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Top 5 Villains in San Diego Padres History

By Nick Lee

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Feb 22, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs General Manager Jed Hoyer looks on during a workout at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

3. Jed Hoyer

I am not saying the former Padres General Manager is an evil villain like the Green Goblin or Ultron. I am saying that he didn’t do the Padres or their future any favors with some of the moves he made as the Padres GM or afterwards. This is the man that traded away a player you saw earlier on this list who has had nothing but 100+ RBI and .800+ OPS seasons since being traded in Adrian Gonzalez. In that deal the Padres acquired touted first base prospect Anthony Rizzo.

Then, after being hired to be in the Chicago Cubs’ front office in the Winter of 2011, one of the first things Hoyer did was coax the Padres to trade away Rizzo, the only meaningful piece they got for Gonzalez in the deal with the Boston Red Sox. He brought Rizzo to Chicago and sent starting pitcher Andrew Cashner to the Padres.

Cashner is having an abysmal season with 9 losses and has already allowed 13 home runs. That is twice as many as he allowed last year and one more than he allowed in 2013 with twice as many appearances.

And Anthony Rizzo? All he has done is become the centerpiece for the Cubs in possibly making the playoffs this season. In his first season with the Cubs, he hit 15 home runs and hit .285 in just half a season. Then in 2013 he hit 23 home runs and 80 RBI.

Last season he was an All-Star, hitting 32 home runs with a .286 average. He is picking up right where he left off so far this season. Through 72 games, he leads in the NL in doubles with 23 and has 15 home runs with a .307 batting average. Until this season, the Padres haven’t had anyone close to those numbers in the past two seasons. What would have happened if the Padres stuck with Rizzo and didn’t let Hoyer ship him to Chicago with him? Who knows.

Hoyer left the Padres without an offensive star that they had when he got the job. He took away both power-hitting first basemen. Now you see the Cubs thriving and are one of the most exciting teams to watch in baseball this year.

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