On December 21st 1995, the Padres world would forever be changed. In one of his first trades ever, former GM Kevin Towers brought over first baseman Wally Joyner from the Kansas City Royals for Leon "Bip" Roberts. And with that trade "Wally World" was unleashed on the city of San Diego. From 1996-1999, the man known for his long flowing locks, would help the Padres win a NL West title in both 1996 & 1998 and a NL pennant in 1998.Backed by a solid glove and a smooth swing, Joyner would go on to hit .291, rack up 480 hits & walk (229) more than he struck out (220) during his career in San Diego. A former All-Star & Rookie of the Year runner up with the California Angels, he never showed to much power, but was a team leader in the clubhouse and knew his role.
As quickly as he swooped into our hearts he swooped out. Exactly 4 years and 1 day after he arrived in San Diego he left. His buddy KT traded him and outfielder Reggie Sanders to the Atlanta Braves for second baseman Bret Boone and first baseman Ryan Klesko ending the Wally World era in San Diego.....or did it?
In August of 2007 the revolving door of Padres hitting coaches reached out and drug in Wally Joyner. Right away the Padres bats lit up. Before Joyner took over, the team was hitting .242 for the season. After he took over, they raised the team average 23 points to a solid .265. Not much happened at the end of that season though so we can skip to the following season where the team struggled for most of the year. In September of 2008 Joyner resigned as the teams hitting coach citing major differences in philosophy with the Padres front office.
I'd like to thank TTG for asking me to bring the joy of Wally World upon the world once again.
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