Over the weekend I wrote about how the Padres had gone 3-17 in their last 20 games. I knew things were bad, but I just didn't realize how bad until I actually counted the number of losses. I figured with a record like that it must be one of the worst 20 consecutive games the Padres had ever played. I was wrong.
The 3-17 streak actually isn't that rare and has happened bunches of times, in 1969, 1972, 1974, 1981, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1999, 1996, 2003, 2009, 2011 and 2013. That kind of makes you feel better about it, right?
In 1969, the inaugural year of the Padres, they lost more than 17 in 20 games on a few occasions. There's a lot of overlap but that season ended really poorly. Which is why those summer months of June, July and August are the worst in franchise history.
Most losses in a 20 game span
Start Date | End Date | Losses |
Jul 26 1969 | Aug 17 1969 | 19 |
Jun 6 1969 | Jun 24 1969 | 18 |
Jun 7 1969 | Jun 25 1969 | 18 |
Jun 12 1969 | Jun 30 1969 | 18 |
Jun 13 1969 | Jul 1 1969 | 18 |
Jun 14 1969 | Jul 2 1969 | 18 |
Jul 28 1969 | Aug 20 1969 | 18 |
Jun 17 1969 | Jul 6 1969 | 18 |
Jul 20 1969 | Aug 16 1969 | 18 |
Jul 24 1969 | Aug 16 1969 | 18 |
Jul 25 1969 | Aug 17 1969 | 18 |
Jul 27 1969 | Aug 19 1969 | 18 |
Jun 15 1969 | Jul 4 1969 | 18 |
Their 19 losses in 20 games was awful and ended with back-to-back double headers on August 16th and August 17th, in which they lost all four games. There only win in that span was their 110th game where they barely beat St. Louis 3-2 after being tied most of the game. They needed a walk-off homer in the 9th to win it. Oof!
On the bright side, the Padres have gone 17-3 twice in a 20 game span. Once in 1989 and once in 2005.
Most wins in a 20 game span
Start Date | End Date | Wins |
Apr 29 2005 | May 20 2005 | 17 |
Aug 23 1989 | Sep 13 1989 | 17 |
Now you know.