[Augetout]

Short update: It's April 13th, 1989, and the Padres are sitting (tied) in first place with a 6-3 record.

Maddux signed his extension, thus providing my Padres with a relatively inexpensive (roughly $3.9 million per year) ace.

Gwynn strained his shoulder, thus exposing a roster weakness (the only other guy I have on the roster who can play right field is utility guy Jeff Kunkel), thus I was forced to trade for a backup rightfielder (my minor league teams are a bit light in rightfield talent, given Gwynn's presence on the big club).

I found that Baltimore had, for whatever reason, decided that their former 1st round pick (amateur draft) Dante Bichette was not starting material, and thus was available to trade for. I parted ways with pinch hitter Lenny Harris and an obscure minor league player, and Bichette is now a Padre---happy to be on the bench, no less, (at least temporarily).

Fun (I hope) facts in the ORGCBL history books:

Maddux had a 62 inning scoreless streak to begin the '88 season (last season). That's an MLB record for those scoring at home.

Hershiser had a no-hitter in '85.

The Padres have had 4 batting titles since the beginning of the league in '83, and only one has been named Tony Gwynn! (Mattingly won 1 in '84 before being traded, and Willie McGee won 2 before being traded to make room for 'the kid'). This with the presence of Kirby Puckett on the Pirates...

It's '89 and Dave Winfield is retiring at the end of the year... It's a bit early, imho and historically speaking, but such is how things go in a league where historical retirements and injuries are turned off.