When the San Diego Padres won the National League pennant in 1984 there were high hopes for an enduring run of success. Those hopes had not panned out. The team slipped to a distance third place in 1985 and parted ways with manager Dick Williams. Two other managers didn’t work out either. Early in 1988, […]
The San Diego Padres had lived a lifeless existence since their founding in 1969. The first thirteen years saw one winning season and no finishes higher than fourth in the six-team NL West. The front office made the decision to hire Dick Williams and three years later the hire bore great fruit, as the 1984 San Diego Padres became the first team in franchise history to reach the World Series.
The 1984 NLCS saw two fresh faces arrive on the October stage. The Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres each won their first division titles since advent of divisional play in 1969, and met in the League Championship Series. It was a series that began looking like a rout, before shifting gears and ending with an epic Saturday night and Sunday afternoon in San Diego.
It was expected that Detroit would win decisively and the fact they did so in five games shows the Tigers met expectations. But if you were a Tiger fan living through it in the moment, there were some nervous moments, as the Padres played competitive baseball throughout this Fall Classic and continually fought back whenever Detroit threatened to blow games open.