Don't Go Soft, Play Hardball!

2009 American Division Champion Padres Season Highlights

Greg Moore Doubles During American Championship!
Padres Greg Moore doubles to the gap during the Padres 13-6 win over the Orioles at Prospect High. The Padres swept the Orioles to claim the American Division Championship, their first SJMSBL title. (Photo submitted by Chad King).

Regular Season Summary

2009 American Division Champion Padres Team Picture
(Front Row) Greg Moore, Iman Mohtashemi, Brian Ticoulet, Joe Rondone. (Back Row) Chad King, Landon Jacobs, Joe Duran, Darryl Jones, Nelson Villanueva, Erik Ehlers, Micah Taylor. (Photo submitted by Chad King).

The 2009 San José Padres had a tremendous year. As the manager of this team, I could write endless words of praise about the players, but will summarize them in one statement — "good, committed, fun guys".

This year's team was vastly different than the first two years of the Padres, including having a new, rookie manager. We welcomed newcomers Nelson Villanueva, Landon Jacobs, Micah Taylor, Darryl Jones, Chad King, and Mike Ticoulet. We also had the returning team of Joe Rondone, Joe Olheiser, Joe Duran, Iman Mohtashemi, Jun Song, Erik Ehlers, Greg Moore, and Brian Ticoulet.

The Padres team came together late in the spring and had to quickly gel and form as a team. The Padres did exactly that — and came out strong in the regular season, winning their first four games. Week five the Padres suffered their first loss, but went on to finish the remainder of the year with a 11-3-1 record and a 4-0 record in the postseason. The Padres finished first in the American Division and also won the championship.

A key part of this team was this team consistently picked each other up, raising the team's play and confidence in one another. This team is comprised of players that are always striving to do better and improve, and the Padres showed that in the 2009 season.

The Padres finished first in the American Division in the regular season (15-4-1) and went undefeated in the post season (4-0), finishing with an overall record of 19-4-1 (a .792 winning percentage).

Playoff Summary

Round One, Game One

In Game One of the opening round, the Padres beat the Yankees 7-2, behind strong pitching from Nelson Villanueva and Erik Ehlers. Home runs by Greg Moore and Joe Duran provided offensive power for the Padres. The Padres remained focused and were looking forward to Game Two.

Round One, Game Two

In Game Two of the opening round, the Padres beat the Yankees 13-2 to move onto the Championship Round. Erik Ehlers provided strong pitching and the defense played strong behind Erik. The bats started to come alive and the Padres were ready to move onto the Championship round. Darryl Jones, Micah Taylor, and Nelson Villanueva each had three hits to lead the offense.

Championship Series

Nelson Villanueva Delivers During 2009 American Division Championship
Padres winning pitcher Nelson Villanueva delivers a pitch during Game Two of the American Division Championship Series against the Orioles at Prospect High School. The Padres came storming back from a 4-1 deficit to win the game 13-6 and capture their first SJMSBL title. (Photo submitted by Chad King).

The Padres and the Orioles both reached the Championship for the first time. During the season, both teams played very strong in the regular season.

Championship Series, Game One

In the first game of the 2009 championship series, the Padres jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the Orioles after the first inning, lead by Micah Taylor's two-run home run. The Padres continued to hit and jumped out to a 10-0 lead after three innings.

The Orioles mounted a comeback and made the score 13-9 after 5.5 innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the Padres countered with four runs of their own, making the score 17-9. Going into the bottom of the seventh, with the score 17-10 (and the time nearing 6 p.m.), the Padres closed out the game by scoring three runs, en route to a ten-run rule (20-10).

Chad King was 3-for-3, with a two-run home run, Micah Taylor was four-for-five, with five RBIs and two-home runs, Iman Mohtashemi was 3-for-4.

The Padres continued to remain focused and were looking forward to Game Two of the Championship Series.

Championship Series, Game Two

Nelson Villaneuva and Erik Ehlers pitched nine spectacular innings to complete a Padres sweep of the playoffs. The Padres were down 4-1, entering the top of the fifth inning. Then, Joe Rondone came up with the big hit, a two-run blast in the top of the fifth inning, sparking the Padres. In this inning, the Padres came up with seven runs and never looked back, as they won 13-6, winning the team's first championship.

Great Season Padres!! Congratulations - this was one fun year!!