The Bronx Bombers would fall short in that series, losing to the Cards and Bob Gibson in 7 games, and as fate would have it, the incredible 44-year Yankee dynasty crumbled in 1965 with a 6th-place finish from which the Yankees didn't recover.

	All measurements of sports greatness start with The Sultan of Swat.

They finished dead last in the 10-team American League in 1966, and for the next decade of my young life, it didn't get much better. Horace Clarke. Danny Cater. Mike Kekich. Blechhh!!!

Growing up during those years in San Diego, my dad took us to many Padres games every year. The Padres were Pacific Coast League powerhouses in the '60s, playing at Westgate Park in San Diego. To our young psyches, beautiful 10,000-seat Westgate Park simply radiated the aura of exciting, big time baseball. I can still vividly remember the thrill we felt every time we entered the park for a game and got our first glimpse of the field. That WAS baseball!

San Diego was awarded a major league baseball franchise in 1968, and a year later, the Padres played their first major league game. And we beat the Houston Astros, 3-0!

Adhering faithfully to the script for expansion teams, our Pads went on to lose more than 100 games in 1969 and finish in last place -- the first of many times they would do so over the next 15 years!

The Yankees finally began nipping at contention again in the mid-70s, and in 1976, blew the A.L. East away to win the division title. In an unforgettable moment in Yankee history, Chris Chambliss homered in the bottom of the 9th inning in game 5 of the playoffs as the Yankees won the American League Championship for the first time in my life since that 1964 christening.

	Tony Gwynn's hitting sparked the 1984 Padres to their first division title.

My favorite Padres frozen moments came in 1984, as San Diego finished over .500 for only the second time, and won its first National League West title. Then they were drubbed in the first two games of the playoffs by the Chicago Cubs at a crazed Wrigley Field. When the Padres returned home, one game from elimination, the San Diego fans shook the Murph to its foundations as the Padres first took game 3, and then game 4, with Steve Garvey's extra-inning home run capping a stirring comeback that tied the series.

	Victory at Last! The 1984 Padres win the N.L. Pennant.

Game 5 in San Diego would decide the National league pennant, with the Padres facing invincible Rick Sutcliffe, 16-1 that year for the Cubs. The Cubs took a 3-0 lead into the 6th, then the Padres scratched back for 2 runs. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th, the Padres tied it at 3, then put runners at 1st and 2nd with one out. I'll never forget Don Drysdale's call: "Gwynn swings, it goes BY SANDBERG INTO RIGHT FIELD!! THE PADRES WILL TAKE THE LEAD! ...HERE COMES WIGGINS! THERE'S GONNA BE A PLAY AT THE PLATE! ..... HE'S SAFE!!!! IT'S 5-3! IT'S 5-3!"

1984 NLCS, Game 5 at San Diego Gwynn's hit in 7th gives Padres a 5-3 lead. From the Padres Radio Network (435k .wav)

The Padres went on to beat the Cubs and bring the World Series to San Diego for the first, and only, time.

1998. Amid high hopes and expectations, the New York Yankees lost their first 3 games, and started the season 1-4. Total panic in New York.

	David Wells' Perfect Game was one of many highlights for the '98 Yankees.

Then for the next 6 months, the Yankees relentlessly steamrolled the American League, going an incredible 114-48, and destroying the 44-year old A.L. win record. In May, David Wells threw the 13th Perfect Game in baseball history, and the Yanks gave the world reason to think they might be witnessing the greatest baseball team ever.

A continent away, more serious matters were at stake. During the offseason, the Padres had acquired Kevin Brown, and the club was expected to challenge for the division title and the National League pennant. In November, San Diego voters would decide the fate of an initiative to fund a new baseball stadium for the Padres largely out of taxpayer dollars. Defeat of the initiative was commonly believed to mean the end of baseball in San Diego -- and the success of the Padres in 1998 was expected to weigh heavily on the public's decision.

	Tony Gwynn hit over .300 for the 16th straight season.

But the Padres flew out of the gate and never looked back, piling up April victories with determined, clutch play, and building an insurmountable lead in the N.L. West. By season's end, Greg Vaughn had hit 50 home runs, Tony Gwynn, though hobbled by an assortment of injuries, had hit over .300 for the 16th consecutive year, and San Diego had won the division title.

Eight deserving and talented teams made the 1998 baseball playoffs -- New York, Cleveland, Texas, and Boston in the A.L.; San Diego, Atlanta, Houston, and Chicago in the N.L. -- all with a legitimate chance to win it all.

The Yankees smoked Texas in the first round, with Yankee pitchers dominating the powerful Ranger offense from start to finish, limiting Texas to just one run in an overpowering three-game sweep.

Kevin Brown and the Padres faced down Randy Johnson and the Astros in similar fashion, scratching out runs and shutting down the potent Houston bats with dominating pitching, winning the series 3 games to 1, closing out the series before a raucous crowd of 65,000 in San Diego. As the Padres rallied to take control of the deciding game 4, the nation heard its wake-up call: Hell's Bells. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, Astros... it tolls for thee!

	David Cone's remarkable 20-win season continued with an ALCS victory.

New York's magical season was in serious peril when they fell behind the Indians 2 games to 1 in the gritty A.L. Championship Series. But there's been no denying the Yankees in 1998. The Bombers took the next 2 games in Cleveland, then returned home to the Bronx to put the Indians away.

The American League Champion Yankees were in the World Series for the 35th time. We're halfway to the World Series for the Ages!

Given little chance to win the N.L. Championship Series against the experienced and talented Atlanta Braves, the Padres matched Atlanta step for step, with great pitching and a hustling, opportunistic style of play. The Padres stunned the Braves, taking games 1 and 2 in Atlanta, and game 3 in San Diego, to move within one win of sweeping the 'Team of the 90s' out of the playoffs.

	Kevin Brown blew down the opposition in the '98 post season.

The Braves would come from behind dramatically to win game 4, and then do so again in a heartbreaking game 5. As the series returned to Atlanta, the Braves seemed for all the world to be on the cusp of making history, about to become the first team in any sport ever to wipe out a 3-0 deficit and win a post-season series.

It was not to be. It was the Padres, the little team from Surf City, that was on a mission. It was the Padres who were closing the door. The lights went out in Georgia. The Padres were National League Champions!

The New York Yankees and San Diego Padres would close the most remarkable season in history by playing for the World Championship in the greatest World Series ever. It's my dream come true!

I wish there was some way that both the Yankees and the Padres could finish this great season by winning the World Series. The city of San Diego has waited so long, and so loves its team. Who doesn't want to see Tony Gwynn get the ring he's worked all his life for? The 1998 Yankees are perhaps the greatest baseball team of all time. Their unbelievable season wouldn't seem complete without taking the last step of the journey, winning their 24th World Championship. Both the Padres and Yankees are made up of talented, hard-working, truly likeable people who love the game.

It's both pure heaven and pure hell watching this great Series. My loyalties are torn completely apart. I've never once rooted for the Yankees or the Padres to lose, not ever, and I can't do it now. Watching both teams I love so much introduced before game 1 of the World Series at the House That Ruth Built was even more fun than I'd imagined. Come what may, the 1998 Padres and the 1998 Yankees will always be winners to this hopelessly captivated baseball fan. They've created a very special ending to a magical dream of a season, and I'll never forget them for that.

- David Younker, October 18, 1998

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