SAN DIEGO — With the San Diego Padres in the midst of a postseason battle against the L.A. Dodgers, CBS 8’s Brian White sat down with former Padres players as they shared fond memories from the Padres playoff past.
“This here is my baby, man. I still have it,” said Tim Flannery, who played for the Padres from 1979–1989, as he clutched his old baseball glove. “I love to put my hand in it. I can still smell it and I can hear the noise. It’s a great souvenir for me, but it was also a great glove for me for a lot of years.”
Flannery went to both World Series appearances for the Padres, both as a player in 1984 and as a third base coach for them in 1998.
“1984 was a magic year for the ball club, but also the city,” said Flannery. “We were in the playoffs. We won the division, so we went to Chicago to play the Cubs. We got just steamrolled the first game 13-0. The next game we lost 4-2.”
In their first postseason appearance ever, the Padres found themselves in a hole, losing the first two games against the Cubs in Chicago for the National League Championship Series. But then, they flew back to San Diego for their first home game of the series.
“As soon as we land in San Diego, we see all these people on the streets lining the streets, and this was late at night,” said Flannery. “By the time we got to Qualcomm Stadium, Jack Murphy Stadium, there was 5,000 or 6,000 people waiting for us. And that was the spark that started the momentum.”
The Padres won that first home game against the Cubs 7-0, and on the next night to tie up the series, the Padres rallied hard, but were losing in the bottom of the ninth. With Tony Gwynn on base, the stage was set for Steve Garvey’s famous homerun to put the Padres on top for the win.
“When I saw that pitch, I got my hands up and got on top of it, created that backspin,” said Garvey. “When it took off, I knew it had a good chance and as I’m getting to first base, then I see it hit about five or six feet above his glove, and that’s when pandemonium broke loose. Once I hit the bag, I lifted my arm up and I hadn’t seen that much. But I really wanted to let the fans know that this was for them.”
They went on to beat the Cubs a third time to win the series, making them the National League champions. They may have lost to Detroit in the World Series after that, but beating the Cubs to get there was something special.
“Alright, well this is the ’84 ring, the National League Championship ring,” said Flannery while holding up his ring.
One thing both Garvey and Flannery agree on is the importance of Padres fans at home.
“The fans mean everything to, not only the home team, but the other team now knows that there is a tenth man on that team playing with them, so that’s very important for the Padres fans to be a part of,” said Flannery.
“I think it makes a world of difference and I’ve always said this,” said Garvey. “When you’re at home, the fans are the wind beneath your wings.”
When the interview was over, Flannery brought out his old away jersey, #11.
“They laughed at these a little on the road, calling these the worst uniforms of all, but once you beat everybody, you can wear anything you want,” said Flannery with a hearty laugh.
WATCH RELATED: Gaslamp businesses expecting a homerun during Padre playoffs (Oct. 2022).
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET CBS 8:
ADD THE CBS8+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE Roku | Amazon Fire