2011 San Diego Padres season

2010–2011 offseason

Adrián González would have been in the last year of his contract in 2011, but the Padres were not going to meet González's open market value especially with Jeff Moorad's purchase of the Padres from John Moores not completing until around 2013. On December 6, 2010, González was traded to the Boston Red Sox for a package of right-handed pitcher Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, outfielder Reymond Fuentes, and a player to be named later, later determined to be Eric Patterson.

The Padres also acquired outfielder Cameron Maybin from the Florida Marlins for relievers Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica.

• Jason Bartlett signed
• Brad Hawpe signed
• Orlando Hudson signed
• Cameron Maybin acquired
• Dustin Moseley signed
• Chad Qualls signed
• Aaron Harang signed
• Jesús Guzmán signed

Among the players that left San Diego were:

• Tony Gwynn Jr. who went to the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Scott Hairston and Chris Young (pitcher) who both went to the New York Mets
• Kevin Correia who went to the Pittsburgh Pirates
• Yorvit Torrealba who went to the Texas Rangers
• Miguel Tejada who went to the San Francisco Giants

Spring training

Game log

The Padres played at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, AZ. The Padres' spring training schedule is on the website below.

Regular season

The Padres offense started the season being shut out seven times in April, a major league record according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Heath Bell converted his first seven save opportunities of the season, which tied him with Trevor Hoffman for the club record of 41 consecutive successful save conversions. The streak also tied him with Hoffman and Rod Beck for fourth-longest in MLB history. Bell blew his next save opportunity, a 3–0 lead, after he opened the ninth inning by walking the first two batters, and third baseman Chase Headley made a two-out, two-run throwing error to tie the game. On May 14, Bell recorded his 100th career save in a 9–7 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Mat Latos lost his first four starts, extending his losing streak to nine consecutive starts dating back to 2010. The streak ties the longest streak in Padres history, held by Andy Benes and Dennis Rasmussen. Latos had a no-decision in his next start after the bullpen blew a save opportunity, preventing him from earning a win. He would lose another decision for a 10-game losing streak that was one shy of the club record held by Gary Ross. Latos won on May 15 against the Colorado Rockies to end his losing streak.

On June 20, former Padres first baseman Adrián González went 3 for 5 with a double and 3 RBI (all in the 10-run Boston 7th inning) in his first career game against San Diego in a 14–5 Red Sox victory in Fenway Park. The Padres were 6-9 in interleague play in 2011.

In May The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote that star minor league first baseman Anthony Rizzo's debut with the Padres might be delayed despite the club's hitting deficiencies due to cost considerations created by the "Super Two" exception for salary arbitration eligibility. The Padres cited Rizzo's lack of experience above Double-A and his limited exposure to left-handed pitching as benefits of his continuing to play in Tucson.{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602070238/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/may/29/keeping-rizzo-tucson-today-will-pay-padres-tomorro/ |archive-date=June 2, 2011 |url-status=live In his debut on June 9, against the Washington Nationals, Rizzo struck out in his first at bat, but then proceeded to hit a triple and score a run, helping the Padres to a 7–3 victory. He hit his first home run on June 11 against John Lannan. After three games he was 3-for-7 with a double, triple and a home run, while demonstrated patience in drawing four walks for a .667 on-base percentage (OBP).

The Padres' pitcher Cory Luebke was added to the rotation on June 22, 2011 as a previous 5-spot pitcher. Wade LeBlanc was optioned after a loss to the Red Sox. He went 5 innings and struck out 6 in his first start of 2011 in an eventual 4-1 win.

On July 9 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Luke Gregerson entered the game in the ninth inning after Aaron Harang, Josh Spence, Chad Qualls, and Mike Adams combined to pitch eight innings without allowing a hit. Gregerson retired the first two hitters before a double by Juan Uribe on a one ball and two strike count broke up the no hitter. Dioner Navarro then hit a single off Gregerson to score the winning run for the Dodgers. This was the closest the Padres have come to pitching a no-hitter since Steve Arlin in 1972. The Padres would be the last MLB team to get a no-hitter with the first coming on April 9th, 2021 when San Diego native Joe Musgrove threw the teams first no-hitter in a 3-0 win over the Texas Rangers.

Bell was the only Padre selected for the 2011 All-Star Game. With the team 12 games under .500 coming out of the All-Star break, general manager Jed Hoyer said the Padres would pursue a long-term contract with Bell if they did not get a desirable trade offer for him.

On July 22, Rizzo was demoted back to Triple-A, and Kyle Blanks was promoted. Rizzo had struggled with only a .143 batting average and 1 home run, striking out 36 times in 98 at-bats. Hoyer said Rizzo "worked hard, never made excuses, and endeared himself to his teammates" during his initial stint in the majors.

At the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31, Adams was traded to the Texas Rangers for a pair of young Double-A starting pitchers—right-hander Joe Wieland and left-hander Robbie Erlin. Also, Ryan Ludwick was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Adams had appeared in 33 of the Padres' first 46 wins with 23 holds as the setup man for Bell. Adams was 3-1 with a 1.13 ERA and opposing hitters were batting only .155 against him, striking out 49 times in 48 innings. Ludwick was hitting only .238, but he had 11 homers and 64 RBI and 42 runs scored and was accounting for 25.3 percent of the Padres' runs. By comparison, Adrián González accounted for 23.6 percent of the Padres' runs in 2010. Bell was not traded, but Hoyer admitted Bell's greatest value to the team might come as a free agent if Bell refuses salary arbitration in the offseason and signs elsewhere—the Padres would receive two first-round draft picks in June 2012 as compensation.

The Padres retired number 51 in honor of Trevor Hoffman's at Petco Park in a pre-game ceremony on August 21, 2011, against the Florida Marlins. The ceremony was patterned after the show This Is Your Life, featuring over 40 of Hoffman's former teammates and coaches. Brian Johnson, the lead singer on AC/DC's "Hells Bells", paid tribute in a video to Hoffman for "rocking the mound". In a nod to Hoffman's late father, Ed, the Padres presented Hoffman with a mint condition 1958 Cadillac convertible; his father loved driving his family in a convertible. For the National Anthem, the Padres played a video of Ed singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Fenway Park on Opening Day in 1981 when Trevor's brother, Glenn, was the starting shortstop for the Boston Red Sox. Following the ceremony, Bell blew a 3–2 lead against the Marlins after allowing a solo home run to Mike Cameron with two outs in the ninth. However, Nick Hundley hit a leadoff triple in the bottom of the ninth, and would eventually score on a Will Venable single. It was Hundley's fifth triple of the season, tying the Padres single season record for triples by a catcher set by Benito Santiago in 1990. It was also Hundley's fourth triple in his last six games. After the game, Bell said, "I guess it's one of those things, on Trevor Hoffman day, only he should get the save, I guess."

The Padres finished with a 71–91 record while hitting a major league-low 91 home runs and finishing last in the National League (and next to last in MLB) in batting average (.237) and OPS (.653). They scored the third fewest runs in MLB. The team led the Major Leagues in stolen bases, and Cameron Maybin was the ninth player in Padres history to steal 40 bases. The Union-Tribune praised Maybin's defense and called his acquisition "[o]ne of the best trades in Padres history" and named him the team's MVP. However, the Padres were shut out 19 times during the season.

Season standings

National League West

National League Wild Card

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average

Source:https://baseball-reference.com/teams/SDP/2011-batting.shtml

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Source:https://baseball-reference.com/teams/SDP/2011-pitching.shtml

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: San Antonio, Lake Elsinore

References

References

1. Center, Bill. (December 15, 2010). "Gonzalez goes deep in praising Padres". [[The San Diego Tribune]].
2. Center, Bill. (December 6, 2010). "Gonzalez, Hoyer discuss Padres-Red Sox deal". [[The San Diego Tribune]].
3. "Gonzalez "ready to beat the Yanks" {{pipe}} MLB.com: News".
4. "Patterson to Friars completes Gonzalez deal {{!".
5. Center, Bill. (September 27, 2011). "Padres 2011: What went right and wrong". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
6. Center, Bill. (April 28, 2011). "Daily Update: RBI famines, Headley and Venable slumps, minor league report". [[San Diego Union-Tribune]].
7. (May 3, 2011). "Pirates give up late runs in loss to Padres". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
8. Center, Bill. (May 6, 2011). "Padres blow it but still manage to walk off winners". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
9. Norcross, Don. (May 14, 2011). "Hawpe caps big rally as Padres top Rockies". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
10. Wilson, Bernie. (April 27, 2011). "Padres ace Mat Latos loses 9th straight start". yahoo.com.
11. Center, Bill. (May 3, 2011). "Padres battle back to grab win from Pirates on Johnson's blast". [[San Diego Union-Tribune]].
12. Norcross, Don. (May 15, 2011). "Latos stops winless streak in Denver". [[San Diego Union-Tribune]].
13. Norcross, Don. (July 21, 2011). "Rizzo demoted after Padres finish Florida sweep".
14. Center, Bill. (June 9, 2011). "Pregame Preview: Rizzo debuts Thursday night at Petco Park". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
15. Canepa, Nick. (June 9, 2011). "Amid much hoopla, The Riz calmly contributes right away, as expected". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
16. (June 11, 2011). "John Lannan pitches Nationals past Padres 2-1". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
17. [http://www.nctimes.com/sports/baseball/professional/mlb/padres/article_1afce35b-afd6-5f66-86e3-6ac3579986a5.html/ Padres fall one out shy of first no-hitter, still lose 1-0] {{dead link. (June 2017)
18. Jenkins, Chris. (July 14, 2011). "Where will Bell's comedy act be playing next?". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
19. Center, Bill. (July 13, 2011). "Amid questions about future, Padres face long second half". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
20. (June 2021). ["Struggling Padres prospect Anthony Rizzo demoted to minors with .143 average"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/struggling-padres-prospect-anthony-rizzo-demoted-to-minors-with-143-average/2011/07/21/gIQAAoueSI_story.html?wprss=rss_nationals}} {{dead link).
21. Center, Bill. (July 31, 2011). "Padres trade Adams, Ludwick; keep Bell, Harang". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
22. (July 31, 2011). "Guzman keys late rally as Padres beat Rockies 8-3".
23. Sullivan, Tim. (July 31, 2011). "Premium trade market just wasn't there for Bell". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
24. Singer, Tom. (August 21, 2011). "In stirring ceremony, Hoffman's No. 51 retired". MLB.com.
25. (June 17, 2011). "Trevor Hoffman's No. 51 to be retired". ESPN.com.
26. (August 21, 2011). "Padres retire Trevor Hoffman's No. 51". SI.com.
27. Rosenberg, Jason. (August 22, 2011). "Meeting baseball's Yoda in San Diego". ESPN Internet Ventures.
28. Hayes, Dan. (August 21, 2011). "PADRES NOTES: Hoffman ceremony filled with surprises". [[North County Times]].
29. Sullivan, Tim. (August 21, 2011). "Grand gesture is prime Trevor Time for good reason". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
30. (August 21, 2011). "Padres walk off in ninth to finish four-game sweep of Marlins". ESPN.com.
31. (September 29, 2011). "Padres fire another hitting coach". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
32. Sullivan, Tim. (September 28, 2011). "Don't expect a real quick turnaround by Padres in 2012". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
33. Brock, Corey. (October 3, 2011). "Aaron nominee Maybin makes fast impact". MLB.com.
34. (September 28, 2011). "Will Venable's slam helps Padres dump Cubs in finale". ESPN.com.