47s For 4/7

22 players have worn 47 for the Padres. Joe Niekro was the first in the Friars' inaugural season. Ralph Garcia was next in '72, followed by Rich Troedson in '73 and '74 and Bob Shirley in '77 and '78. Dennis Blair wore it in '80, as did Dennis Rasmussen in '83 and Bob Stoddard in '86. Randy Byers (not to be confused with Randy Myers) rocked it in '87 and '88. Bruce Hurst was the first to wear it longer than two seasons, keeping it from '89 through '93. Jose Martinez in '94, Willie Blair in '95 and '96, and Pete Smith in '97 and '98 followed. Brandon Kolb held it down in 2000 and Rudy Seanez wore it in his first tour of duty in '01. David Lundquist, Wil Nieves and Brandon Villafuerte all wore 47 in '02 and Jesse Orosco wore it in '03, the last of his 24 seasons. Justin Germano also wore it his first time around in '04, as did Tim Stauffer in '05. From '06 until the 2010 trading deadline it as worn by third base coach Glenn Hoffman, at which time he took #30 upon the acquisition of Ryan Ludwick who wore it until getting traded to Pittsburgh a year later. Jeremy Hermida wore it last September and will continue to until he's released in late May.

Merry Unbirthday: Dennis Rasmussen

First things first: of the many pairs of brothers to have played for the Padres, Eric and Dennis Rasmussen were not one of them. Like Mark and Ben Davis or Eddie and Brian Williams, they are not related at all. Eric and Dennis's careers had a two week overlap, with Dennis pitching his first game September 16th, 1983 and Eric pitching his last on October 2nd. Right before the next season, Dennis was returned from whence he came, traded back to the Yankees for Graig Nettles less than seven months after New York had sent him to San Diego for John "The Count" Montefusco. Dennis returned to the Padres via a mid-'88 trade with the Reds and stuck around through 1991.