2016, in possibly the most impactful trading deadline trade in the AJ Preller era, the Padres were sellers and traded pitcher James Shields and got in return Fernando Tatis, Jr., now a mainstay in the lineup.
    How will the rest of 2026 progress for the Padres?
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