The San Diego Padres recently announced Benito Santiago and Garry Templeton have been elected to the Padres Hall of Fame. The election was made in conjunction with the San Diego chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), local sports media and the San Diego Padres front office.
Santiago and Templeton will be the 10th and 11th members to be inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame, joining Buzzie Bavasi, Nate Colbert, Jerry Coleman, Tony Gwynn, Trevor Hoffman, Randy Jones, Ray Kroc, Dick Williams and Dave Winfield.
“This is a well-deserved honor for Benito and Garry, who each played integral roles during their time in San Diego – both on and off the field,” said Padres president and CEO Mike Dee. “Their induction into the Padres Hall of Fame will solidify their places in Padres history. Our efforts to showcase the organization’s history throughout Petco Park will come to life next year, when the new hall of fame location opens, coinciding with the return of MLB’s All-Star Game to San Diego.”
The induction will take place during a special pregame ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 8, ahead of the 5:40 p.m. Padres game vs. the Philadelphia Phillies. All fans in attendance at that night’s game will receive a Templeton or Santiago Padres throwback replica jersey presented by FOX Sports San Diego. The ceremony will cap off a two-night celebration, with Padres broadcaster Dick Enberg being honored prior to the game on Friday, Aug. 7. Enberg will receive the 2015 Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence from the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday, July 25 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Santiago will be the first catcher inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame. The backstop made his Major League debut for San Diego in 1986 and was unanimously named National League Rookie of the Year in 1987, the first in franchise history. A five-time National League All-Star, four with the Padres (1989-92), he played seven of his first 20 Major League seasons for San Diego, hitting .264 (758-for-2872) for San Diego with 124 doubles, 15 triples, 85 home runs and 375 RBI over 789 games from 1986-92. The Puerto Rico native also received four Louisville Silver Slugger Awards (1987-88, 1990-91) and three Rawlings Gold Gloves (1988-90) in his career, all with San Diego. His career-best and franchise-record 34-game hitting streak during his rookie season in 1987 still stands as the longest hitting streak in Major League history by a rookie as well as the longest ever by a catcher.
Originally signed by the Padres as an amateur free agent on Sept. 1, 1982, Santiago ranks among catching leaders in franchise history in the majority of offensive categories, including first in home runs, triples and runs scored (308), second in RBI, games, hits, doubles and at-bats and third in walks (137). Defensively, he caught 203 of 650 attempted base stealers during his tenure with the Padres, the highest caught-stealing percentage (31.2 percent) of any backstop in franchise history. His four starts behind the plate for the National League All-Star team are the second-most starting nods at the Mid-Summer Classic in franchise history behind only Tony Gwynn and his 12 starts. His three Gold Glove Awards and four Silver Slugger Awards are also the second-most in franchise history behind only Gwynn (five Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers).
Templeton, who played 10 of his 16 Major League seasons with San Diego from 1982-1991, will be the first shortstop inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame. The switch-hitter hit .252 (1,135-for-4,512) with 195 doubles, 36 triples, 43 home runs and 427 RBI over 1,286 games for the Padres. Acquired by San Diego along with Sixto Lezcano and Luis DeLeon from the St. Louis Cardinals on Dec. 10, 1981 in exchange for Ozzie Smith, Steve Mura and Al Olmsted, Templeton ranks second to Tony Gwynn among franchise leaders in several offensive categories, including games played, at-bats, hits and doubles and ranks fourth in triples, seventh in RBI and eighth in runs scored. He was named a National League All-Star for the Padres and team MVP in 1985 and earned a Louisville Silver Slugger Award in 1984. Over his 10 seasons in San Diego, he posted a .965 fielding percentage at shortstop, the best fielding percentage in franchise history by a shortstop.
