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Countdown to Trevor’s Ceremony: Must-Read Article

For today’s post, I would like to point you to an article which I think is the best article I’ve ever read. As an aspiring sports journalist, I aspire to write articles as incredible as this one.

Here it is: Disappointment aside, Hoffman still stands tall 

It was written in 2008, after Game 163, by Bob Nightengale with USA Today. I don’t know how you could paint a better picture of this game. Absolutely incredible imagery.

Just read it. This may be the most accurate picture of Trevor Hoffman’s character that you’ll see anywhere.

Well, we’re almost there, guys. We are about 22 hours away from the ceremony, and I am getting ridiculously excited. I can’t wait!!!!! Let’s sell out this place, everyone. Yesterday I heard that there were still tickets. Absurd! This game should be absolutely sold out. Any baseball fan within a 60 mile radius should be at the ballpark tomorrow, in their seats, by 12:30 p.m. Trevor deserves to have the whole place sold out in his honor. I’m sure it will get sold out, but I’m surprised it didn’t happen earlier.

LET’S DO THIS!!

GO PADRES!!!!

Countdown to Trevor’s Ceremony: Enjoyable Reading

I’ve written a ton of blog posts about Trevor Hoffman. A TON. (I’m even wearing a Trevor Hoffman shirt in my main blog picture <- cool, huh?) Especially after he became a free agent. I’m linking them all here, but if you don’t feel like reading all of them, there are two-must read ones, posts that I consider to be some of the best things I’ve ever written.

MUST READS:

  • Always Belong To Us - No matter where Trevor went (or was forced to go, ahem), he will always be a Padre. He will always be our All-Time Saves leader.
  • Why Trevor? - I could not believe what the front office was telling us. I was upset, confused, and thinking, how can you let someone like Trevor Hoffman go?

The rest:

I hope you were able to find one or two that interested you and helped you get ready for the weekend. For me, looking back at all these makes me so thankful that we had one of the classiest guys in the game here, in San Diego, for so many years. I’m so glad that we’re going to have him for many years to come.

One day and 13 hours!!!

GO PADRES!!!

Countdown to Trevor’s Ceremony: Highlights

Here are some of my favorite Trevor Hoffman moments. There are so many, but they’re all so great :)

  • Save 479: Of course, the day that Trevor broke the All-Time Saves record was an amazing day for Padres fans. I remember sitting in my room having the radio blaring, listening as Trevor came in to pitch. It was sooo exciting. I was so happy and overwhelmed for him. It was a seriously great moment.
(Photo by John R. McCutchen/San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
  • Save 500: Almost as cool as #479
  • Coming home: After two years away from the Padres, Trevor retired at the beginning of the 2011 season and joined the Padres as a front office assistant. With a new ownership that was more respectful towards veteran legends like Trevor (that was a dig at John Moores), we welcomed him back with open arms and great joy. It’s wonderful to have him back here. San Diego is where he belongs and where he always will. I hope that he will never, ever leave us again.

These are just a few of many, I’m sure. I would write about more, but I’m short of time. After all, Trevor saved 552 games for us. Going through each one would take waaaayyy too long ;)

GO PADRES!!

 

Countdown to Trevor’s Ceremony: His Influence

My personal experience with Trevor Hoffman is a very special one. I’m sure that many Padres fans have stories about their interactions with Trevor, but I’m sure each one is very different. For me, I haven’t had the chance to talk to him or even introduce myself to him, but what I do have is very special to me in it’s own way.

One of my very first memories about the Padres was finding a picture of Trevor in the newspaper or something, and knowing that this was a special guy. I had to have been 6 or 7 at the time. I cut out that picture of Trevor and made it into a homemade baseball card. I didn’t really know his significance like I do now, but that’s something I’ve always had of Trevor’s.

Fast forward to 2007, freshman year of high school. My best friends and I went to a Padres game to celebrate my birthday. I always talk about this game because it was the day that I fell in love with Kevin Kouzmanoff, but I sometimes forget that it was also significant because of Trevor. After Kouz came up to us and gave us a baseball and autographs, we went into the park and walked around towards the first base side. There, we saw Trevor Hoffman himself, stretching during batting practice. We were sooo excited. We went closer to the Padres bullpen and when Trevor was done, he came by and signed autographs for all of us! It was amazing because he didn’t stay for long at all, but me and my three friends all got his autograph. It was sooo cool!!

I’ve said that the baseball he autographed might be the most valuable thing I own. It’s not often that you get the autograph of baseball’s All-Time Saves Leader!

I got to see Trevor Time for the one and only time on August 14, 2008. All I wanted that year was to see Trevor close a game live. The score was 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth, and I was really glad when we didn’t get any runs in that inning. I was SOOOO excited when “Hell’s Bells” started and Trevor ran out from the bullpen. It was the coolest thing. Trevor allowed a home run to former Padre Mike Cameron, but he got the save for a 3-2 win. It was amazing. I’m so glad that I got to see Trevor Time, even if it was only once.

I love Trevor. Like I said, I’ve never had the opportunity to actually meet him, but he’s been a great influence in my life. I loved having him as a Padre, and was literally devastated when he was let go from the Padres. That was the worst. But thankfully, he’s back and he’s forever a Padre <3

One day and 22 hours until the ceremony!!!!!

GO PADRES!!!    

Countdown to Trevor’s Ceremony: Introduction

For the next few days leading up to Trevor Hoffman’s Retirement Ceremony (August 21st, Petco Park, 12:30 p.m. Tickets at padres.com), I am going to be posting about my top favorite Trevor moments. Ones that impacted me personally, and ones that impacted the city of San Diego as a whole. Trevor Hoffman is one of my all-time favorite Padres, and I have so much admiration and respect for this guy. I’m beyond excited at the opportunity to be at his ceremony and really honor his incredible career.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the first post about my favorite Trevor moments. I can’t wait.

GO TREVOR!!!

Mets top Padres in rubber game.

The Padres lost a three-game series to the Mets this afternoon, 7-3.

Despite an outstanding performance on all sides the night before (offense and pitching), the Padres weren’t able to pull through Wednesday, leaving Padres fans wondering if the season of losing would ever end.

Starter Mat Latos was solid, only making one big mistake. He threw six innings, allowing three runs with six strikeouts. All three runs came on a three-run homer to Mets third baseman David Wright in the third inning. (Wow, that’s a lot of threes.) Unfortunately, his offense wasn’t able to back him up and he got the loss, his 12th of the year.

The Padres only got three runs in the game, with two of them coming in the bottom of the ninth. Nick Hundley doubled in Aaron Cunningham with no outs, and then Alberto Gonzalez doubled in Hundley right before Jason Bartlett struck out to end the game.

But the Mets had no such problem. Angel Pagan, leading off in the lineup, had two hits and three RBIs. That, coupled with Wright’s bomb and Willie Harris’ RBI single in the eighth gave New York more than enough to win the game.  

Padres fans know that the team isn’t going to go anywhere, at least not this season, but it would always be nice to have some good games during the last few months of the season, like Tuesday’s 6-1 win. But a series like this shows why the Padres are 15 games out of first place: even if they are able to have a solid game, they aren’t able to carry that momentum even to a game the very next day. Consistency, momentum, whatever you want to call it, the Padres don’t have it. And that’s why they are stuck in the cellar of the NL West.

The Padres will host the Florida Marlins for the next four games over the weekend, leading up to Trevor Hoffman’s retirement ceremony before the game on Sunday. You won’t want to miss it.

GO PADRES!!!!!!

 

Looking Up

Last night’s game was a great one for the San Diego Padres.

We had 15 hits, which is rare. But it was so much fun to watch! Nick Hundley, who recently came off the disabled list, had three hits, two triples and a double. Two triples!! It was so great.

Then Logan Forsythe, Jesus Guzman, Kyle Blanks, Orlando Hudson and Alberto Gonzalez had two hits each. Cameron Maybin hit a solo homer in the seventh.

We actually got the early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first, and kept that lead for the rest of the game. The Mets were able to get one run in the top of the fourth, but we added one run in the bottom of that inning, two runs in the seventh, and one run in the eighth.

Cory Luebke, who started the game, threw very, very well. He had a no-hitter through 3.2 innings. He ended up only giving up three hits on one run with five strikeouts. What an outing!

In relief, Chad Qualls allowed the Mets’ only other hit in the game. Luke Gregerson and Erik Hamren threw the eighth and ninth with no problems.

It was a really good 6-1 win. We had some really solid hitting, really solid pitching. It was great to see.

 Guess what? Trevor Hoffman day is only a few days away!!!! I am sooooo excited. But I’m going to cry so bad. Just the sound of Hell’s Bells makes me freak out, so I’m pretty sure I’m going to be a mess on Sunday. But that’s okay. Trevor Hoffman is my all-time favorite Padre (besides Kevin Kouzmanoff), but more than that, he’s one of the all-time favorite Padres in San Diego. I have so much admiration and respect for Trevor, I could go on and on about how much this guy means to me.

I’m just so happy that this retirement ceremony is happening. There was a time just a few years ago where I thought Trevor and the Padres would never be on speaking terms again. Those were some bad days. But I’m so, so, thankful that we have new leaders in the front office, people who respect Trevor and all he means to San Diego, people who will give him an amazing ceremony to honor his incredible career. It’s going to be a great day to be a Padres fan.

GO PADRES!!!!!

Epic Fails

The Padres have had a bad past two days.

Last night, we had a 8-6 lead when Heath Bell came in to get the save but instead gave up three singles, two wild pitches, and three runs to give the Mets a 9-8 come-from-behind walk-off win.

 

Then, tonight, Chad Qualls gave up a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, and then Josh Spence gave up two runs to give the Mets a 5-4 lead and win.

Usually, our bullpen isn’t like this. And two fails two nights in a row? Unheard of.

Hopefully they can pull it back together for the last game of the series. Let’s not get swept!

GO PADRES!!

SWEEP!!

Well, what do you know.

Your San Diego Padres have won three games in a row, and they didn’t hold anything back.

We scored 35 runs. Had 40 hits. Hit five home runs, including two grand slams.

This is not the Padres we’re used to, but man, did I enjoy this weekend. It’s really great for us, but we do feel for the Pirates, since we’ve experienced so much of their pain, like the Union-Tribune article was talking about. Today we gave the Pirates their 10th straight loss. Ouch.

One thing I was really excited about today was Mat Latos’ outing. He did really well! He went seven solid innings, only allowing two runs on four hits, and those runs didn’t come until the bottom of the eighth. He also had seven strikeouts and got the win. Way to go, Mat!!

Former Padre Kevin Correia actually started for the Pirates, which I thought was funny. He only went 5.2 innings and got the loss. HA!

The sweep was a great victory, but we had a lot of bad news this week on the injury side. Chris Denorfia was put on the DL with a strained hamstring, which is really sad. Here’s a great video that shows us many reasons why losing Chris is so bad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCCKEsNMomA 

Also, Chase Headley is going to be out for a few weeks with fractured left little finger. Not good. Not good…at all.

We go to New York to play the Mets next. Tim Stauffer is starting tomorrow night.

GO PADRES!!!

Where did that come from??

It’s a game like last night’s that makes you feel great being a Padres fan.

But if you are a Padres fan, you know that in all likelihood, the Padres won’t be able to live up to what they did last night the next day, but it still feels good.

Yesterday, we won 15-5 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. We had four home runs, including a grand slam by Chase Headley. I remember years ago when Khalil Greene hit a grand slam at PNC Park. That was pretty great.

But what this game really told me was that we would be so much better if we didn’t play in Petco Park so much. I know this is an old, old subject, but last night was enough to convince me. We went nuts last night, hit four home runs, had 15 hits, and scored 15 runs. You won’t see that at Petco anytime soon.

Kyle Blanks and Aaron Cunningham each hit a solo home run. Jesus Guzman hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth. He also went 2-for-5 and raised his average to .360. I’m really, really liking this guy.

Will Venable and Cameron Maybin each had two hits. Everyone else was pretty exceptional too, and hey, we won the game by ten runs.

Hopefully, we will be able to carry on the momentum to today’s game. But it’s my fear that they will just let us down today and get no-hit or something.

Let’s hope that’s not the case.

GO PADRES!!!

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