Darren Balsley

Evidently you can go home again, and do well. Darren Balsley graduated from San Diego's Mt. Carmel High, went away to college and then played six years in the minor leagues before returning to be the pitching coach for the Padres. He took the job in 2003 and took the Pads to having the league leading team ERA in 2007 in all of the major leagues.

Darren was drafted in the 3rd round by the A's in 1984. He then embarked on a tour of the west smallest towns', Idaho Falls, Modesto and Pocatello. Then in '86 the Jays took him in minor league draft and he spent a couple of years touring the deep south, pitching in Dunedin and Knoxville. He finished by going 3 for 3 in Knoxville in 1989.

Then he became an advance scout for the Blue Jays before becoming a coach at some of the places he had just played. In 2003 he was named the pitching coach for San Diego where he has coached many of the pitchers to a marked improvement and lowered the team ERA.

The card was a giveaway at the stadium in 2004 produced by Upper Deck. It included all the coaches and the complete 25 man roster. I wish the Padres would do something like this every year, I would like to have a card of Glenn Hoffman in a Padres uniform. I sent this to Darren in '05 and got it right back.

Jack Baldschun

I got this card from ebay, but I have another one somewhere that I got through the mail. Jack is a generic card with the Padres name on it. The 1970 card still shows him wearing a Reds uniform, where he played in 1969. It is card #284, which is pretty good considering that Jack didn't sign with the Padres until after the season had started.

Jack was originally signed as a amateur free agent before the 1956 season by the Washington Senators, before they left the nations' capitol (Hope you voted) again for greener pastures. Somehow he got to the Twins organization and then in 1960 the Phillies got him from the Twins in the Rule 5 Draft. He made his major league debut in 1961 and played 5 seasons for the Phillies. On December 6,1965 he was traded to the Orioles for Jackie Brandt and Darold Knowles, three days later he, Milt Pappas and Dick Simpson were traded to the Reds for Frank Robinson. He played two seasons for the Reds before being released by the Reds. He was signed by the Padres as a free agent in 1969 and pitched that year and part of the 1970 season before being released.

Chuck Baker

Chuck Baker was drafted 4 times before he signed and had a career of 93 games. He was drafted in 1971 by the Twins in the 36th round, in '73 by the Royals in the 26th round, by the Astros' in the 2nd round in 1974 and in he was drafted by the Padres in 1975 in the 2nd round. He finally signed with the Padres in 1975. He made his major league debut in 1978 playing in 44 games. Then he played in 9 games in 1980 for San Diego before being traded to the Twins for Dave Edwards. He played in 40 games for the Twinkies in 1981. And that as they say is all she wrote. I got this card off of ebay.

Brad Baker

He has played all over the United States, but hasn't made it to the show yet. He is coming off his ninth minor league season and has a career 44-40 record with a 3.98 ERA. He has been in the Red Sox, Padres, Braves and Twins organizations. He spent two years playing in Portland, having played at every level in the Padres organization and at AAA for the Braves, Sox, Twins and Padres. I remember sending this card to him when he was here in Portland.

If you want to see some really interesting cards I suggest you head over to Thorzul will Rule and see the interesting cards that won his halloween contest. These are truly awesome, wish I had a talent like that so I could make me a Dirk Hayhurst card.

1970

You learn something new every day. I thought for all the press that Hriniak got during the '80's and early '90's as a hitting guru that he must have been a long time, .300 or better hitter. Well he only played two seasons in the majors, and was a career .253 hitter. He was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1961 as an amateur free agent. He was a minor leaguer til 1968. He was severly injured in a car accident in 1964 which which resulted in the death of one of his teammates. He spent three months on the DL. He was finally called up by the Braves, who were now in Atlanta, and played in 9 games. In 1969 he played 7 games for the Braves, before being traded to the fledgling Padres with Andy Findlay and Van Kelly for Tony Gonzalez. He played 31 games with the Padres in 1969 and that was the end of his playing career. He stayed in the Padres organization for 2 more years before he was traded to the Braves for Rick Wilson. He played in the Braves system for a short time before being released and signed by the Expos as a free agent during the 1971 season. During the 1968 season he was at Shreveport where he was managed by Charlie Lau, another hitting guru. Hriniak adopted Laus' philosophy and began to teach it. He was hired in 1984 by the Red Sox as a hitting instructor and began to mentor hitters, including Hall of Famer Wade Boggs. He went to the ChiSox in 1989, where he taught the Big Hurt, Frank Thomas, his philosphy. He coached until 1995 when he opened a hitting school and became a private hitting instructor. He is pictured here on a 1970 Topps card, a year he didn't even play in the majors. I got this card from ABC Unlimited.

Mailday shout out

I received a package the other day from Bailey of The Nennth Inning and it contained the signed Chris Young A&G card from this signing. It will replace the Chris Young card I have in my collection. Thanks Bailey, and I have some Giants cards for you.

Also I would like to thank a couple of websites that I use to find the information on these posts. Baseball-reference.com is a great reference for anyone who ever played baseball. It contains more information than most people would ever want. Thanks to all who have made it so complete.

Wikipedia goes beyond just the stats, in some cases, to give a more complete story. Thanks to those of you who have contributed there.

Oscar Azocar

Oscar didn't play long anywhere, but I will always remember him because of the card on the right. He recreated the pose on a Padres Keebler card. He was signed by the Hankies as an amateur free agent in 1983, when he was 18 years old. He finally made it to the majors in 1990 playing part of one season with the Hankies. In December of 1990 he was traded to the Padres for Mike Humphreys (who?). He played two seasons in San Diego never playing more than 99 games. He was granted free agency as soon as the 1992 seasons was over. His career batting average was .226. I got this card on ebay.

Brad Ausmus

Heather Rowletts' favorite baseball player is Brad Ausmus. She watched him played in Houston, one of his stops around the majors. Brad has played 16 seasons so far and is rumored to be returning to San Diego for the 2009 season as a veteran to help teach the Padres young catchers.

Brad was originally drafted by the Hankies in the 1987 draft, and then played in the minors until the Rockies took him as the 54th pick in the expansion draft. The Rockies traded him to the Padres with Doug Bochtler and Andy Ashby for Bruce Hurst and Greg Harris. The Padres traded him to the Tigers, the Tigers traded him to the Astros, the Astros traded him to the Tigers and the Tigers traded him to the Astros. Then he was granted free agency and the signed again with the Astros. During all that trading he was traded once for Doug Brocail and once with Doug Brocail. During his 16 seasons he has only played with three teams. He has won 3 Gold Gloves and played in the 1999 All Star game. He played in the World Series in 2005 but his Astros were beaten by Ozzie Guillens' (another product of the Padres farm system) Chisox. I believe that I got the signature through the mail.

Rich Aurilia

Rich Aurilia played 51 games for the Padres in 2003 as his career was winding down. He was drafted by the Rangers in 1992 and then traded to the Giants in 1994. He played 9 seasons for the Giants before being granted free agency and signing with the Mariners. He played 73 games with the Mariners before being part of a conditional trade with the Padres. After that he was a free several times playing two seasons with the Reds before playing two more seasons with the Giants and seemingly finished his career in 2006. He was an All Star in 2001 and played with the Giants in a World Series loss to the Angels. I got this Bowman Heritage card signed through the mail.

Andy Ashby

Andy Ashby was a member of the Padres three different times. He played in the 1996 NLDS when the Padres lost to the Cardinals, played in the 1998 run up to the sweep by the Hankies in the 1998 World Series. He was originally drafted by the Phillies in '86, then was drafted by the Rockies in the Expansion draft. In '93 he was traded from the Rockies to the Padres along with Brad Ausmus and Doug Bochtler for Bruce Hurst and one of the Padres two Greg Harris'. He was with the Padres until he was traded back to the Phillies in 1999 for Adam Eaton, Steve Montgomery, and Carlton Loewer (didn't he fall out of a tree and break his leg?). The next year he was traded to Atlanta for Bruce Chen and Jimmy Osting. In November he was granted free agency and signed with the Doggers, then in 2003 he was a free agent again and in 2004 and 2005 he signed as a free agent with the Padres. He didn't pitch at all in 2005 and was granted free agency after the season. He was an AllStar twice, finished with a 98-110 records and a 4.12 ERA. I believe that I got this card signed through the mail.

Mike Armstrong

What do you when you retire at age 33? Mike Armstrong pitched for 8 years in the major leagues and was done with that career when he was 33. He is younger than many people I know who are still years away from retirement. What do you do after that? I wonder if any one has a where are they now blog on baseball players.

Mike was drafted by the Indians in the 9th round of the 1972 draft but did not sign. Mike must have had a good year at the University of Miami, because he was drafted by the Reds in the 1st round, with the 24th pick in 1973. In 1979 the Reds traded him to the Padres for Paul O'Neil (yes, that Paul O'Neil) . In 1982 the Royals purchased his contract from the Padres, then in '83 the Royals traded him to the Hankies for Steve Balboni. In '86 NY released, resigned him and released him in 87. He finally signed with Cleveland in 1987, 15 years after they originally drafted him. He pitched for the Padres, Royals, Yankees and Indians finishing his career with a 19-17 record and an ERA of 4.10. I got this 1981 Fleer card from ABC unlimited.

Guys I Need, Part 1

There are a few guys from the past that I haven't been able to acquire yet. From top to bottom left to right. I need Dave Stewart who is in the bottom right hand corner of the first coaches card. I have tried through the mail several teams in care of teams he is with. Next is Dick Sisler who was a coach for John McNamara when he managed the Padres. I have all the managers, SSPC put several coaches in the set. Next is future Hall of Famer, Alan Tramell, I have tried through the mail during the season, but never a response. Sean Watkins is one of those rookies who shows up in Bowman and then disappears. Donne Wall has never responded to my through the mail request, although he must be accumalating quite a few cards from all the times I have tried. Don Williams was on a team issued scheduled card in 1977, but I don't know where to mail it. Pedro Astacio only pitched 12 games for the Padres but it was enough to get him on this team issued card. Steven Baker is another Bowman rookie who seems to have disappeared. Brennan Boesch is a special case, he was drafted by the Tigers and has always played in their system. Topps for some reason airbrushed him into a Padres uniform. I have written him and asked him to sign the card, explaining that I realize he is not a Padre, but is pictured as a Padre. I have never heard back from him. He may be really pissed at Topps for making his first card in the wrong uniform. Steve Chavez, Steve Martin and Javier Martinez are more disappearing Bowman Rookies. Dan Miceli has never responded to my letters and Randy Myers, was notorious for only signing cards of the team he was currently on, but now he just doesn't respond. Lastly is former Astro's pitcher Dave Smith, I have tried a couple of times through the mail with no luck.

If you can help with any of these I would appreciate it. Just the conditions are they must be pictured in a Padres uniform. I will trade with or buy from you. Also if you are interested in a signed card of someone who played for the Padres, I have a couple of hundred extras. Right now my collection sits at signed cards of 698 different players and coaches.

Steve Arlin

Steve Arlin was born just after the end of World War II, just more than a month after the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was drafted by the Tigers in 23rd round of the 1965 draft but did not sign with them. Then in 1966 he was drafted in the first round by the Phillies and signed with them. Then in 1968 he was drafted by the Padres as the 57th pick in the expansion draft. He then played 5 and 1/2 years for the Padres before being traded to the Cleveland Indians for Brent Strom and Terry Ley. Terry is from Portland and I have met some of his relatives in my 27 years here in Portland. He had a career record of 34-67 and a 4.33 ERA for his six year career. I remember getting this 1973 Topps card signed through the mail.

George Arias

George played for three teams in two cities. That is a trick he was also drafted three times. He was a part of the Padres team that went to the World Series, however he only played in the Division Series and didn't play in the NL championship or the World Series. He played in 1996 and '97 for the California and Anaheim Angels, part way through the '97 season he was traded to the Padres as part of a trade involving Rickey Henderson. He was drafted by the Giants in the 21st round of the 1991 draft, by the Orioles in the 38th round of the '92 draft and finally signed after being drafted in the 7th round by the Angels in 1993. He must have had a great year at the University of Arizona to go from the 38th round to the 7th round. He played 3rd, 1st and DH during his career. I got this 1999 Keebler autographed through the mail.

Alex Arias

Alex Arias has a World Series ring, unfortunately it wasn't with the Padres. He played 11 seasons in the majors between 1992-2002. He was drafted by the Cubs in the 3rd round of the 1987 draft, he played part of the '92 season with the Cubs before being traded to the Marlins. He played 5 seasons with the Marlins, and was part of the Marlins 1997 World Series team. After that season he was released by the Marlins and signed as a free agent with the Phillies, he played three seasons and was released. The Padres signed him as a free agent in December of 2000 and played in 158 games for the Padres. At the end of the 2001 season he, Ben Davis and Wascar Serrano were traded to the Mariners for Brett Tomko, Tom Lampkin, Ramon Vazquez and cash. He then then signed as a free agent with the Orioles and Yankees. He never played a game for the Mariners or Orioles and only 8 games for the Yankees in 2002. I got the 2001 Keebler card signed through the mail. I wish the team still did some sort of team issued set like this, but they haven't for several years.