After eight seasons, most of which with the Milwaukee Brewers, Mark Loretta signed with the San Diego Padres for the 2003 Season, and he had the best run of his career as a Padre.

Loretta took over at Second Base for San Diego, and in 2003, he batted .314 with 13 Home Runs and 185 Hits, a very good year for him, but he had something better planned in 2004.  An All-Star for the first time, Loretta had career-bests in Runs (108), Hits (208), Doubles (47), Home Runs (16), RBIs (76), and the Slash Line (.335/.391/495), won the Silver Slugger and was ninth in MVP voting. 

Loretta was not able to recapture that in 2005 but did in 2006…though, by that time, he had already been traded to Boston.  With the Padres, Loretta batted .314 with 506 Hits.

The Hall of Fame career of Roberto Alomar began in 1988 with the San Diego Padres, and he did not take long to prove he was a star on the rise.

Alomar was fifth in Rookie of the Year voting, batting .266 with 145 Hits.  Improving that to 184 Hits and a .295 Average, Alomar swiped 42 bases, his high as a Padre.  A good defensive player, Alomar did not win a Gold Glove but was worthy of consideration during his stay in San Diego.  Alomar went to his first All-Star Game in 1990, again batting over .280, but this was his last year in Southern California.

Alomar was traded to Toronto after the 1991 Season, and would achieve greater success, winning two World Series Rings and multiple All-Stars.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Dave Dravecky began his baseball career with San Diego in 1982, making the starting rotation during his rookie year.  The southpaw was an All-Star as a sophomore, with a 14-10 year, and he followed that with back-to-back 2.93 ERA years and helped the Padres win the 1984 Pennant.

Dravecky continued to do well, but the struggling Padres traded him to the Giants.  Dravecky contracted cancer in his pitching arm, eventually resulting in its amputation.  Dravecky had a 53-50 Record with a 3.12 ERA with 456 Strikeouts with the Padres.

When an ambitious front office decides to shake up the competitive balance of the entire sport, they pull off a winter blockbuster that leaves fans across the country in absolute shock. The San Diego Padres executed precisely that type of franchise-altering maneuver in December 1990, trading homegrown stars Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter to Toronto to land shortstop Tony Fernández and a towering, left-handed premier slugger named Fred McGriff. Universally known as the "Crime Dog"—a classic moniker bestowed upon him by broadcaster Chris Berman—McGriff seamlessly integrated his thunderous, helicopter-follow-through stroke into the heart of the San Diego lineup, treating National League pitching to a masterclass in high-leverage destruction.

His 1991 debut season with the Padres showcased exceptional middle-of-the-order discipline and power. McGriff made run production a daily priority, finishing with 31 home runs and 106 RBIs. His remarkable efficiency was evident; he drew 105 walks, his career high, contributing to a .396 on-base percentage. He consistently controlled deep counts to tire out opposing pitchers, helping the team secure third place in the division and a tenth-place finish in the NL MVP voting.

In 1992, he delivered an outstanding performance, with 152 hits, including 30 doubles and 35 home runs, and 104 RBIs over 152 games. His impressive slash line of .286/.394/.556 resulted in a remarkable .950 OPS, setting a personal best for the veteran first baseman. This achievement earned him his first National League All-Star selection, a Silver Slugger Award, and a sixth-place finish in MVP voting. Most historically significant, his 35 home runs in 1992 earned him the National League home run crown. Because he had previously led the American League with 36 homers for Toronto back in 1989, McGriff carved out a permanent, immortal spot in the baseball history books.

Broader economic conditions prompted a sudden and bittersweet exit. By mid-1993, despite McGriff hitting 18 home runs and driving in 46 runs in 83 games, the front office was instructed to undertake a major payroll cut. The veteran star was the main focus of the notorious San Diego "fire sale," and was traded to the Atlanta Braves in July 1993 for three minor league prospects, none of whom proved successful.

As a Padre, McGriff had 382 hits, 60 doubles, and 254 runs batted in, alongside exactly 84 home runs and a powerful .519 slugging percentage in 388 games.  While his stay in San Diego was brief, it helped him earn induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023.