Sometimes when the Padres are about to start a series, I'll utilize Baseball-Reference's multi-franchise tool and compile a team out of the guys who played for those two teams. This is one of those times. In the case of the Padres and Giants, they've shared 106 players. I whittled that down to a 25-man roster. As always, I judged players on the strength of their peaks or whole careers, not necessarily how well they did in either San Diego or San Francisco.
Starting lineup:
C- Benito Santiago
1B- Willie McCovey
2B- Eric Young
SS- Miguel Tejada
3B- Kevin Mitchell
LF- Joe Carter
CF- Steve Finley
RF- Reggie Sanders
Not only is that a hard-hitting lineup, it's surprisingly adept defensively as well. McCovey and Carter are the only weak links; each of them played first base and left field equally brutally. I assumed Kevin Mitchell was a butcher at third base, but as it turns out he put up above-average numbers there before he moved to the outfield.
Bench:
C- Terry Kennedy
IF- Tito Fuentes
1B/3B/LF- Mike Ivie
LF/1B- Ryan Klesko
OF- Ollie Brown
Aside from the starters, Fuentes was the only viable middle infielder available. He can also fill in at third base, as can Ivie and starting shortstop Tejada. As for first base and left field, I wouldn't worry about either of those. Ever. Those are as covered as covered gets.
Starting rotation:
Gaylord Perry
Ed Whitson
Dave Dravecky
Atlee Hammaker
John Montefusco
If you're keeping track at home, that's five All-Star pitchers, one of whom has a pair of Cy Young Awards and a plaque in upstate New York. And once any of them were to get knocked out of a hypothetical game, it would only get worse for the hypothetical opponents.
Bullpen:
Goose Gossage
Rod Beck
Mark Davis
Mark Grant
Mark Thurmond
Tim Worrell
Rich Rodriguez
There's another Hall-of-Famer, which makes a total of three. Rodriguez, Worrell, and Thurmond aren't household names, but they along with Mud Grant would be a formidable bridge to the three-headed closer monster.
So, how's that look to you? Is there anyone on my bench you would have started, or anyone I left "in the minors" who would make your team?