book review

Jason Enes

Book Review

MC 299

April 27, 2008

Baseball has been in San Diego in some form since 1871 and the Padres have been in San Diego since 1936. In Bill Swank’s book Baseball in San Diego from the Padres to Petco he details the history of the team as the Padres from 1936-2003.

The book details the history of the team as a minor league team in the Pacific Coast League. It also talks about how many people were unaware that Ted Williams actually began his baseball career as a Padre. The Boston Red Sox great spent the 1936 season as a 17 year-old outfielder with the Padres before being sold to Boston in 1937.

It then goes into the struggles of San Diego getting an expansion team in the late 1960’s and how just trying to get the money together to purchase the team but many people in the city into debt. Once the team was awarded to the city it goes into the struggles that the team had to win games and get people into the seats in brand new San Diego Stadium.

The Padres have struggled mightily during their existence but the players that have been Padres are an impressive list. Ozzie Smith, Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn and Jake Peavy are just a small sampling of the players that have graced the city of San Diego with their baseball talents. The history of the Padres in a long one with lots of struggles on and off the field and Bill Swank does a great job in showing that and even as big of a Padre fan that I am a learned a lot about the team and it’s players that I did not even know.