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Padres Birthday Spotlight: Steve Finley

By Nick Lee |

Happy 50th birthday to former San Diego Padre,  Steve Finley.

He was born in Tennessee and was drafted out of Southern Illinois University by the Baltimore Orioles in 1987. Two years after being selected he made his major league debut at the age of 24.

He is most known for his heroics in the 2001 World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, when they defeated the New York Yankees in seven games.

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Padres fans remember Finley for his four great years of service in San Diego, from 1995-1998. He was part of the National League pennant-winning Padres in ’98. He played in 159 games that season and hit 14 home runs and 40 doubles. He had nine hits, three doubles and five runs scored during the 1998 playoffs. He finished his Padres career with a .276 average, 82 home runs and 298 RBI.

He played in 51 playoff games over his career, collecting 41 hits and 22 RBI.

He played in 51 playoff games over his career, collecting 41 hits and 22 RBI. In 2001, he finally got his ring with the D-backs. He had a very successful career with Arizona. He was an All-Star in 2000, hitting .280 with 35 home runs. He also won the Gold Glove award that year as well.

He finished his career as a two-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. He led the league twice in triples. He also played in all 162 games twice. He hit 304 home runs during his career.

He his career with 2,548 hits, just ahead of Todd Helton and Joe Morgan. His glove and arm were an underrated part of his game. Three different times he led the league in outfield assists.

His best season overall was his second season with the Padres in 1996. He finished 10th in MVP voting that year after hitting a career-high .298 with 30 home runs and 95 RBI. He even had a 20/20 season after he stole 22 bases.

Finley retired in 2007 at the age of 42. His last two years he battled injury while platooning with the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies.

During his career he wore uniforms for eight teams: Orioles, Houston Astros, Padres, Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Anaheim Angels, Giants, and Rockies).

Finley was a versatile hitter, usually putting up above average numbers in home runs, doubles, triples and runs scored. He also stole 320 bases.

He went on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2013 but did not receive enough votes to be inducted.

Finley didn’t lead the league in many offensive categories but he always had good regular season numbers, averaging 19 home runs, 28 doubles, 8 triples and 20 stolen bases over 19 seasons. He was consistent and reliable.

A hitter like him is rare these days. Usually someone will hit 35 home runs but have an average of .250 or worse, with 3 stolen bases and 100+ strikeouts. Not Finley, he loved to fill up the box score any way he could.

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