San Diego Padres: How voided Greg Vaughn trade impacted 1998 season

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Greg Vaughn of the San Diego Padres (Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport) /

In 1997, the San Diego Padres were set to trade Greg Vaughn to the New York Yankees, but the deal was voided and the impact was felt in the 1998 season.

The pandemic crisis has brought time to reminisce about the absence of professional sports in our lives. Yes, it’s been fun to re-watch key games of the San Diego Padres 1998 National League championship run. For Padres fans, it was one of the great seasons in franchise history, but it falls under the “what-if” category if the trade of Greg Vaughn to the New York Yankees goes through during the 1997 season.

The Padres had a deal in place to trade Vaughn to the Yankees for infielder Mariano Duncan and starting pitcher Kenny Rogers during the Fourth-of-July weekend in 1997. All three players wanted out of their current situation due to a lack of playing time.

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The frustration level in the stands at Qualcomm Stadium was at an all-time high as the fans expressed their displeasure over Vaughn’s lack of production. He batted .213 with 28 HRs and 78 RBIs since being acquired at the 1996 trade deadline from Milwaukee Brewers. Vaughn was brought in to be the stick from the right-hand side of the plate that balanced the lineup out. However, since day one in San Diego, his role was never truly defined by team management.

Padres Looking to End a Failed Experiment

From the San Diego Padres perspective, the proposed trade would have ended their unsuccessful left-field platoon between Rickey Henderson and Greg Vaughn.

First, both players batted from the right side of the plate, so it wasn’t a true platoon situation. Plus, Henderson was a key component to the Padres offense from the leadoff position in the batting order. If he was hot at the plate, then Vaughn sat on the bench. No questions asked. Suddenly, the Padres big deadline acquisition became baseball’s most expensive pinch-hitter.

The move to the Bronx gave Vaughn a chance to become an everyday player once again. The Yankees were going to pencil him into the left-field position with an occasional day as the team’s designated hitter. The trade gave Vaughn an opportunity to re-gain confidence with his ability by playing in familiar surroundings (American League) once again.

(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /

Yankees Wanted to Get Rid of Two Disappointments

Rogers was a bad fit with the Yankees since the very first day he put on the pinstripes. He had a laid-back personality that didn’t mix well with the intensity of New York sports fans. It seemed like Rogers had lost all of the confidence on the mound that garnered him 17 wins in his final season with the Texas Rangers.

With runners-on-base, Rogers rarely trusted his pitches to get out of a tough jam. Suddenly, one base runner turned into a big scoring rally for the opposition. The Yankees’ premier free agent pitching acquisition was the weakest link of the 96 World Series championship team’s starting rotation.

Rogers’ pitching (4-4, 5.90 era) struggles continued in the 1997 season as the Yankees patience ran thin and the team’s front office banished him to the bullpen as the long man. A trade to San Diego gave him a fresh start to his career as a starting pitcher in the San Diego Padres Padres rotation.

1997 wasn’t an easy season for Duncan as well. One year earlier, he was the proclaimed team leader that led the Pinstripes to their first World Series title since 1978. Now, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner declared him a liability in the field as his fielding and hitting skills were clearly declining.

Yankees manager Joe Torre removed Duncan from the lineup as the front office began a search for a new second baseman. Duncan didn’t handle the benching too well and began trading insults with Steinbrenner in the newspapers before requesting a trade.

The Doctor Will See You

The deal was close to completion as both sides agreed on the players. All that waited was the physicals for Greg Vaughn and Rogers. Vaughn traveled to New York to be examined by Yankees team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon. It didn’t go well as he failed the exam. Hershon ruled Vaughn had a torn right rotator cuff. It was an area of concern as Vaughn had four operations on his right shoulder in the past.

1998, A Reclamation Season For Vaughn and Padres

Hindsight is 20/20 as the 1998 campaign is the highlight of Greg Vaughn’s two-and-half years in San Diego. He hit .272 with 50 HRs, 119 RBIs, and scored 112 runs. Vaughn was an offensive machine as he finished fourth in the league MVP race. And the season concluded with a World Series appearance against those Damn Yankees.

Don’t let anyone tell you they were confident that Vaughn would have such a comeback season. The Padres left him unprotected in the 1997 Expansion Draft with no takers in sight. The turnaround began in spring training as Vaughn sought out Tony Gwynn for advice at the plate. His new personal hitting coach told him to cut down his swing and stop trying to pull every pitch to left field.

Combined this new approach at the plate with an opportunity to play every day in left field, the afterthought became a legitimate star. Suddenly, Vaughn’s at-bats were must-see TV. The Padres went from cellar-dwellers to NL champs. It ended all too soon as Vaughn was traded to the Cincinnati Reds prior to the start of spring training for the 1999 season. His departure represented the final move of the Padres dismantling their championship roster.

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On behalf of all Padres fans, I want to thank Greg Vaughn’s right rotator cuff for raising medical red flags all across the board. His time in San Diego was short but very memorable.

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