Last week I revealed Adrian Gonzalez as the 1B of my All-Time Friars team. Today we move 90 feet and look at the middle IF candidates for my squad. Naturally, after going out of my way to establish minimum standards based on plate appearances to ensure only players who spent a substantial period in San Diego made this team, I now find myself lowering those standards in just the 2^nd piece.

Apparently, 2B has been a bit of a revolving door for San Diego.  After carefully searching through 42 Padres seasons I’ve found just 2 “worthy” candidates to man second for my team. I wanted a little more variety so I lowered my minimum plate appearance requirement from 2,000 to 1,788. Now there are 5 candidates to choose from including a Hall-of-Famer and a couple of All-Stars. That’s much better.

Tim Flannery – Flan was more of a utility player rather than a full-time starting 2B but did appear in 544 games at the position; more than at any other spot in his career. In 11 seasons as a Padre, Flannery made 2,838 PA and posted a line of .255/.335/.317. Those certainly aren’t outstanding numbers but you can’t have a stud at all 9 positions on the diamond, can you?

Flannery was a decent defensive 2B finishing his career with a Total Zone (TZ) rating of 7 runs above average. He was also an 8.5 WAR player in his career. As I stated about Flan on my All-Time Favorites post, he was a gritty, hustling player who gave everything he had. That’s reason enough for me to at least view him as a candidate here.

Quilvio Veras – “Q” was the starting second-sacker on the Friars 1998 World Series team. He spent 3 seasons in San Diego and finished his Padres career with a .270/.366/.353 line in 1,788 PA. He also stole 87 bases as a Friar.

Veras wasn’t very good with the glove; at least according to the TZ rating. He finished 17 runs below average in his time in San Diego. Quilvio was worth 5.3 WAR in his 3 San Diego seasons; mostly a result of his above average offensive contributions.

Leon “Bip” Roberts – Roberts had two different stints as a Padre. He was originally a Rule 5 selection from the Pirates organization and spent the 1986 season as the Padres’ regular 2B. He finished that rookie campaign with a .253 BA and an OPS+ of 67. Bip spent most of the next two seasons in the minors for further seasoning.

The extra time in the minors paid off as Roberts recorded a slash line of .301/.391/.422 and an OPS+ of 132 in 387 PA in his first full year back in the majors. With a future Hall-of-Famer beginning to make his mark at 2B in a Friars’ uniform, Roberts was moved off the position and became more of a super-utility guy in 1989 and 1990. Roberts saw at least 100 defensive innings in 1989 at 4 different spots in the field; 3B (237.2), LF (208.1), RF (101.2) and SS (105).

In 2,521 PA as a PadrE. Roberts recorded a 106 OPS+ and stole 148 SB. His defense at 2B was below average as he rated 14 runs below average according to the TZ metric. He was worth 11.8 WAR as a member of the Padres in parts of 7 seasons.

Robby Alomar – Ah, the Hall-of-Famer I mentioned earlier. Robby got his big league career started in San Diego and spent his first 3 seasons as a member of the Friars. He’s the primary reason I lowered my 2,000 PA requirement so I could include him as a candidate.

Alomar finished just 41 PA short of 2,000 as a Padre. While his best seasons were played elsewhere, Alomar showed flashes of the superstar he would become. He left San Diego with a line of .283/.339/.379 and a 103 OPS+. His defense was also terrific as he graded out at 13 runs above average.

In 3 years, Alomar was worth 11.4 WAR in San Diego. That’s an average of 3.8 WAR per year. Alomar also made 1 All-Star team as a Padre.

Unfortunately for Padres fans, “Trader” Jack McKeon dealt the burgeoning star to Toronto along with OF Joe Carter for SS Tony Fernandez, who was entering the decline phase of his career, and 1B Fred McGriff. While McGriff was a very good player, losing a future Hall-of-Fame still stings us Padres fans.

Mark Loretta – Loretta was not thought of particularly highly prior to becoming a member of the Padres. In 8 years as a Brewer, Loretta posted an OPS+ mark of just 92; about average for a hitter. He would spend 3 years in San Diego and hit to a tune of a 121 OPS+. His slash line was a very good .314/.377/.438 and he would go on to appear in 1 All-Star contest and win a Silver Slugger award as a member of the Friars.

Loretta was exactly average with the glove, finishing with a TZ of 0.  He was however a valuable hitter. His contributions at the plate made him a 12.8 WAR player in his 3 seasons as a Padre. That rates him highest among all 5 of the contending 2B in that category.

Now it’s time to announce the winner. I’m sure this won’t be a popular decision; especially coming the week Alomar was elected to the Hall. Regardless, the numbers don’t lie. My 2B is Mark Loretta.

I’m sure it seems absurd to many that Alomar wasn’t the easy choice here but you must remember that I’m basing this only off the players’ Padres career; not anything they did prior to coming to San Diego or following their departure.

Without a doubt Alomar was a superior defender but Loretta offsets that advantage by virtue of his success swinging the stick. Alomar would go on to be a legitimate 5 tool star in Toronto and elsewhere but in San Diego his offense wasn’t fully developed.

The tie breaker for me was their respective WAR rates. Alomar was worth 1 win less than Loretta during an equivalent 3 year period of time.

Honestly, I would have no arguments with anyone who would have picked Alomar in my position but it really is a closer contest than it would have appeared on the surface. Whether you disagree with my choice or not you have to admit the numbers do point to Loretta being nearly as good as or even a bit better than Alomar during their Friars careers.

I didn’t have quite the same issue finding qualified candidates at SS with a minimum of 2,000 Padres PA. I found 3 legitimate guys that met my requirement. I did make a small allowance on one candidate who finished just 68 PA shy of the threshold. That guy played on a couple of the most successful Friars teams in their history; including their 1998 World Series team and the 1996 playoff squad.

Ozzie Smith – The Wizard of Oz is my first candidate at SS. The Hall-of-Famer and greatest defensive SS in the opinion of many, spent the first 4 seasons of his remarkable career as a Padre. He didn’t develop into even a decent offensive player until later in his career but nonetheless carried value solely based on his glove-work.

With the bat Smith posted a line of just .231/.295/.278 and an OPS+ of 66 in 2,536 PA. That’s below pedestrian. His most useful offensive tool was his speed as he stole 147 bases with the Padres.

The glove was a completely different story however, as Smith was 42 runs better than an average SS according to the TZ metric. He won 2 Gold Gloves and appeared in his first All-Star game as a Friar. His defensive contributions made Ozzie a 6.3 WAR player in 4 seasons as a Padre.

Garry Templeton – Tempy was the man the Friars dealt Ozzie for. Templeton was a 2-time All-Star and never once hit below .280 as a Cardinal. He broke the .300 plateau 3 times in 5 St. Louis seasons, led the NL in triples 3 consecutive seasons and also led the NL in hits in 1979 as a 23 year-old. The Great Satchel Paige once called Templeton “the greatest SS I’ve ever seen, and as you're aware, I've been around and I've seen a few."

Templeton, for whatever reason, didn’t have that type of offensive success in San Diego. He did make 1 All-Star team and did earn a Silver Slugger award but was only a 77 OPS+ hitter as a Padre.

Templeton does have the benefit of being the longest tenured SS in Padres history. Tempy was the starting SS for San Diego for 9+ seasons and finished with 4,860 PA as a Friar. Defensively, Garry was solid finishing 19 runs better than average (TZ) and was worth 8.6 wins (WAR).

Chris Gomez – He was the player I made the PA allowance for. Unlike Ozzie, I recall watching Gomez play for the club. I remember him as a decent defensive SS who also wasn’t an automatic out at the dish. He finished with a .253/.331/.330 line in 1,932 PA in San Diego. His OPS+ was 79.

Closer inspection of his defensive metrics show Gomez was actually a well-below average SS finishing his Friars career with a -49 TZ. While his offense was at least passable for a SS, his glove lowered his WAR to a -3.3.

Khalil Greene – A fan-favorite during his stay in San Diego, the quiet Greene had a couple of nice offensive years in San Diego. He set a team record for SS in 2007 by hitting 27 HR and driving in 97 runs. He also placed 2^nd in Rookie-of-the-Year balloting in 2004 when he posted a line of .273/.349/.446 with 15 HR and 65 RBI. Unfortunately he wouldn’t come close to repeating that type of OBP again.

Greene was also highly thought of as a defensive SS though the metrics in use today can’t agree on Greene. His TZ rating was 14 (meaning he was 14 runs better than the average SS) while his UZR/150 is below average at -3.3.

Given that SS isn’t typically a position known for slugging, Greene’s above average marks made him worth 10 WAR in a little more than 5 full seasons in San Diego. That’s despite a below average ability to get on base and a mixed bag regarding his glove work.

I would say we have three very worth SS candidates (sorry Chris Gomez). We have the finest defensive SS ever to step on a diamond, the player who played the most games at the position in franchise history and a recent fan favorite who brought unprecedented power (at least for the Friars) to the SS position.

I would have to eliminate Templeton as his offense was sub-par (77 OPS+) in San Diego and his glove was only marginally above average. That leaves Ozzie Smith and Khalil Greene as the final contenders.

I took the better offensive option at 2B between Loretta and Alomar which might lead you to believe I would select Greene as my SS. I almost did but how can you turn your back on the best defensive SS the game has ever seen. His speed also tipped the scale as he averaged just less than 37 SB per year in SD.

Well, ¾ of my IF is in place and I feel pretty good. I have an elite 1B, a very good offensive 2B and the best defensive SS ever. Next up is the hot corner and catching positions. I’m sure I’ll have a few more surprises for you when I get there.