Ozzie Smith Played In Walla Walla

If there is a list of great athletes to play with Walla Walla's Borleske Stadium as a home field, you may see names like Dean Derby, Bobby Cox, Drew Bledsoe and maybe, this Hall of Famer, Ozzie Smth.
 In 1977, Ozzie Smith played for the Walla Walla Padres, as indicated in the above Walla Walla Union Bulletin story above, he also made an impression on the local baseball fans. He was voted most popular member of the team that season.
Smith would play for the parent San Diego Padres the next season.    It was there that started a string of winning 13 consecutive Golden Glove awards.
After a trade to the St Louis Cardinals, he would lead the team to a World Series victory.  His statistics are staggering, including 2460 career hits and a 15 time All Star. 
He was elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame on the first ballot.

Seattle Product Lincecum Hurls First No-Hitter

San Francisco Giant ace pitcher Tim Lincecum, a Seattle native, whose dad, Chris, comes into our store often, just pitched his first no-hitter as his team beat the San Diego Padres 9-0.  This has been a tough year for Lincecum who halfway through the season, had up to now, not gotten an out in the 8th inning in any of his starts.  Lincecum has won 2 Cy Young awards and has 2 World Series rings.

Mariners Win Behind Pineda Shutout

Rookie Sensation Michael Pineda pitched 7 innings of 2 hit ball as the Seattle Mariners shut out the San Diego Padres 4-0. It was the 4th win in a row for the improving Mariners. Mariner Mike Wilson had 2 RBIs.
It looks like the Mariner rebuilding effort is showing some progress.

Former Walla Walla Padre Tony Gwynn Facing Cancer

It has been a lousy fall for fans of San Diego baseball, the Padres did not make the post season after leading the National League West for almost the entire season. Now Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn who spent his entire career with the Padres, has been diagnosed with cancer of salivary gland. Gwynn of course, began his professional career with the Walla Walla Padres in 1981.

Mariners Wallop The Padres

I was listening to the Gasman on KJR today interviewing Mariner announcer Dave Sims. Sims was saying that tonight's game between the M's and the San Diego Padres would be a pitcher's duel. It seemed at the time to be an astute observation. Cliff Lee was going up against Wade LeBanc, it was the National League West's best vs the American League West's worst.
The game was more of a "pitcher's drill" as the Mariner's shellacked the San Diego Padres 15-8.
This is the second game in a row where something was out of character for the Mariners, yesterday, Manager Don Wakamatsu was ejected from a game for the first time in his career as the Mariners squeezed out a one run victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Thank you to the Seattle Times for the picture.