San Diego having some fun in the sun
Posted: Mon April 20, 1998 at 2:40 PM ET
ST. LOUIS (CNN/SI) -- When you're competing with some of the best beaches in the world, and SeaWorld, and all that California sunshine, getting people to come out to a baseball game can be a tough sell.
But the San Diego Padres, the hottest team in baseball, are giving it a try.
The Padres were my surprise team out West, the team I picked to win that division if the Los Angeles Dodgers falter. Now the Padres are off to a 14-3 start -- the best in franchise history -- something no one could have guessed.
What has made the Padres charge out of the gate so quickly?
Well, just about everything.
They have the pitching.
Kevin Brown has been a solidifying factor for them. They've always had a lot of decent arms in San Diego, but they've never had anyone to carry the load. Now that Brown is there (he's 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA), guys like Andy Ashby and Joey Hamilton -- guys who have been No. 1s on other staffs before -- can take it easy.
Brown is the guy who will give you the great outing and is the steadying influence on the staff. He's the leader. He has that temperament, the kind of fearless attitude that says "My stuff is good, and I'm going to be tough to beat." And that makes it nice on everybody else.
Basically, what you need on any staff is two guys who can give you a better than 50 percent chance of winning every time they pitch. The Padres have at least that.
They have the hitting.
One of the biggest factors in the Padres' hot start is that they've thrown Greg Vaughn (five home runs, 10 RBIs) into the mix and he's become a real offensive force. The Padres have homered in 13 straight games, a team record, with Ken Caminiti's six leading the team. Wally Joyner, who has 11 RBIs, is hitting .365. And, of course, you have Tony Gwynn. You know he's going to hit .370, .380, .400, .450 -- he's going to hit. His great work ethic carries over to the rest of the offense. Like Kevin Brown's influence carries throughout the pitching staff, Gwynn is the guy who leads the offense.
They have the defense.
No, the Padres aren't the best defensive team in baseball. But they're solid. They don't hurt themselves. And when you have a good pitching staff and the offense they're capable of, you don't need Gold Glovers at every position.
San Diego is the place I started my career. I still have a lot of fond memories of the place. The only time San Diego has ever experienced a real winning baseball team was in 1984, when the Padres went to the World Series. That's a long time ago.
I think they have a solid core of fans over there, and I hope this start helps bring even more fans to the ballpark. The early attendance figures look fairly promising -- over the first seven home games, attendance is up a total of about 13,000 fans.
I guess San Diegans are finding out you can get sunshine sitting in the stands watching a game, too.
The 6-4-3 with Ozzie: Talk about your fast starts.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are off to best start ever for an expansion franchise -- a shocker for anyone who looked at this team at the beginning of the season. We knew they had drafted well, but most people probably felt the other expansion team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, drafted better.
You have to figure the Devil Rays' veterans -- Wade Boggs, Fred McGriff, Dave Martinez -- have a nice, steadying influence on the team. The Rays are getting decent pitching, and they're a pretty good defensive club. And Tampa Bay's team batting average is hovering over .300.
They'll still have some growing pains to go through. The question is whether the Rays can get through them and actually be a contender come playoff time.
It's a long season. Stay tuned.
| 
Audio (288K)