News
Races heating up for Friars' All-Time 9
Gonzalez takes commanding lead; Santiago/Kennedy battle
By Corey Brock / MLB.com
09/22/09 7:18 PM ET
SAN DIEGO -- There are no shortage of hotly-contested position battles going on for the Padres' All-Time 9 campaign, but first base isn't one of them.Two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner Adrian Gonzalez, who is in his fourth season with the team, has taken a commanding lead over former Padres players Ryan Klesko and Fred McGriff. Fans, apparently, are impressed with Gonzalez's 2008 season when he hit .279 with 36 home runs, 119 RBIs and 103 runs scored.
More than 4.1 million votes have been cast since the 9/9/09 debut of the "All-Time 9s," a platform for fans to debate the greatest single-season performances for all 30 Major League franchises. The voting marks the start of MLB.com's Lineup Card campaign, a gathering place for the posting and never-ending discussion of the greatest past and present lineups.
For the rest of this season, the All-Time 9s will play out in an interactive debate for the ages, with fans and insiders evaluating, analyzing and debating to determine every franchise's most impressive single-season offensive performances by position.
That's just the beginning.
The All-Time 9s will merely serve as a catalyst for MLB.com/Lineup Card, a gathering place for the posting, perspective and never-ending discussion of past, present and future lineups.
Here's a look at how some of the other closest races are shaping up for the Padres:
At catcher, Benito Santiago is currently holding a slight lead of about 550 votes over Terry Kennedy, who, ironically, joined the Padres staff on Tuesday for the rest of the season after managing Double-A San Antonio to the Texas League playoffs.
In the outfield, Steve Finley will need to gain some steam if he wants to crack the top three Padres outfielders of all-time. Finley trails Greg Vaughn by about 500 votes for the final spot with Tony Gwynn and Dave Winfield firmly holding down the other two spots.
At third base, Ken Caminiti's MVP season in 1996 has garnered him plenty of votes at the hot corner. Caminiti hit .326 with 40 home runs and 130 RBIs that season.
Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
