SAN DIEGO -- In 52 seasons, no team in Padres history has lifted the World Series trophy. Whichever Padres team ultimately snaps that drought will ascend to the top of this list. In the meantime, these are the five best seasons in franchise history:
1. 1998
98-64 (.605)
The 1998 Padres ran into one of the greatest juggernauts in baseball history, losing to the Yankees in the Fall Classic in four games. In a different year, however, this group might have staked a different World Series claim. The ’98 Padres were loaded, featuring Trevor Hoffman and Kevin Brown at their absolute peaks and a collection of offensive superstars -- from Tony Gwynn to Ken Caminiti to Greg Vaughn, who set a franchise record with 50 home runs that season. The '98 Padres dispatched two 100-win teams to take the National League pennant -- first the Astros in four games, then the Braves in six. The '98 Padres set the bar as the greatest team in franchise history.
2. 1984
92-70 (.568)
The first Padres team to break through and reach the postseason also authored the most dramatic playoff victory in franchise history. After falling behind two games to none in the best-of-five 1984 NL Championship Series, the Padres stormed back to beat the Cubs on the strength of a walk-off home run by Steve Garvey in Game 4 and a late rally in Game 5. Gwynn's go-ahead double proved decisive. San Diego lost in the World Series to another all-time powerhouse -- the ‘84 Tigers. But the Padres’ ’84 breakthrough was an important moment in the history of the franchise and the city.
3. 2022
89-73 (.549)
In addition to their two trips to the World Series, the Padres have only reached the National League Championship Series one other time -- and they did so in dramatic fashion. San Diego bounced the 101-win Mets by winning a three-game Wild Card Series at Citi Field, then turned in one of the biggest upsets in postseason history by beating the Dodgers in the NLDS. L.A. had beaten San Diego in all six of its regular-season series in 2022, prompting beloved owner Peter Seidler to dub the Dodgers “that dragon up the freeway we’re trying to slay.” That October, the Padres won three straight games after losing Game 1, rallying for a dramatic 5-3 victory in the Game 4 finale -- punctuated by Jake Cronenworth’s go-ahead single. The dragon had been slain, though the Padres would drop the NLCS in five games to the Phillies.
4. 1996
91-71 (.562)
The 1998 season is fondly remembered as the best in Padres history, but it was the '96 team that set the stage for that group, winning the NL West in dramatic fashion with a sweep of the Dodgers on the season's final weekend. The '96 Padres saw the usual otherworldly exploits from Gwynn (.353/.400/.441), a unanimous NL MVP Award from Caminiti and the first truly dominant Hoffman campaign. It was a special group that often gets overlooked because the Padres were swept by St. Louis in the NL Division Series.
5. 2024
93-69 (.574)
On the list of best teams in Padres history, this one ranks second. Only the 1998 club can be definitively viewed as a better overall team. The 2024 Padres won 93 regular-season games, the second most in franchise history, and reeled off by far the best second half in baseball. That only made the ending sting even more. San Diego carried a two games to one lead in the NLDS against the Dodgers, before going scoreless over the final two games. In the aftermath of L.A.’s eventual World Series title, a handful of Dodgers would note that that NLDS felt like the true World Series. Indeed, had the Padres won it, their path to the franchise’s first title seemed clear. A bitter ending to a great season, if there ever was one.