The Oakland Athletics were the team of the early 70s, but they went into a cost-cutting mode in 1976, jettisoning their stars through various methods.  One of those players was Rollie Fingers, one of the most influential closers in baseball history and the owner of the most iconic mustaches in sports.

Fingers signed with San Diego after the aforementioned bicentennial year and remained a top closer.  A Padre for four years, Fingers was named the National League Rolaids Reliever of the Year in three of them, led the league in Saves twice, and compiled 108 Saves in total with San Diego.

Fingers was traded to St. Louis after the 1980 Season and was traded four days later to Milwaukee, where he won the Cy Young and closed off his career.  The Baseball Hall of Fame called his name in 1992.

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.  In 2023, Machado slipped a bit with 30 Home Runs and a .782 OPS, and the year after he had 29 Home Runs, 105 RBIs, and captured his second Silver Slugger as a Padre.

Machado enters 2025 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.