Pads in the Hall (a guided tour)

One of my biggest collecting focuses is the Pads in the Hall maxicollection. Essentially, I've got a PC running for anyone who ever suited up for the San Diego Padres at one time and eventually ended up enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. I've recently expanded the imaginary facility so thought I'd post up the current layout.

A) MLB Players (main hall)

Dave Winfield
Gaylord Perry
Goose Gossage
Greg Maddux
Ozzie Smith
Rickey Henderson
Roberto Alomar
Rollie Fingers
Tony Gwynn
Willie McCovey

I should mention I collect cards of these guys regardless of what team they're shown as being a member of, not just Padres cards.

B) Dugout and Booth wing

Dick Williams
Jerry Coleman
Sparky Anderson

Sparky Anderson is new inductee. I hadn't realized Sparky coached with the expansion Padres in 1969 before going on to success as a manager with Cincinnati and Detroit. HOFer who suited up for the Padres? Count it!

Jerry Coleman is in the Hall thanks to the winning the 2005 Ford Frick Award for broadcasting, not his time on the field (or in the dugout). But he did manage the Padres for one year in 1980, so he meets both requirements for inclusion here.

Honorable mention goes to Phil Collier, who covered the Padres for The San Diego Union from the team's birth through the early 1990s. He's in the writers' wing of the HOF as the 1990 winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award. He never suited up for the Padres, though.

C) PCL Padres penthouse
Announcing the newly constructed PCL Padres section! Yes, I'm formally recognizing the contributions of the two MLB HOFers who played for the San Diego Padres when they were a minor league team. Technically, these are guys who "suited up for the San Diego Padres and ended up in the Hall," so by that definition, I've got to count them.

Ted Williams
Tony Perez

I already knew about Ted Williams (hometown San Diego boy), but wasn't aware of Tony Perez being a Padre until recently. While I've always liked Perez just fine, I never specifically collected him. But now I'll have to dig through the ample stack of Reds cards in my trade box and pick out all the Tony Perez cards.

D) Knocking on the Door kiosk
I also informally collect cards of former Padres who aren't currently in the Hall, but smart money is on them being inducted in due time:

Bruce Bochy
Mike Piazza
Trevor Hoffman

G) The HOF Is A Joke wing
I've got to stick a finger up at Hall voters for a couple guys who should be inducted, but have been shut out thus far. Hopefully one day..

Fred McGriff
Steve Garvey

E) Hall of Fan Favorites
Independently operated in the same building, but not technically a part of the Pads in the Hall official brand, these are just guys I like (and dare I say, most Padres fans have fond memories of.. though I know this is the most subjective area of the theoretical building), but who never generated legitimate HOF consideration.

Bip Roberts
Eric Owens
Garry Templeton
Khalil Greene
Nate Colbert
Randy Jones
Reggie Sanders
Rod Beck
Ron Gant

I'll admit Reggie Sanders and Ron Gant didn't necessarily endear themselves to Padres fans especially, but I threw them in there because I was already a fan of theirs before their brief respective stops in San Diego.

Nate Colbert and Randy Jones get bonus points for being enshrined in the Padres Hall of Fame.

As far as other guys in the Padres Hall of Fame who have not been otherwise mentioned yet, they're a couple of front office guys, and as such, don't really figure into a baseball card collection. But let's give them an honorable mention: Buzzie Bavasi and Ray Kroc.

F) Keep At It, Kid exhibition
Again, not technically part of the Pads in the Hall, but renting out an available room, these are active guys who either were or are Padres who won a place in my heart.

Adrian Gonzalez
Andrew Cashner
Jake Peavy
Jeff Gyorko


And so we conclude our tour. I'll further detail each of these swell guys (and my collection of their cards) at some point in the future, if I haven't already. Some of you stringent team collectors out there might call this a cop out to cherry pick the stars and other favorite players I want to collect. Yep! You'll find me "rooting for laundry" just like every sports fan, but latching onto certain players (and sticking with them) is just how I choose to collect, I guess.

(I've been obsessed with this song for the past couple days, so I'm glad I could work it into a post!)