1996 San Diego Padres season

The 1996 San Diego Padres season was the 28th season in franchise history. They finished in first place in the National League West with a 91–71 won-loss record, one game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Offseason

 * October 28, 1995: Rico Rossy was signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
 * November 29, 1995: Mike Sharperson signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
 * December 7, 1995: Fernando Valenzuela signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
 * December 14, 1995: Doug Dascenzo was signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
 * December 21, 1995: Wally Joyner was traded by the Kansas City Royals with Aaron Dorlarque (minors) to the San Diego Padres for Bip Roberts and Bryan Wolff (minors).
 * December 21, 1995: Mike Oquist was signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
 * December 29, 1995: Rickey Henderson signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres.
 * March 22, 1996: Melvin Nieves was traded by the San Diego Padres with Raul Casanova and Richie Lewis to the Detroit Tigers for Sean Bergman, Todd Steverson, and Cade Gaspar (minors).

Regular season

 * On August 16, the San Diego Padres played the New York Mets in a game held at the Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.

Opening Day starters

 * Brad Ausmus
 * Ken Caminiti
 * Andújar Cedeño
 * Steve Finley
 * Tony Gwynn
 * Joey Hamilton
 * Rickey Henderson
 * Wally Joyner
 * Jody Reed

Game log

 * Legend:      = Win       = Loss Bold = Padres team member
 * Legend:      = Win       = Loss Bold = Padres team member

Notable transactions

 * July 31, 1996: Marc Newfield was traded by the San Diego Padres with Bryce Florie and Ron Villone to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later and Greg Vaughn. The Milwaukee Brewers sent Gerald Parent (minors) (September 16, 1996) to the San Diego Padres to complete the trade.

Starters by position
''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres
St. Louis wins the series, 3-0

The Cardinals and Padres began their rivalry in this series. The Cardinals' first of three postseason victories against the Padres took place here. Their dominance is overwhelming to the tune of only one loss against the Padres lifetime in the postseason.

A 3-run homer by Gary Gaetti off Joey Hamilton in Game 1 put the Cardinals up for good. Todd Stottlemyre pitched masterfully, allowing only one earned run on a solo home run by Rickey Henderson. Rick Honeycutt and Dennis Eckersley shut the Padres down for the win.

A well fought Game 2 saw the Cardinals squander two leads. Scott Sanders faced Andy Benes. Willie McGee put the Cardinals on top on the 3rd with an RBI single. Ken Caminiti tied the game with a leadoff homer in the 5th. Ron Gant cleared the bases with a double in the Cardinals 5th to make it 4-1. A 2 run single by Tony Gwynn made it a one run game in the Padres 6th. An RBI ground out by Steve Finley tied the game in the Padres 8th. But the Cardinals would score a run in the 8th on an RBI ground out that scored Brian Jordan. Dennis Eckersley got his 2nd save of the postseason.

In Game 3, the Cardinals looked to Donovan Osborne to put the Padres away. Opposing the potential sweep would be Andy Ashby. Brian Jordan put the Cardinals ahead when he singled to center field to score Royce Clayton. A would-be double play ball in the bottom of the 2nd helped the Padres take the lead 2-1. Then Ken Caminiti homered to make it 3-1 in the 3rd. An RBI single in the bottom of the 4th made it 4-1 Padres and Osborne was done. But the Cardinals were not about to let the series go another game. A leadoff homer by Ron Gant made it 4-2 in the 6th. But a one-out triple by John Mabry scored Jordan and a single would bring him home to tie the game at 4. The Cardinals would take the lead in the 7th when Ray Lankford scored on a double play. The Padres were now 6 outs from being eliminated. But when Caminiti hit his second homer of the game to tie it at 5, the Padres were still alive. However, the Cardinals put the game away in the top of the 9th when Jordan hit a two-run homer that proved to be the series winner. A one-out single by Rickey Henderson in the 9th put the tying run at the plate but nothing would be made of it as Eckersley got his 3rd save in as many tries to win the series.

Award winners
1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
 * Ken Caminiti, National League Most Valuable Player
 * Tony Gwynn
 * Ken Caminiti

Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: AZL Padres