Ozzie Smith would become one of the most dynamic Shortstops in history and an eventual Hall of Fame inductee with a St. Louis Cardinals cap on his plaque.  Many forget that his career began in San Diego, and realistically, he was not yet what he would become.

Smith debuted in the Majors with the Padres in 1978 and was the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year, batting .258 with 40 Stolen Bases.  This was the best offensive season for Smith as a Padre, but he quickly became an elite defender.  Smith won the Gold Glove in 1980 and 1981, leading the NL in Defensive bWAR in 1980 and was second in 1979.  

As good as Smith was, the Padres were considered about his bat and traded him to St. Louis for another Shortstop, Garry Templeton.  With all due respect to Templeton, Smith's post-trade career blew away Templeton, as Smith maintained his defense and developed his offense, which Padres management likely thought was impossible.  Smith only batted .221 with sub-.300 stats in OBP and Slugging; the main reason that the Hall of Famer is ranked so low.

Manny Machado was a star in Baltimore, and later the Dodgers, who acquired him for their 2018 playoff run.  The Padres changed their usual course, went after, and got Machado as a Free Agent for 2019, and as of this writing, he is still a Padre.

Machado had a solid debut year for San Diego, blasting 32 Home Runs, though his OPS was a little under .800.  His second year, the COVID-impaired 2020 Season, saw Machado finish third in MVP voting and gain his first Silver Slugger.

A trendy pick to win the World Series in 2021, the Padres imploded, though Machado again had a good year, returning to the All-Star Game with a 29 Home Run/106 RBI season with an OPS of .836.  San Diego would make the postseason in 2022, with Machado having a spectacular year, finishing second in MVP voting with a 32 HR/109 RBI year.  Last season, Machado slipped a bit with 30 Home Runs and a .782 OPS, but he is still enters 2024 as one of the top players in baseball.  

Debuting in 1980 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Mark Davis did not turn any heads until he was traded to the San Diego Padres during the 1987 Season (when he was with San Francisco).  Davis finished the second half of that year better than he did as a Giant, but it was nothing compared to what was to come.

Davis ascended to the Padres closing role, and he saved 28 Games with a 2.01 ERA in 1988 while going to the All-Star Game.  He had an even better 1989, and with all respect to Trevor Hoffman, Davis had one of the best seasons of any Relief Pitcher in Padres history.  Davis was an All-Star again, and he led the NL in Games Finished (65), Saves (44), and WPA (5.8).  He won the National League Cy Young Award, making Davis one of the few relievers to win that honor.

Davis' contract had expired, and he signed with Kansas City, but he was never the same Pitcher again.  He returned to the Padres during the 1993 Season but was ineffective and was released early the year after.  Davis' shine was brief, but it existed, and the Padres fans should never forget it.

It is the end of an era in Pittsburgh.

Following the Steelers’ playoff defeat to Kansas City, the time to debate in earnest the Hall of Fame candidacy of Ben Roethlisberger has begun.

The Quarterback has the statistical make-up for a Canton bust, even in this inflated era.  

Roethlisberger is also a two-time leader in Passing Yards, and went to six Pro Bowls.  He leaves with 64,088 Passing Yards (fifth all-time), 418 Touchdown Passes (eighth all-time) with an Approximate Value of 208 (14^th all-time).  The biggest metric that a Quarterback is based on, Super Bowl wins, is also on Roethlisberger’s resume with two.

The negative that will dog Roethlisberger is his past sexual assault allegations, which had they happened in the #MeToo era would be discussed far more than it is.

If we were to enter a guess at this time, Roethlisberger will get in quickly, but the first year might elude him as only five can enter from what will perpetually be a loaded group of Finalists from which to pick, especially if Eli Manning and Philip Rivers are still on the ballot.  If our own data is to be believed (and we would like to think it does), we had Roethlisberger as the #9 most deserving active player going into the 2021 Season, and number three at Quarterback. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish the best in the post-playing career of Ben Roethlisberger.