MLB Top 5: San Diego Padres First and Third Basemen

This is the second article in a series that looks at the five best players at each position for the San Diego Padres. In this installment are first and third basemen.

Some of the most prolific power hitters in Padres franchise history made their home at the corner infield spots, with the top three home run hitters and seven of the top 10 will be featured in this article. There is also plenty of versatility in this group of players, with several spending time in the outfield.

The best First and Third Basemen in San Diego Padres history

First Basemen

Honorable Mentions – Wally Joyner was a former college star at BYU who had a fantastic first two seasons with the Angels, including a Rookie of the Year runner-up spot in 1986. Nicknamed “Wally World” after the fictional theme park in the National Lampoon’s Vacation movie, Joyner earned four fielding titles in his 16-year career, one each with California and Kansas City and two during his four seasons in San Diego (1996-99). He posted a .327-13-83 stat line in 1997 and batted .298 with 80 RBIs the following year to help the team reach the World Series. Joyner appeared in 16 playoff games with the Padres, totaling four runs, seven hits, one home run and four RBIs. He was traded to the Braves and spent the following season back with the Angels and retired to become more involved in acting and filmmaking. Joyner admitted in a 2005 interview to using steroids during the 1998 season. He was a hitting coach and instructor with the Padres, Phillies and Tigers and worked for a baseball development program in Italy and Brazil.

Eric Hosmer was the third overall pick in 2008 and was third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2011 and earned one All-Star selection, a silver slugger and four gold gloves with the Royals. He was a star on a Kansas City team that appeared in two straight World Series, driving in six runs in the win over the Mets in 2015. Hosmer changed teams three years later, signing an eight-year, $144 million contract, the richest in Padres history at the time. He lasted just short of five seasons in San Diego (2018-22), batting .265 with 252 runs, 588 hits, 110 doubles, 69 homers and 309 RBIs in 596 games. His best season was 2019 when he posted a .265-22-99 stat line. Hosmer was traded to the Red Sox and spent his final season with the Cubs before ending his 13-year career in 2024 and starting his own media company.

5B Ryan Klesko – Like Hosmer, he was a playoff star with another team before coming to San Diego. Klesko appeared in 56 postseason games with the Braves, hitting 10 home runs and playing in three World Series, winning a championship in 1995. Following eight seasons with Atlanta, he was sent to San Diego in a six-player trade also involving Joyner. Klesko provided the Padres with more power while not losing much in terms of average. His best season was 2001, when he earned his only career All-Star selection after batting .286 with 154 hits and 30 homers while setting career highs with 105 runs, 113 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Klesko hit at least 20 homers in each of his first four seasons in Southern California before converting to left field in 2004. His production declined at his new position, and his Padres career ended after missing all but six games in 2006 with a shoulder strain that required surgery. Klesko finished his seven-year run in San Diego (2000-06) ranked third in franchise history in walks (470), fifth in RBIs (493) and on-base percentage (.381), sixth in runs (449), tied for sixth in doubles (176), eighth in home runs (133) and total bases (1,485) and tenth in hits (785) to go with a .279 average in 828 games. He played one more year with the Giants before retiring to focus on investing in real estate and hosting an outdoor television show.

5A Fred McGriff – How fitting that two former Braves playoff heroes share this spot on the list. A 1981 Yankees draft pick, McGriff was traded to the Blue Jays after the season, and he made his major league debut four years later. He quickly showed his power, topping 30 home runs in each of his final three seasons in Toronto, including a league-leading 36 in 1989. The following yar, he was sent to San Diego in a blockbuster trade that worked out for both teams, with the Padres getting a coveted power hitter and the Blue Jays getting two players who would play a big role in their back-to-back titles. Although McGriff spent just three seasons in San Diego (1991-93), he finished in the top 10 of the MVP vote each time. He earned his first All-Star selection in 1992, won a silver slugger and became the first player since 1900 to lead both leagues in home runs in separate seasons after posting a .286-35-104 stat line in 1992.

McGriff finished his time in San Diego ranked tied for second in franchise history with a .388 on-base percentage and third with a .519 slugging percentage. A trade late in the following campaign moved him to Atlanta, where the “Crime Dog” continued his stellar production while excelling on the national stage in the playoffs. He was a key piece in two Braves runs to the World Series while hitting 10 home runs and driving in 34 runs in 45 playoff games. McGriff played for several teams later in his career, most notably with Tampa Bay during its infancy. He earned his final of five All-Star selections with the Devil Rays in 2000 and, after stints with the Cubs and Dodgers, he returned to his hometown team in Central Florida for his final campaign in 2004, retiring with 493 home runs and 1,550 RBIs in 19 seasons. McGriff worked as a coach, consultant and scout while wondering about the Baseball Hall of Fame. The call finally came from the Contemporary Era Committee in 2022.

4. Steve Garvey – He was known for his 14-year run with the Dodgers, but he spent his final five seasons (1983-87) with the other National League team in Southern California. The former Brooklyn Dodgers batboy signed with the Padres in 1983 and continued his consecutive games played streak. The mark reached a then-National League record 1,207 games before he broke his thumb on a collision at home plate in late July. Although his offense began to decline, Garvey continued to play at a high level, earning two All-Star selections with San Diego and playing 159 games at first base in 1984 without committing an error. He repeated his 1978 feat of winning the NLCS MVP Award, stroking eight hits, hitting a home run and driving in seven runs to help the Padres beat the Cubs for their first pennant. Garvey had four hits and drove in two runs in the World Series, but San Diego fell to Detroit. He had at least 80 RBIs in his final three full seasons, but a shoulder injury that required surgery ultimately ended his career in 1987.

“Mr. Clean” ended his Padres career with a .275 average, 291 runs, 631 hits, 107 doubles, 61 homers and 316 RBIs in 605 games. Hic career accolades include 10 All-Star selections and two All-Star Game MVP Awards, four gold gloves, the 1974 National League MVP Award and the 1984 Lou Gehrig Award. Garvey kept busy following his retirement, founding a television company, serving on the board of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, making television and film appearances and leading a counseling firm for retired athletes. His love life was not so positive as, after his 1989 marriage, two other women filed paternity suits against him. Garvey is also involved in the political world and is the Republican nominee for a U. S. Senate seat in California in the November 2024 election.

3. Wil Myers – The North Carolina native was drafted by the Royals and appeared in two MLB All-Star Futures Games as a Kansas City prospect but didn’t make his major league debut until being traded to Tampa Bay before the 2013 season. Myers batted .293 with 13 home runs in 88 games to win the Rookie of the Year Award, but he spent just two years with the Rays and was sent to the Padres as part of a three-team trade. Over his eight seasons in San Diego (2015-22), he was quite versatile, playing every position but catcher and shortstop, but his 361 games at first base is the most at any spot.

Nicknamed “El Gallo” (“the rooster”) because of his hairstyle, Myers had his best season in 2016, when he earned his only All-Star selection after hitting 28 home runs and setting career highs with 99 runs, 155 hits, 94 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. He faced several injuries throughout his time with the Padres, including nerve irritation in his right arm in 2018 and a knee injury in 2022. Myers finished his time in San Diego as the all-time franchise leader in strikeouts (940), and he ranks seventh in home runs (134), eighth in games (888), doubles (171) and RBIs (433) and ninth in runs (435) and total bases (1,372) to go with 771 hits. He signed with the Reds in 2023 but has been a free agent since he was released midway through the season.

2. Adrian Gonzalez – He was born in San Diego and raised in Mexico, and he was the first overall pick by the Marlins out of high school in 2000. Gonzalez never played a game with Miami, as he was sent to Texas in a trade in 2003. The Marlins won the championship, and the first baseman played just 59 games with the Rangers over the next two seasons before he was traded to his hometown Padres. After Klesko underwent shoulder surgery, Gonzalez took over and produced at least 20 home runs and 80 RBIs in each of his five seasons with San Diego (2006-10), winning two gold gloves and being named team MVP four times. After posting a .282-30-100 stat line with 101 runs, 182 hits and a career-high 46 doubles (third in team history) in 2007, he was named an All-Star the next three years. Gonzalez hit 36 homers and drove in 119 runs in 2008, set career highs with 40 home runs and a league-leading 119 walks the following year and finishing fourth in the MVP race after batting .298 with 31 home runs and 101 RBIs in 2010.

Gonzalez was traded to Boston in 2011, finishing up his time in San Diego ranked second in franchise history in home runs (161), fourth in RBIs (501), total bases (1,529) and slugging percentage (.514), fifth in runs (464), tied for sixth in doubles (176), seventh in hits (856) and tied for seventh in average (.288) in 799 games. He had a career year in 2011, leading the league with 213 hits but lasted less than two years with the Red Sox before being sent to the Dodgers in a blockbuster deal at the 2012 trade deadline. Gonzalez had several stellar seasons in Los Angeles but experienced elbow and back issues that affected his production. He was traded to the Braves after the 2017 season but was released and signed with the Mets for his final big-league action. After three years away from the game, Gonzalez returned to play for Guadalajara of the Mexican League in 2021 but retired early the following year. He played for his native country four times in the World Baseball Classic as well as the 2020 Summer Olympics.

1. Nate Colbert – The St. Louis native grew up in St. Louis and watched the great Stan Musial hit five home runs in a May 1954 doubleheader. Colbert would become a Cardinal himself, signing with the team a decade later, but the Astros took him in the Rule 5 Draft after the 1965 season. He played just 39 games with Houston before he was selected by San Diego in the expansion draft. After two weeks as a reserve, Colbert moved into a starting role and became the most productive player on the young team. In his six seasons with the Padres (1969-74), he had five seasons with at least 20 home runs and four with 80 or mor runs batted in, but because of where he played, he was a virtual unknown on the national scene. Colbert hit 38 home runs in 1970 and finally got some recognition, earning All-Star selections in each of the next three seasons. However, he was known as a free swinger and struck out more than 100 times each year in San Diego.

Colbert had his best season in 1972, when he got MVP consideration for the only time in his career after setting career highs with 87 runs, 38 home runs, 111 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. His defining moment came on August 1. Playing through a knee injury suffered during a collision at home plate the night before, Colbert dominated the Braves hitting five home runs (tying Musial’s record) and setting league records with 13 RBIs and 22 total bases to help the Padres win both games of a doubleheader. Although he continued to be a productive player a degermation of the vertebrae in his back began to cause him more pain. Colbert split his final season between first base and left field and bounced around between the Tigers, Expos and Athletics during his final two seasons. He finished his Padres career as the all-time franchise leader in home runs (163), and he ranks third in strikeouts (773), sixth in total bases (1,443), seventh in runs (442) and RBIs (481) and tenth in games (866) to go with 780 hits and 130 doubles. Colbert became an ordained minister and worked as a spring training instructor and minor league hitting coach with the Padres, but he also pleaded guilty to submitting a fraudulent loan application and spent six months in prison. After his release, he rededicated his life to ministry and baseball, was an inaugural inductee into the Padres Hall of Fame in 1999 and passed away in 2023 at age 76.

Third Basemen

Honorable Mentions – Luis Salazar had minor league stints with the Royals and Pirates before being traded to the Padres in 1980. He was extremely versatile, playing every position but catcher during his seven seasons in San Diego (1980-84, ’87 and ’89). Salazar was a starter in the early part of his first run with the team but was a platoon player during the team’s pennant-winning season in 1984, as well as his two later stints. In the postseason, he batted .250 (2-for-8) with a triple in seven games. Salazar played with the White Sox and Tigers in between stints with the Padres and was sent to the Cubs at the 1989 trade deadline. With San Diego, he batted .267 with 232 runs, 598 hits, 24 triples (tenth in franchise history), 40 home runs and 226 RBIs in 704 games. Salazar retired in 1992 and has spent most of his time as a minor league coach and manager with several organizations. As a coach with the Braves, he was hit in the face by a foul ball during a spring training game in 2011 and had to have his left eye removed.

Graig Nettles was known for solid production and stellar fielding during a 22-year career spent primarily with the Yankees. The San Diego State alumnus was drafted by the Twins in 1965, and he also spent time with the Indians before he was traded to the Yankees in 1973. Nettles spent more than a decade in New York, earning a pair of gold gloves and topping the 20-home run mark eight times, including a league-leading 32 in 1976. Two years later, “Puff” hit a homer against the Royals in the ALCS, then made several fantastic defensive plays during the World Series victory over the Dodgers that gave the Yankees their second straight title. He was the MVP of the 1981 ALCS after driving in nine runs against the Athletics. After five All-Star selections with New York, Nettles was traded to San Diego the week before the 1984 season and hit 20 home runs while in a platoon with Salazar. He was the primary starter in the playoffs, totaling three runs, five hits and four RBIs in nine games to help the Padres win their first pennant. Nettles made his final All-Star Game as a 40-year-old the following year and finished his three seasons in San Diego (1984-86) with 282 hits, 51 home runs and 181 RBIs in 387 games. He played one year each with the Braves and Expos then retired and worked as a major league coach and scout as well as a minor league manager.

5. Gary Sheffield – The Tampa native who was a nephew of Mets star pitcher Dwight Gooden, was drafted sixth overall by the Brewers but never quite fit in with Milwaukee and was hampered by shoulder and wrist injuries. Sheffield was traded to the Padres in 1992 and had a fantastic first season. He was named Sporting News Player of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year after leading the National League with a .330 average and 323 total bases and amassing 184 hits, 33 home runs and 100 RBIs, finishing third in the MVP voting and earning his first All-Star selection and silver slugger. His numbers dipped the following year, but he was a star in the making. The only problem was that San Diego was in cost-cutting mode and couldn’t sign him to a long-term contract, so he was traded to Florida in June 1993.

Sheffield balanced out his mercurial nature (arrests and an outspoken nature) with his play on the field (hitting 20 or more home runs in a season 14 times) and philanthropy, especially involving children’s charities. He starred everywhere he went, helping the Marlins win a title in 1997 and putting up prodigious power numbers as an outfielder with the Dodgers, Braves and Yankees. Sheffield finished his 22-year career with a .292 average, 509 home runs and 1,676 runs batted in to go with nine All-Star selections and five silver sluggers. Despite all the accolades, he is another player from the modern era whose Hall of Fame case is tainted by steroids. Sheffield’s name was linked the BALCO lab investigation, and he admitted to using “the cream” in 2003. Following his 2009 retirement, he worked as a player agent and a studio analyst with TBS. He received 64 percent of the vote on the 2024 Hall of Fame ballot, his final one by the writers.

4. Chase Headley – While he may not have the overall talent of Sheffield, his time with the Padres was quite a bit longer. The Colorado native was a second-round pick of the Padres in 2005, and he earned a brief callup two years later. Headley began his career as a let fielder and converted to third base in 2010, amassing 161 hits and 58 RBIs that season. After an injury-riddled campaign, he put together his best season in 2012, batting .286, leading the league with 115 RBIs and setting career highs with 95 runs, 173 hits, 31 home runs and 301 total bases. While he never was selected to an All-Star Game, Headley’s stellar season put him in the top five of the MVP voting and earned him his only gold glove and a silver slugger. His numbers fell off the next two years due to thumb and knee injuries, and he was traded to the Yankees in 2014. After two three seasons in New York, he was traded back to San Diego for one final season in 2018, ending his nine-year tenure with the Padres (2007-14 and ’18) ranked second in franchise history in strikeouts (864), fourth in doubles (187), fifth in hits (879) and sixth in games (935) to go with 400 runs, 87 homers, 405 RBIs and 1,353 total bases.

3. Phil Nevin – He was a two-sport standout as the Most Outstanding Player of the 1992 College World Series and a star punter and kicker at Cal State Fullerton when the Astros selected him with the top pick of the draft. After playing for Team USA in the Summer Olympics, Nevin spent three seasons in the minor leagues before getting a callup to Houston. He was traded three times in five years, first to the Tigers in 1995, then to the Angels and finally the Padres in 1999. Nevin improved greatly in his first three years with San Diego and followed a .303-31-107 stat line in 2000 with his only career All-Star selection after a season in which he set career highs with a .306 average, 97 runs, 167 hits, 41 home runs (third in team history), 126 RBIs (second) and 321 total bases. He converted to first base and faced several arm injuries over the next two years, including a fractured humerus and a dislocated left shoulder, but came back to drive in 105 runs in 2004.

The following year, Nevin was traded to the Rangers, finishing his seven-year Padres run (1999-2005) ranked third in franchise history in home runs (156) and RBIs (573), fifth in total bases (1,474) and slugging percentage (.503), tied for seventh in average (.288), eighth in hits (842) and tied for ninth in doubles (158) to go with 428 runs in 806 games. He appeared with the Cubs and Twins and retired after the 20006 season. He spent his post-playing days as a radio analyst for college baseball and the Padres, was a minor league manager for several years and worked for the Giants and Yankees as a third base coach. Nevin spent parts of two seasons as manager of the Angels, amassing a 119-149 record.

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2. Manny Machado – The Florida native with the third overall pick by the Orioles in the 2010, and he made two appearances in the MLB All-Star Futures Game before being called up to Baltimore as a 19-year-old in 2012. Machado acclimated himself to the major leagues nicely over his first two seasons, but he missed nearly half of 2014 after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. After earning four All-Star selections and two gold gloves with the Orioles, he was traded to the Dodgers in 2018 and hit 13 home runs in the season’s final two months and three more in the playoffs to help his new team reach the World Series. Machado parlayed his stellar performance into a 10-year, $300 million deal with the Padres, which was the largest free agent contract in American sports history at the time. He did his best to justify the huge paycheck, hitting 32 home runs in his first season in San Diego and finishing third in the MVP race and winning a silver slugger after batting .304 with 16 homers and 47 RBIs in the COVID-shortened campaign.

Machado was named an All-Star in each of his next two seasons, hitting 28 homers and driving in 106 runs in 2021 and finishing as the MVP runner-up the following year after posting a .298-32-102 stat line with 100 runs and 172 hits. Coming into the 2024 season, Machado ranked fifth in franchise history in home runs (138), sixth in slugging percentage (.495) and eighth in RBIs (431) to go with a .275 average, 392 runs, 687 hits, 122 doubles and 1,235 total bases. He has plenty of time to work his way up all those lists because he signed an 11-year, $350 million extension with the Padres that includes a full no-trade clause and will keep him with the team through 2033. Despite being an American citizen, due to his family heritage, he competed in the 2017 World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic, earning the nickname “El Ministro de la Defensa.” He is also in the ownership group of San Diego FC, a Major League Soccer expansion team that will begin play in 2025.

1. Ken Caminiti – He was taken by the Astros in the 1984 draft, and after two partial stints, he was brought to Houston as a starter in 1989. Although he was an All-Star in 1994, Caminiti was productive but unspectacular during his first run with the Astros. After a 12-player trade, he ended up with the Padres the following season, posting a .302-26-94 stat line and winning a gold glove. Caminiti produced a fantastic campaign in 1996, winning the MVP Award as well as an All-Star selection, gold glove and silver slugger after setting career highs with a .326 average, 109 runs, 178 hits, 37 doubles, 40 home runs, 339 total bases, 130 RBIs and a .621 slugging percentage, with those last two marks being team records. Although his numbers dipped over the next two years thanks to shoulder surgery, he was still a solid power source for San Diego and totaled six hits, two homers and four RBIs against the Braves in the 1998 NLCS to help his team reach the World Series for the second time.

Caminiti signed back with the Astros the following year, ending his four-year run with the Padres as the all-time franchise leader in slugging percentage (.540), ranked fourth in average (.295) and on-base percentage (.384) and ninth in home runs (121) to go with 362 runs, 592 hits, 127 doubles, 396 RBIs and 1,086 total bases in 557 games. In addition to his MVP and silver slugger, he earned two All-Star selections and two gold gloves. Caminiti played two years in Houston and split the 2001 season between Texas and Atlanta, but his career descended into oblivion thanks to his overuse of alcohol, pain medications, cocaine and steroids (which he began using during his MVP season). Even after admitting to his use in a 2002 interview in Sports Illustrated, his life continued to spiral downward. Caminiti was arrested once for drug possession and another time for violating probation by having cocaine in his system. After he was released, he went to New York and passed away at age 41 after mixing cocaine and heroin while staying at friend’s apartment. Caminiti was inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame in 2016.

Main Image: © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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