Terry Kennedy played the first three years of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals before he was traded in 1981 to San Diego.  It was a great opportunity for the Catcher, who now had the chance to play every day.

In his first season with the Padres, Kennedy batted .301 and was named to the All-Star Team.  Kennedy was not an All-Star in 1982, but he had his best power season, posting personal bests in Doubles (42) and Home Runs (21) while again flirting with .300.  He would show moderate power, hitting at least 10 Home Runs from 1983 to 1986, adding two more All-Stars to his resume, with a Silver Slugger coming his way in 1983.  Kennedy finished tenth in MVP voting in 1983, also played a large part in the Padres National League Pennant in 1984.  He made history in that year's World Series, as after he drove in two runs in Game 1, he joined his dad.  (Bob) as the first father-son combination to have RBIs in World Series competition.  Kennedy was also a respected defensive Catcher who had a couple of years in San Diego that would have been Gold Glove worthy.

Kennedy was traded to Baltimore in 1986, with the Catcher leaving behind a .274 Batting Average, 817 Hits, and 76 Home Runs.

Taken number one overall in the 1975 Amateur Draft, Gene Richards debuted two years later for the Padres with a solid rookie year, batting .290 and setting a then-rookie record for Stolen Bases (56).  

Richards kept it up for the Padres as a decent leadoff hitter, swiping more bases and batting over .300 twice, 1978 and 1980.  He would also notably lead the NL in Triples in 1981 (12), Singles in 1980 (155), and defensively led all the NL Leftfielders in Assists.

Richards bolted San Diego for San Francisco as a Free Agent in 1984, but he never performed as well for the Giants as he did as a Padre.  With San Diego, Richards batted .291 with 242 Stolen Bases.

An original Padre, Nate Colbert, was plucked from the Houston Astros in the Expansion Draft. 

Colbert became the Padres starting First Baseman, and while he was not the best contact hitter, he was good with the power aspect.  Over his first five years in San Diego, Colbert hit at least 22 Home Runs, with seasons of 38 in 1970 and 1972.   Colbert was an All-Star three straight years (1971-73) and finished eighth in MVP voting in the middle year.

Back problems reduced his effectiveness, and after a poor 1974 season, he was traded to Detroit.  Colbert accumulated 163 Home Runs with the Padres.

Ken Caminiti made his first All-Star Game in the strike-shortened 1994 Season, his eighth in Houston.  In a push to get younger, Caminiti was part of a 12-man trade to San Diego in the winter, and with the Padres, he embarked on the best run of his career.

Caminiti’s power game exploded (he later admitted to using PEDs), and he had his first 20-plus Home Run year, belting 26, while also batting over .300 for the first time.  His second year as a Padre was his best in Baseball, winning the MVP with career-highs in Home Runs (40), RBIs (130), and the Slash Line (.326/.408/.621).  He would also win the Silver Slugger, and defensively, he won his second straight Gold Glove, with a third following the year after.

Caminiti kept his power numbers strong, over the next two years, with seasons of 26 and 29 Home Runs, respectively.  He rejoined the Astros as a Free Agent in 1999, leaving the Padres after 121 Home Runs and a .295 Batting Average.  The Padres inducted Caminiti into their Hall of Fame in 2016.