Seven years ago on this date, with two starting outfielders sidelined and a postseason spot on the line, the Padres acquired outfielder Jason Lane from the Astros for cash or a player to be named later, which ended up being the former. Lane appeared in three games the final week of the season, failing to reach base in either of his two plate appearances. He headed to the Yankees organization as a free agent after the season, and his place as a footnote in Padres history seemed complete. Of course, you and I both know now that wasn't the case.
Lane made his Padres debut September 26, 2007, replacing Brian Giles in right field in the eighth inning of an 11-3 win at San Francisco; he struck out on three pitches in his lone turn at bat. The other two games that Lane appeared in were heartbreaking losses. He grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eleventh inning of the loss to Milwaukee which is best remembered for Anthony Keith Gwynn, Jr's RBI triple off Trevor Hoffman with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth. Those were his only plate-appearances, but he did make it into one more game as a defensive replacement; he watched from center field as Matt Holliday was incorrectly called safe.
That awful, awful game was Lane's last as a major league outfielder. The 2008 season kicked off an over-six-year-long odyssey that saw Lane sign with seven different organizations along with serving three stints in independent ball before returning to the majors as a pitcher. Just writing that sentence gets me wondering who is going to play him in the movie.