Triumph & Tragedy The 1984 San Diego Padres

[Music] the 1984 Padre ballclub is a microcosm of what life is really all about sure you know everybody had different beliefs and philosophies we had members of the John Birch Society strokes I just being from the players would get on each other every argument of the club top of every day that's the way it was but we were a team that knew that we wanted to win every team has its own fabric to it every team has its own destiny to play at that team through its clawing and fighting arguing they were able to put it all aside and win a pennant which was the first year in San Diego one common thread among all of us was a respect for the fans we taught them what a winner looks like how it acts twenty-five years later we feel the same sentiment shared by the San Diego fans - welcome back members of the 84 team for a special reunion at Petco Park hey it still fits same size if he hits a little tight see ya those cousins garnet lifting DJ little help please very long we've changed we've got great hair we've gained some weight but when you look in the eyes everything's the same you're good here let's go get a bat right now yeah let's do the reunion offered a rare chance for these former teammates to once again enjoy each other's company not everyone could make it among them Hall of Famers goose Gossage manager dick williams and Tony Gwynn who was coaching at San Diego State a lot of quality guys in that Clubhouse and wish I could have been here at the reunions because very rarely gets a chance to tell those guys Thanks but while Tony couldn't say it at the reunion he did honor his teammates at the Hall of Fame in 2007 1984 I was the fortunate one because my locker was right in the middle of garb Terry Kennedy Tim Flannery Chris Bochy and Greg nettles and they welcomed me to come on kid had a seat Gwen who spent 20 years in the Padres uniforms embodies the triumphant spirit of that 1984 team but there is also another side of this story for two other members of the team were conspicuous by their absence tragic figures whose talent was trumped by torment like starting pitcher Eric Chou Eric Shaw was a dear friend one of my closest friends and he brought struggles from his past into a new life as a Christian also missing was Alan Wiggins a speed demon on the field haunted by demons office Alan Wiggins was one of those accidents that you see happening and there just did not seem to be any way to recover him and for some Padres triumph and tragedy has played an equal role in their faith I think triumph Israel born out of tragedy and that is what I take away from 1984 and the good the bad and the ugly that came with that the good was certainly their connection with the fans all right ruff old guys fun when people come out and they even if they don't remember they won an autograph that was a great you know such a good group and face we've all the reminisce things we did today when we created thinking it was a good time back then yes we did you see all those Padres fans were always loyal they were not always treated to winning baseball the team had struggled since its birth in 1969 and owner Ray Kroc the visionary behind McDonald's decided to change the menu by putting his own Big Mac into the front office I took over in 81 Ray Kroc said to me what was your goal I said my goal is to get an average to above-average player every position and so McKeon began to clean house and solve this puzzle from scratch his roster moves earned him a reputation for shrewdness and a classic baseball nickname trader Jack traded Jack trader Jack did great things that he made I thought the initial big move Matt do you would say Louis and it just coalesced it came together part of the deal was obtaining Cardinals catcher Terry Kennedy who would become the team's anchor in 1981 he also dealt Gold Glove shortstop Ozzie Smith to st. Louis in search of more offense Garry Templeton really had a big impact on the 84 team you gotta remember he replaced one was love football players in San Diego history Ozzie Smith and people still will talk about Smith before they talk about Tempe and yet Tempe was equally as good with a better back in addition to his myriad deals trader Jack also drafted wisely bringing names like Gwynn Wiggins and Kevin McReynolds into the system but what really helped this team build upon its to previous 500 seasons was Crocs willingness to pay for free agents one already a Southern California hero I had been ally for 15 years I never anticipated being anywhere else and I got an offer I could refuse and all of a sudden I'm on the market I remember meeting with Ray Kroc in his office gorgeous home open assessment looking up and down the coast and he said things and I think he would make a difference here little by little we started to put the pieces together and in the fall of 83 I talked to the organization about the puss reassigning two scotches I thought he could help us win the pennant and Ray said go do it The Tragically croc would never get to see his team in action for in January of 1984 he died of heart disease the team dedicated the season to their former owner what would become the most memorable season in San Diego Padres history I feel it's just one of those things where you don't have to say much it's kind of lead by example and just go out and do your job like a professional and and the kids are going to follow when we looked at our ballclub in 83 we needed that closure and it looked like he was going to sign with us and then all of a sudden you know we started talking about economics and didn't think we could afford it Ray Kroc was in the hospital violet Smith was the president of the club and Palace said let's go Missy ray so we went over to see ray ray said how we coming along with glasses and I remember Ballard Smith saying well ray I I don't know whether we can afford it and he said what do you think Jack I said we get him win the pennant and ray says Dollard seinem and basically that's how we got goose Gossage I came over here to help with a pan I'm not gonna lay all by myself gonna take 25 guys over her 62 games you know in spring training he talked about winning championships I don't know for the other young guys but for me it was kind of hard to comprehend what all it was going to take to win championships goose was signed with crocks blessing one week before ray passed away the Padres also traded for Greg nettles another former member of the Bronx Zoo traitor jacket added some championship swagger you know when you looked at all the pieces of the puzzle that were being put together by Jack McKeon and then all of a sudden this guy comes on board who is the premier closer in all of baseball he was a critical component to the success of 1984 any of us [Applause] goosh was a kind of a pitcher if you are right hand bat he's the last man on this earth he want to face goosh was a menacing presence on the mound and a powerful one in the clubhouse the stories are timeless Emma and I were both working out on life cycles right next to each other the first day of camp were shagging the outfield and he started on me and I started on him he started on me I started on him I just got traded over gooses brand-new just signed as a free agent next thing you know we are on the floor off the bikes fighting we're talking in centerfield then he says so where are you staying it's a long in the hotel he said no you're not you're coming with me and then in the ninth inning I'm about to pinch it I'm walking out to come out to hit at Qualcomm and he had run all the way from the bullpen plan plan go get him go get him and after the game he took me out to his condo and I spent the whole spring living with him and that's how he was but even Gossage met his match when he came up against the Padres old-fashioned hard-as-nails manager dick williams dick Wiz let me tell you about dick Withers he was a tough manager and I don't know if he could manage today players are because they make a lot more money than the managers but dick was a tough guy he managed by intimidation come on Garnett walk he was the field general and I think he ran it like a general he had high expectations and he did things differently and they were done his way with no questions asked and that's the way it was it was this way or the highway in fact they're one of the classic things I don't know if people remember this but Eric Shaw was having trouble getting the ball over Slade Dixon you walk a man you're out of there he did and he was out of there how many pitchers would do that so Claire they want to keep him happy you you've done it you've done a great job here I was very strict if I told a fellow one time on something and he did it again then he was in my doghouse this is way I operate it and I'd rub people some people the wrong way yeah thank you so wears glasses on the end of his nose if you sit all the way at the end of a and if you made a mistake you didn't want to go that way but when you got to the opposite end and you sit in and you kind of glimpse and see if he's looking he'd he'd be looking just like the sooner or later you were going to hear about it it's spring training of 84 he basically told Tim Flannery that there was no way he could ever play on the team that's the Williams managed even you're the worst player I've ever had right now while I'm talking to you I'm looking for another second baseman he goes oh you're in there tonight but don't screw up this is a guy I want you to get the only guy you're facing come on after he put a lot of pressure on me and wanted me to prove myself for me that was a style that I liked and it motivated me and it helped me I loved it because he told it to my face a lot of guys didn't know they hated him they hated is good now guys go man you know I never realized it was teaching me how to win and Williams knew how to win having gone through two World Series titles in Oakland and a pennant in Boston taking whether a pound of that kind of guy but the end just like for me I was able to take teams to Championships dick Williams to me is the greatest manager that I ever played for it in March of 1984 Alan Wiggins and I on the way home from Spring Training any us about a four-hour drive you know not much for conversation for the first couple hours and about halfway Alan Wake insists to me would it be great if we got to the World Series and rather than just talk about it both win and Wiggins went to work emerging is the spark plugs that ignited the Padres helping the team go 10 and 2 right out of the gate well offensively you know Wiggins is Gwynn had an unbelievable season win one is presiding title that year Tony Gwynn and the tables are always left by waiting Alan Wiggins might have been the best basement of this club ever had and this guy if he got on base you know it was one than nothing the pivotal point of the whole season happens in a game in the Expos on the partners on a losing streak we installed five bases in the game times and what was the national league record the Padres won the game not the losing food and they really never look back after that so every basis ahead I was a beneficiary in mind they've got a lot of fast balls when had over 200 head so he's always moving them over there was always a tremendous amount of electricity between those two guys and they did this while changing roles in the field with Gwynn becoming a full-time right fielder Wiggins an excellent outfielder was asked to make a much more radical change we had a lot of coppers in Alan Wiggins because we did know that it was a former infielder and we also figured that if he could do the job that we would be a much better ballclub because we were able to use Martinez in the outfield which supply more power so dick went to Alan and said hey can you play second base Alan said I could play anywhere and so we gave him a second base glove and he went out there and he started catching the ball the biggest thing Alan had to overcome was situations I almost was babysat Dirk's for a trailer I took a lot of ground balls or all the coaches everybody worked with here they're really patient we ran a lot of cut offs and relays we ran a lot of extra fundamental drills and after about a month into the season he headed down but while there were similarities to Gwynn and Wiggins game on the field that they could not have been more different often [Applause] Tony's work at that kept him constantly focused on baseball even when he was out of uniform he was a committed baseball player to the game itself to his craft he was the first guy that brought in the video and actually knew what he was looking at Wiggins meanwhile I'd like to talk about everything and everywhere Alan Wiggins was intellectual I mean he was smart and Eric Zhao was smart and they would argue back and forth and I used to ask him both why do you guys do this every day every day you guys come in and you guys it's like a debate class you guys got to debate every single sub and they both said that's part of the fun that's that's what they did but the biggest difference between Tony and Alan had to do with the trajectory of their careers from the very start wind seemed destined for greatness the only question was what sports I broadcast and your state basketball and Sartorius as a skinny little kid with an afro one of the best point guards on the west coast he was drafted by the Clippers who were then in San Diego and decided to play baseball thank God drafted by the Padres in 81 when became a full-time starter in 84 finishing the year with a 351 batting average in the first of eight nationally batting titles and he was elected to his first of 15 all-star games when was is and always will be the shining star of the San Diego franchise but the tale of Alan Wiggins is one of potential unfulfilled the leadoff man in 84 he had 154 hits and scored 106 runs second best in the league he also stole 70 bases that season to set a team record wiggins stars burn bright but it would burn out just as quickly for one year later in april of 85 during a series back in his hometown allen went AWOL well we're getting ready to play a very important series up in LA and he doesn't show nobody had heard from him nobody knew where he was you immediately thought the worst and honestly I think there's only a few of us in the clubhouse who were really concerned the night of the next few days just became of a pursuit of what happened to Alan Wiggins it turns out that Alan had struggled with drugs since his early minor-league days his addiction climaxed when he got to LA blowing off his team for 10 full days when you know he didn't show up and we found out that he was on drugs why mrs. crock insisted we move him you know it was kind of a steadfast position that Joan took chat her own demons with her husband Ray who was very heavy drinker and she was just not going to have people on her team doing that kind of stuff wiggins was traded to Baltimore and by the end of 87 he was gone from the game for good yeah we run into a little bit of a dilemma here through the course of the season and what we've decided to do is make some changes and in this case change really did mean difference for the 1984 Padres fully worried unique we had quite a blend of characters on that ballclub we had a group of guys that were veterans that have been through it before that it wants and the other half a team we're all young and the older players experienced players they really took us under their wings and they taught us how to win veterans like Gossage medals and Garvey were providing stability in a clubhouse that often times was more like a frat house I actually had to step over a fight of Kurt Bevacqua Alan Wiggins fist fighting over a game of pluck and I just got to the point I'd even think about it happened all the time but that's the way the game works when you're together every day as a family this particular family was a cast of characters who loved to laugh quite often it's someone's expense like the infamous pool episode it started with Bruce Bochy basically because boats is from Florida and he always talks about fighting alligators you know and what he does is he takes you down and starts rolling you and holds you underwater he calls it the alligator roll and he thinks that's fun and that's when Eddie whitson came into the picture a newly quaffed ed witson that is ed witson you know I can talk about it as I've got no hair but and he was bald and he's got a big little curly rug and showed up to spring training with a full head of hair and if you said anything about it he'd fight so the wrestler in the fighter were both lounging by a hotel pool during an off day when Bochy decided to take whitson on one of his alligators swims boats hooked him around and took him down started rolling started rolling it and when Witte came up it was like and his hair flipped all the way back off and boat says hey I know you Eddie winces and I'm telling you what he wanted to fight I started laughing so hard I had to leave because he's going to beat me out if he saw me laughing but this kind of team we have and no one was exempt from the ribbing in fact there was one veteran who became a prime target simply because he was so perfect we were kind of a free-spirited bunch of guys out there in San Diego and and then we had mr. clean Steve Garvey's and you know in the clubhouse I was bust his chops loose and I understood that you needed a light clubhouse so we did this little routine where I got on him for not wearing a tie and he got on me for never hair in her right place every time that we would be on the road he would always go in the bathroom and and straighten everything up about 20 minutes before we were going to land and I yank his shirt out I truly you know spin his tire around and unbuttoned his shirt and the first time I did it he he let me go through the whole things and he goes are you through and everybody just cracked up the goose and Garvey show was so popular it eventually got Top Billing we did a cover on a sport magazine it was mr. clean and mr. mean we just had a lot of fun but even a clubhouse full of characters need someone at the head of the class and on the 84 Padres that someone was pinch-hitting specialist Kurt Bevacqua you're about as funny off the field as you are on don't let the door hit you in the rear when you leave I didn't hear you but I do the hit in one door I used to call Kurt a clown and I mean he'd have the clubhouse just laughing Bevacqua used to show up in limousines everywhere back before anybody was making money nobody could afford a limousine but he somehow had was one time that limo took Bevacqua and he made Terry Kennedy to downtown San Diego where they decided to flank hatch off the top of a rather large building nobody knew you were this great Hey look I I wouldn't attempt this I wouldn't be on this then I'm glad I'm on the other they really have them all around here what are you ready for all the fun Kurt had off the field he was quite the pinch-hitter on it gets herself back at least he was when you could track him down he was a pinch hitter who you couldn't even fly in until the eighth inning he'd be up in the clubhouse and then the ninth inning he'd come walking down a bench he said take your weapons here that's out of the box a lot by the time I went to the plate I was pretty sure and I pretty much knew what kind of pitch I was going to get and that's what made me successful [Applause] liván was antics never got in the way of his performance on the field and that in a nutshell describes the 84 Padres for beyond the laughter the pranks and the occasional fight when it was time to take the field they did so with the fully focused team taking over first place on June 9th and never looking back we had a full bunch of characters before we put that Padre uniform on we're playing for the same team [Music] the 1984 Padres were made up of a kaleidoscope of personalities but it was the ace of the team's pitching staff who in many ways proved to be the most colorful he was one of the more unusual ball players I've ever met we all got to know Eric as someone who was really a genius anytime a player's readings philosopher on the plane you know he kind of stands out he loved to talked about different things he didn't talk much about baseball to me if you want to talk about astrology or I could talk about a solid classical operas any of those subjects outstanding intellectual guy Shah was just as sharp on the mound but his pitching prowess was just a small part of his repertoire he played baseball more for the fact that he was good at it and it wasn't really his love music was his love a lot of times I usually know the jazz bars and Eric will be sitting down he would show up and sit down and play at the attorney would be mesmerized he'd play on the plane on our trip they play in the clubhouse it's as strong as it was intellectually as strong as he was in relationship to music and baseball and those gifts and talents I think there was a sense of deep insecurity and relationship to just who he was as a man he could never be satisfied because he was driven to perfection Showell also had a pension for stirring up controversy like in 1985 when he gave up the record-breaking hit to Pedro [Applause] while the nations saluted the new all-time career hits leader shout took a seat on the mound a gesture that many found to be disrespectful to both rose and the game prior to that Shou also attracted public scrutiny when in July of 84 he was lamb basted in the press after he and mound mates Dave rebecky and mark Thurmond went front and center with their ties to the controversial John Birch Society they made estate disappearance at the Del Mar fair the San Diego County Fair and they had two John Birch boots and although some people walking by they see that's Dave Jarecki that's Erik Chou and that's why it became a huge story I don't think they knew what a radical group the John Birch Society really was it was an organization that I thought represented less government more responsibility by the people and with God's help a better world I don't think that communism socialism whatever you want to call it is a very good thing and felt like that was an organization that fought those type things in the 50s and 60s the birch society regardless of what its tenants were they were basically considered to be a more sophisticated Ku Klux Klan without the hood when the article came out that I was racist and anti-semitic I was shocked we knew that they wouldn't know racist guys we all did things together and they showed no signs of that before all of this stuff came about our teammates were able with us to work through the implications of those perceptions and it did not play a factor in destroying the good that was going on with the San Diego Padres in 1984 dravec II was a big part of the Padres success that season and while his career plateaued in the ensuing seasons it reached a turning point after he was traded to the San Francisco Giants a deeply religious man Dave's faith would soon be tested when crisis threatened not only his career but his life in yay I'm being diagnosed with cancer in my left arm and it culminated with me having surgery that year to remove this mask along with 50% of my deltoid muscle and the doctors telling the outside of the miracle I would never pitch again but Dave drew upon his fate and refused to turn his back on the life he so loved I could not walk away from the game and wonder for the rest of my life could I have made a comeback and in August of 89 dravec II returned to the mound once again in San Francisco an inspirational site for baseball fans and non-fans delight the cheers that day were deafening and Rebecca had some extra support for he'd be throwing to his former Padres battery mate Terry Kennedy I was more nervous in that game than I ever was in any game I ever played because I wanted him to succeed I wanted it to work and that day we defeated the Reds for 2/3 and I went on to a victory throwing 93 pitches over the course of eight innings and I'm back in the saddle after one successful outing on the mound if Dave had become a source of strength for countless cancer victims but in his next start five days later in Montreal dravec E's comeback took a tragic turn when I threw that pitch and my arm broke all I could share at that point in time we're will parse words breathed a breeze I didn't know if it was a break or whether it was tendons or something but he was hurt badly they've got him on stretcher all of us the whole team were gathered around him and we're crying we just can't believe what has happened and even in that time he was ministering to all of us don't worry about me I'm fine I'm okay you guys just keep on going he says it's that moment he knew if there was a there's a bigger reason for it for him in life all thoughts of another comeback were extinguished when it was revealed that the cancer had returned to Dave's pitching honor he worked hard to recover but a series of life-threatening setbacks forced rebecky to agree that his only recourse was to lose the arm and after the amputation that's when a lot of the deep struggles began because I was now faced with an identity crisis if I can no longer pitch then who is Dave Trebek you what am I going to do with my life big although the 84 Padres often fought with each other on the field they were united as one especially when challenged the Braves were about ten games that at that point fed on life support we have just beaten Atlanta a couple ballgames there is second place we're in first place the very first pitch of the game Perez hit Alan Wiggins in the back with a fastball around its ligands with the first pitch we knew what they were doing once they hit our Wiggins we believed as they were trying to intimidate us and we weren't going away we don't do a thing until the farest comes up to plate and we tried to hit him that was first pitch he's right behind his head by Hitty witson and he got up with his bat in his hand late got Bob up there we got problems here that's well-well put the bat down John McSherry the home plate umpire calls both managers together and says the next pitcher that throws it anybody gets thrown out of the game and the manager gets ejected and I just remember dick saying I don't care what happens in this game win or lose but we're gonna take care of business that game at nothing at that point it comes back to the dugout he gets our bullpen up wincing mrs. Perez again before dick got thrown out he made a list he said okay when I get thrown out Jack Krol you're going to be the manager now and Greg Booker you're going to be the one that hits fast well Perez so Greg Booker comes into the game Pasquale Perez comes up again in the fifth inning and gets thrown at again [Applause] out of the ballgame now but he hasn't gotten hit yet and the Padres appeared to have only one more chance to gain revenge he comes up again in the eighth inning we finally got him that's when all heck breaks loose with a great time Perez coming to the plate we've got [Music] Bob Horner who was the Atlanta Braves third baseman is on a disabled list in the press box with a cast on his arm he's down dressed in the Atlanta Braves dugout fathers sagging after Perez boners come out [Applause] [Music] some fan came down and then the next thing you know we go back out there to hit and Greg nettles knew that this day was far from over he says AKB you guys get ready no what do you mean he goes I hit Donnie more during one of the sites he's going to get me then there's another fight it breaks out and you know hey you just thought they're protecting your teammate welcome back to guerrilla baseball from Atlanta hi I have never seen a ball game where so many separate incidents have occurred the block will went into the stands we've got more trouble breaking up the Padres as the fans are getting into it they finished the game with everybody in the clubhouse nobody on the benches when all was said and done this would go down as one of the most memorable brawls in baseball history it was quite a fight we still talk about it players on the Braves that I run into my teammates it was a galvanizing moment for men who all year had battled each other there may have been a method to dick williams madness that day because something very unique happened in relationship to our team the unified padres were never threatened again coasting to their first ever division time [Applause] for us the wind was just incredible you start spring training with these hopes and these dreams and now all of a sudden there you are on that day when you clench and it's become a reality good afternoon everyone and welcome to Wrigley Field in Chicago in the first game of the National League Championship Series the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs for the first time in franchise history the Padres were playing postseason baseball but in the first two games the Cubs smoked them by a combined score of 17 to 2 and that left them wondering we got beat so bad that we didn't know we had a chance to win an out I mean it was tough the tough cry for a sweep at the series it'll move to Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego California baseball purist would have told you that many go Padres pretty much were dead on the flight back was real quiet a lot of guys are looking in the back of the seats you know travel destinations like where we going to go and you know on vacation this is doesn't look good we came home nobody's at the airport we come out to get our cars out here at the Jack Murphy Stadium and what happens about three to four thousand people show up and we can't believe it it kind of got us going it kind of said wait a minute these people believe it is the all those same screaming hollering yelling fours giving us a support I couldn't be more upbeat and when Templeton set off that energy before game 3 it got everyone fired up [Applause] Guerry couple dozen I knew that we needed something to get us uplifted and going so when he announced me I ran out there and I started screaming at the fans let go screaming at the players come on let's go get excited and come on and fans are getting us up when Templeton came out and waved his hat I believe that it was then that the Padres and the Padres fans became United for him to go out there they just sent a sense of confidence throughout the club a yeah we can do this and that's what leadership does and he provided it there well Gary provided more than leadership he also gave the team a lead it happened in the fifth inning when the Padres were down one to nothing two on and one out [Music] kevin was Reynolds then broke the game open with a three-run blast and the Padres were still alive in their first LTF [Applause] the wind net first game back in San Diego all the sudden was like man we've got new life a happy dugout right there Vic we've just got a gun every three now we go to the next game Game four it's the only game that we have and Garvey was the star of this show with 48 postseason games to his credit more than any other member of the team Steve knew how to perform on the October stage [Music] and after the Cubs battled back to tie the game Garvey was there in the ninth hoping to keep the Padres season alive I sit on the on-deck circle looking at Tony I said Tony just get on when did his part and that set the stage for mr. clean to close things out in immaculate fashion [Applause] I see well I'll load up and look to the fastball got a pitch shot over the place [Applause] [Music] that's a Steve Garvey tonight Steve Garvey got every big hit a man could possibly get in one game and let's get up my arm and fish to signal to the fans that they were number one and we were on our way to Game five the fact that the Padres had overcome a two game deficit lifted the team's confidence prior to Game five the mood in the clubhouse was that we were going to win the game we didn't have no doubt about it but the Cubs tested san diego's resolved when they took an early lead Tom's jump ahead three to nothing with Sutcliffe on the mound and we think maybe our magics over but we started coming back again and with the tying run on second in the seventh Tim Flannery got the chance to turn Jack Murphy Stadium on its ears I come off the bench in the seventh inning with downer on here's Tim Flannery gonna come on in pinch-hit I hit a first pitch ground ball to Leon Durham [Applause] [Music] [Applause] with tying run scores and the place erupts there was actual physical pressure in my ears from the noise Padres fed off Durham's gift to take a 6-3 lead and then held the Cubs scoreless in the 8th setting the stage for some magic at the Murph now there's three outs to go and we realize we get three outs we're going to go to the World Series it was an electric afternoon for us and then to end up winning that game and going on to the World Series is tremendous know nationally team ever be no 2 to come back and win and by god they want whether they were better than the Cubs nobody cares they've won to play off those moments are so rare and there's a Padre we knew how special this was and it was our first the story I love to tell is the Chicago Cubs three times had their champagne on ice in their Clubhouse and three times they had to wheel it back out before the game was over with and doclet I are traveling secretary ended up buying their champagne for Half Price so we drink the Cubs champagne it tasted really good congratulations Joan and Fowler to dick williams and all the Padres golf Kahneman the World Series it was the fifth game of the World Series we're down three two one Kirk Gibson comes up first place was open two men on they have I took a one-run lead that yells at me and it gives me the four to walk Kirk Gibson Kerry Kennedy my catcher gave me four and I looked over in the dugout and dick was holding up four fingers very simple strategy four balls put him on and I shook my head no I don't want to walk him on I said hey I didn't make this up you know this isn't my idea is his idea I've already given him four balls so I do it again and goose is melt I went to the banach said what are you talking about he says you want you to walk them you don't want to walk here he says like I got good history against this guy because I can get him so I turn to the dugout by this time dicks coming out and he comes down he goes what you don't want to walk it huh you think I get this guy okay Williams is in charge I'm the manager I'm insured so this is my fault not Goosen you mean you're talking about striking him out yeah I should go ahead and pitch soon all right one man out he had the adrenaline flow and I thought he should put him on I'm the manager that's the way it should have been so dick gets back in the dugout and turns around and I throws a pitch and he hits it into the upper deck [Applause] the magical ride of the 84 Padres had come to an end but the memories were so vivid they still came to life a quarter century later when two beloved Padres were immortalized with baseball's elite in December I get the call from goose my wife answers the phone this is Norma there's dick there she says just a moment I said this is the guy that shouldn't walk Gibson and she did burst out laughing she says good salaries I just want to call betrayed later husband I had a chance to do that in in January when the he gotta like San Diego I had the controllers there go to the Hall of Fame as you know Tony Gwynn and my colleague goose Gossage we went in together we've been we've been good friends even with that incident that we have fun with enough you know I only regret about that World Series is I should have listened to you and I should have walked her hips and damn it I can't tell you how honored and happy I am to be entering the Hall of Fame with dick I think they both deserve it they should be in and I'm glad they went in together because they were both instrumental in us winning in 84 as for the third wall of Famer from that 84 team well he didn't stray too far from the nest well it's not too often that you see a ballplayer stick with one organization throughout their entire career and he had the opportunity to do it in his hometown which was really cool I have always felt like this was the right place for me there's no question that Tony is mr. Padre he is San Diego after 20 seasons with the Padres Tony's now the head coach of his alma mater San Diego State University I love the college game and right now going into my eighth year San Diego State I'm loving every minute of it and hopefully I can do it for a long time I love the pro guages I have a son he's playing big league baseball and this Apple did not fall far from the tree for it was in May of 2009 that Tony and Tony junior had a special father and son reunion my wife called me and told me that you know your son had been traded and I said to who and she said the Padres I said the Padres you gotta meet I can't repeat it ladies and gentlemen [Applause] when I watch him play now I never would have thought that this would happen in this game sometimes things happen for a reason that's a lesson Dave Trebek he also took to heart soon after he lost his pitching arm to cancer a tale of triumph to this day is it amazing they're still out speaking he's out lifting people up I've had the unique privilege over the last 18 years of being able to tell my story in hopes to motivate and inspire people danger Becky young lost his arm I mean there's been some tragedy off of that team but yeah we get older I move on that's part of life triumph and tragedy does Mark the 84 Padres 4 in 91 Alan Wiggins succumbed to complications from AIDS the result of his chronic drug use I was sitting in my office on this particular day and the phone rang at Oneonta Knives the ovation for Alan Wiggins called me he said Jackie said Alan's in the hospital and he'd like for you to come see him so I went over to the hospital and we talked and he said Jack I'm gonna die I'm gonna die within a couple days and he said I want you when you're out on a speaking tour going to schools talk of the young players please tell them the Alan Wiggins story tell em how Alan Wiggins lost his life tell them please don't do drugs every time I go out on a speaking tour I make sure I relay Alan's message no that was really sad because I really thought Alan had a lot to give but it's real trust when you're out there fighting demons and you're not getting any help and I just felt it somebody would have reached out to him or me or any of our teammates he might still be with us but I try not to think of that I try to think of the Vallon that I played with that I came up with yeah he can really play some baseball with Williams you know you can look back and you can say well he's self-destructing with Erick shout you really didn't think that I mean he really hit things good and in evidently he was hiding the drug problem also three years after Wiggins passed away Eric Chou died of a drug overdose while in a rehab center just outside San Diego I just remember when he died I was shocked I was stunned because he always took care of himself worked out a lot in tremendous shape Eric would be the last guy that you would figure would have a drug problem I mean he was this right-wing and drugs are wrong that part was absolutely stunning that he developed a drug problem I really didn't believe it until the next day it came out in the paper former Padre Eric Sharpe passed away I just think he had things going on in his life that we didn't know about and somewhere along the way he lost control that's the one area that really breaks my heart there was so much we didn't know and then what it all came out we just wanted to be there for him and I think at that point he was ashamed to to really let us his buddies know that she had these feelings for Jews do we really didn't know what kind of demons he had and he didn't talk about it but it was a sad sad ending that we lost him an Alan Wiggins part of the championship team you know but that's the cycle of life just 2009 now 49 years old you know from the gray hair on my head when I think back to 84 this is the biggest eronel negatives of just a lot of positives a lot of quality guys in a clubhouse it brings back a special time in your life and every guy on that team would tell you the same thing the one thing that made us a winning team that year was a camaraderie amongst it was incredible season it was a journey - hi this is Dean roar of the crowd at Garvey's ball goes over the wall will stick with me for the rest of my life disappointing to loose the Detroit Tigers and I should have walked Gibson but you know getting there and turning on a city for the first time was an incredible feel we were the first and even though we didn't win it you know I still take a whole lot of pride in being on that first team you get there the Padres of 84 really enjoyed putting San Diego on the baseball map when I think about the things that happened during that time and after that time there was triumph that was full of tragedy and I think all of us that were part of that Club would agree they're great moments and sad moments is never perfect it never works the way you want it to work I guess the 1984 theme is a microcosm of what life is really all about you [Applause] [Music]

Channel: AGENTARMES

Views: 155,646

Keywords: San Diego Padres, San Diego, Tony Gwynn, Steve Garvey, 1984 padres, Triumph and Tragedy, Petco park, jack murphy stadium, anchorman, ron burgundy, goose gossage, bruce boche, world series, mlb, mlb baseball, jerry coleman, gary templeton, pennant, national league pennant, ray kroc, craig lefferts, dick williams, terry kennedy, alan wiggins, Eric Show, dave dravecky, jack mckeon, ted leitner, trevor hoffman, graig nettles, tim flannery, kurt bevacqua

Id: W-GVrkSmEPs

Length: 49min 53sec (2993 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 07 2017