Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to everyone. I hope you and your loved ones had a great and safe time celebrating our nation's birthday today. I wish things had gone better for the Padres today, rather than getting clobbered 8-2 at Boston, Ouch!

Again, as you know, I collect everything and anything Padres. And the two packages I received yesterday certainly didn't hurt in building my collection.

I was thrilled to receive this 1984 World Series program. It was in excellent shape and after thumbing through it, it carefully went into a plastic bag and stored away.

While the Padres' first  World Series trip ended in a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Tigers, the playoff run that got them into the Championships was truly amazing. I remember sitting in back of the Spanish class I was taking at the University of Iowa, wearing a hoody and having an earphone stuck in my ear listening to the San Diego/Chicago Cub series. What a great comback! Fortunately, I wasn't asked to answer any questions that day, but I do remember one of my classmates laughing at me as I jumped up straight in my seat, pumping my fist a couple of times.

My other package included a very nice auto/patch of Yonder Alonso - a 2013 Topps Museum Collection Signature Swatches Triple Relic Autographs. I was pleasantly surprised to get this for about $3 on E-Bay. Besides sporting a nice, crisp autograph and being numbered #49/224, it has a really nice patch in the first of the three panels.Whether it's part of his nameplate, or a corner of his number, I have no idea.

 

Yonder was almost to the point where Padres fans could realistically say, "Gonzalez who?," when talking about first base. And then he broke his wrist. I actually think the Padres got the better of the Latos-Cincinnati deal.  Once he came off suspension, Grandal's been dong a great job at catcher., Volquez  frustrates everyone with his sporadic pitching  (I wouldn't be disappointed if the Friars do allow him to become a free agent at the end of the year), and Boxberger can still be classified as a prospect at best. He flashed a surprising 2.60 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 18 walks last year with the parent club, and with a 0-3 record at Tucson this year, he needs a bit of work.

 

I'm now looking forward to next week, as our SportsCardForum Baseball Traders group has set its trades for July. I can't wait to see what's in the mail next week.

 

Minor League Monday - Matt Bush

 

While the Padres have a maddening history of first round draft picks that turn out to be busts, perhaps none have proved more of a bust (to say nothing of being a total embarrasment) than Matt Bush.

 

An 18-year old shortstop/pitcher out of Mission Bay High School, Bush was the overall #1 pick in the 2004 draft. The Padres should of had an inkling of things to come, however, when he was arrested at a nightclub near the team's Peoria, Ariz. spring training complex, for assault, where he supposedly got into a fight with the bouncer, who wouldn't let him in.

 

He began his career as a shortstop, but only batted .192 between the Arizona League and short-season Eugene Emeralds. In 2005, he hit .221 (and two home runs) in 453 at bats for the lower A-Level For Wayne Wizards, and in 2006, .263 in 22 games with the AZL and Fort Wayne, before breaking his ankle,

 

In 2007, the Padres decided to make him a pitcher. In seven games (again within the AZL and Fort Wayne), he struck out 16 batters in 7.2 innings, compiling a 1.17 ERA, but had another early season exit, this time with torn ligaments in his elbow, requiring Tommy John surgery. He missed all of the 2008 season.

 

In 2009, came the infamous “Matt Bush Incident,” as Bush assaulted a pair of high school lacrosse players with a golf club at Granite Hills High School. After the assault, Bush yelled, “I'm Matt f***** Bush!,” as he drove his Mercedes over a curb and into the Pacific sunset. The San Diego District Attorney’s Office filed four misdemeanor charges against him.

 

The Padres then decided to cut their losses, designating Bush for reassignment. After signing P Cliff Floyd, Bush was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, for the infamous “player to be named later.” (I haven’t been able find if they even got a used jockstrap for Bush, much less the “player to be named later”).

 

A month later, he assaulted a woman at a party in Florida, and was released by the Blue Jays for violating a "zero tolerance" agreement.

 

In 2010, he signed a minor league contract with Tampa Bay. He showed a flash of promise as a pitcher, with a 4.73 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 50.1 innings, but never rose above the AA-level. Despite being promoted to the Rays AAA club for their playoffs, he never played in a single game.

 

In March 2012, Bush was arrested following a DUI hit-and-run accident with a 72-year old motorcyclist. Facing seven charges, Bush pleaded no contest, and is currently serving a 51-month prison sentence. He isn’t scheduled for release until 2016.

 

Interesting side note #1 - With the number one overall pick, apparently the Pads were interested in IF Stephen Drew and P Jered Weaver. However, since they were represented by former Padres player Scott Boras, they didn't want to pay the enormous signing bonus he would have demanded. Instead, the Padres selected Bush, signing him for an "affordable" $3.15 million.

 

Interesting side note #2 - Bush has the dubious distinction of being one of only three former number one picks to have never played in the major leagues. The other two were P Brien Taylor (NY Yankees, 1991) and C Steve Chilcott (NY Mets, 1966).

Oh to be a UI student again, helping the Pads

Oh, to be a student at the University of Iowa once again...

A unique course at the University of Iowa gave students interested in recreation and sport business the chance to gain some hands-on experience.. Dan Matheson, a lecturer at Iowa's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, took a group of UI students from the Sport Business Practicum to San Diego, to work with the  Padres and the University of San Diego Athletics Department for two weeks in June.

Last summer, 12 UI students, along with 10 Ohio students and five DePaul students, stayed on the USD campus. Their first week was spent doing background work to become familiar with the Padres and USD Athletics Department and the organizations' markets.

After the week of orientation, the students were presented with their first challenge — in two days, and with a budget of $2,500, teams had to come up with proposals to increase student attendance at one USD men’s basketball home game in early February.

The remainder of the course was focused on a Padres challenge. Vice President of Ticket Services Jared Dillon sought to increase single game ticket sales, including ways to encourage fans to make single game ticket purchases further in advance to increase the certainty of revenue. The students also met with a larger group of Padres executives, including the vice president for business administration, director of brand management, and director of market research.

The overall winning team was selected as well as two individual proposals from all of the teams. They then had to combine those ideas into one cohesive proposal presentation that was then delivered the next morning to a larger group of Padres executives.

Has it helped the Pads in ticket sales? Hard to say, especially with the Friars being on the roll they are right now. But, darn, wouldn't it have been great to have taken part in such a class?

Minor League Monday - Bobby Bonds, Jr.

While the Bonds name carries a wealth of experience in the baseball world, in reality, the Padres could actually brag about a Bonds of their own – OF Bobby Bonds, Jr., son of former San Francisco Giant Bobby Bonds and the younger brother of Barry and Ricky Bonds – who played within the Friars’ farm system from 1992 – 1994.

 

Bobby Jr., who bypassed high school baseball, got into martial arts because of his hero, Bruce Lee. eventually earning his black belt. It wasn’t until 1991, however, when he visited Pittsburgh’s Brandenton spring training camp with his brother Barry, that he realized how much he actually missed baseball.

He played two years at Redwood City, Calif.’s Canada College, where he hit .270 with seven home runs.  The Padres took the 22-year old in the 18th round of the 1992 amateur draft.

He began his minor league career with the Arizona League Padres (hitting .317) and then the Spokane Indians., (.179, but stealing 13 of 15 bases). In 1993, Bonds Jr. moved up to the Waterloo Diamonds, where he hit .248 and continued to prove fleet of foot, stealing 30 bases in 102 games.

As 1994 dawned, Bonds quickly moved from Midwest League Springfield (.276, 10-13 SB), to High-A Rancho Cucamonga (.175, 5-5 SB, and then jumped to AAA Las Vegas. In his four games a Star, he was 0-4 at the plate, with a strikeout.

That was his last opportunity as a Padre, though, as the San Francisco Giants signed Bonds Dec. 8, 1992, as a free agent. He never made it to the majors. In 2002, his final year of baseball, he hit just .169 with the Newark Bears.

You can learn a lot from Padre Media Guides

Of course, being a die-hard Friars fan, I collect everything and anything having to do with the San Diego Padres. Besides receiving a pair of printing plates in yesterday’s mail, I also received another package, bigger than the first one, that I was just as excited about.

One of the many things I collect are Padres Media Guides. In existence since the late ‘60s, media guides were originally created to provide sports journalists information relating to the players, history, and statistical records for that specific team, which proved useful in broadcasting and writing their stories.

Media guides have since exploded in today’s information age. What were once small, 4.5” x 11” pamphlets have now grown to 400+ page tomes.  Some teams, such as the Detroit Tigers, even have some of their guides archived on their team web site.

 

In yeseterday’s package were media guides for 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977. While I already have the ’76 and ’77 guides, as a package deal, I couldn’t pass this one up. Even better, I still have the Padres’ inaugural 1969 guide coming my way, as well as the 2012 issue.

I love the guides because they’re a definitive piece of Padres history. Where else can you find a complete Padres player and staff roster for each year, including a complete player biography? You also get player development reports for each Friar minor leaguer, information on each opponent for that season, a review of the previous year, history and records, and info on both Padres management and media crews.

Padres greats, such as Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield, Randy Jones and Jake Peavy have graced the covers, as have images of Jack Murphy, Petco Park, boats, battleships and Padres memorabilia.

It’s a great little piece of history, perfect for any and all Padres research!

Since their inception in 1969, the Padres have released 45 media guides. Thanks to this package, and the other two inbound guides, I now need only seven more media guides to complete the set.

If you know willing to part with a 1973, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1999, 2003, or 2013 guide, just let me know. I have a 1970, 1976, 1977 and 1985 guide for trade.

My first Padres printing plates

After a tough day at work today, I came home to find a couple of great packages from recent E-Bay purchases. Once I opened them, I  was equally pumped about the contents of both packages. As for the other package, I'll go into detail about that tomorrow.

As a result of the first package, I now own two, San Diego Padres 1/1 Magenta Printing Plates. I got both of them from the same seller, who had a "or best offer" caveat with the plates. After some give and take, he finally accepted an offer on both the cards. I apologize if the scans aren't the best...

The first one is the magenta printing plate for the 2004 Topps Traded and Rookies Terrence Long #T16. After starting with the Mets, and then the A's, Long, a left-handed OF, was traded to San Diego, along with Ramon Hernandez on Nov. 26, 2003 for Mark Kotsay. That's how we ended up in the Topps Traded set. He wasn't in a Padres uni for long, however, as he was traded to Kansas City less than a year later, along with Dennis Tankersley and cash, for Ryan Bukvich and Darrell May. Long, who spent most of the season backing up Ryan Klesko in left and Jay Payton in center, hit .295 with three homers and 28 RBIs in 136 games.

The other plate belongs to Dustin Moseley and his 2012 Topps Mini #448. Even though he didn't do much for the Pads, I like the Moseley card, since it was from last year's offerings. After being non-tendered by the Yankees, he signed a one-year contract to pitch in the friendly environs of Petco Park. He disclocated his left shoulder after getting a base hit in July, ending his season with a 3-10 record and 3.30 ERA (a career best) in 120 innings. Making matters worse, he made only one start in 2012, before clearing outright waivers.

While I already own one printing plate (a 2009 Topps Chrome Cyan Printing Plate Jon Garland (Angels) #57), which I'm looking to trade for a Padres plate, I now own my first Padres 1/1 plates. And to top it all off, there's a couple more plates I have my eye on.

Minor League Monday - Roger Smithberg

Roger Smithberg was a second round Padres pick in the 1987 MLB Amateur Draft from Bradley University. A 6-foot-3 right-hander, he began his Padres career with the Class A, California League Riverside Red Wave, going 9-2 with a 3.31 ERA.

Unfortunately, that would be his best season within the Friars farm system. The Pads expected the best in 1990  until a strained elbow ligament limited his workload. However, after three years of bouncing up-and-down between Class A+ and AAA  he compiled a 34-49 record. In April 1992, the Padres released him.

The Oakland A’s picked him up as a free agent two months later. He made his MLB debut with them in September 1993, relieving starter Mike Mohler against the World-Series champion Toronto Blue Jays.  Going three innings, he gave up only two hits, with no strikeouts or walks.

He pitched two more games for Oakland in 1994, giving up four earned runs in 2.1 innings. He ended his professional career later that year with AAA Tacoma.

Today, Smithberg is a Senior Vice President for David A. Noyes and Company, a Chicago-based investment company.