During the 1998 season, Trevor Hoffman began entering save situations in Padres home games to the entrance music of AC/DC's "Hells Bells" playing over the public address system, an event that came to be known as "Trevor Time". His ERA in save situations was 0.49, and he converted 53 of 54 save attempts during the regular season.

In 1974, Randy Jones went 8-22 with a 4.45 ERA, setting a team record for losses. In 1976, he went 22-14 with a 2.74 ERA, setting a team record for wins.

The team's original owner was C. Arnholt Smith, a prominent San Diego businessman whose interests included banking, tuna fishing, hotels, real estate and an airline. In 1979, Smith was convicted of embezzlement of $8.9 million and tax fraud, involving his sale of the Padres. He served eight months in a county minimum-security Work Furlough Center in 1984 and 1985 before his sentence was reduced due to his poor health.

Ollie Brown was best known for his defensive skills, particularly the strength of his throwing arm. Before games, he entertained fans by throwing the baseball from the far right field corner to third base on the fly.

On April 8, 1969, the Padres defeated the Houston Astros 2-1 in front of 23,370 fans at San Diego Stadium.

The Padres finished in last place in each of their first six seasons in the NL West, losing 100 games or more four times.

In 1984, second baseman Alan Wiggins scored 106 runs, stole 70 bases and led the league with 391 putouts.