- Published in Top 50 San Diego Padres
49. Kevin Brown
Yes, we know.
Again, we know.
The San Diego Padres have been in existence for over a half-century, so how can we rank a player regardless of position at all?
Here is how.
Kevin Brown's single season in San Diego is the greatest in franchise history and is so by far.
Let’s repeat it.
Yes, we know.
Again, we know.
The Padres have had Cy Young winners, and Brown was not one of them. Brown is also a player who only was a Padre for one year, but in terms of bWAR and other advanced metrics, he exceeds that of many other San Diego Pitchers who played far longer with the team.
The year in question was 1998, the year after he was traded from the Florida Marlins, who won the 1997 World Series and held a fire sale to get rid of all their stars. It can be argued (and we have) that the Marlins do not win the World Series without Brown, and we will make the same statement that San Diego does not win the 1998 Pennant without Brown.
In 1998, Brown led the NL in bWAR for Pitchers (8.6) and FIP (2.23), won 16 Games, and was second in WHIP (1.066), ERA (2.38), and Strikeouts (257). The Padres advanced to the World Series, and Brown was great over his first two playoff series, though his World Series was not great. He didn't win the Cy Young, but TSN named him the Pitcher of the Year.
Brown left the Padres as a Free Agent for the Dodgers, and his brief but brilliant stay in San Diego ended.