San Diego Padres all-time best starting lineup based on WAR

Third Base - Manny Machado

The Padres have had some pretty good third basemen in their history including Chase Headley, Ken Caminiti, and Phil Nevin. As it turns out though, being a perennial MVP candidate means that you are putting up some big time numbers and Manny Machado edges out the competition here despite his limited time in San Diego.

Machado has put up a .276/.346/.498 and 19.6 bWAR with 126 home runs and 35 steals while also being a strong defender at third base during his time with the Padres. Given that Machado is under contract in San Diego until 2033, he is going to have plenty of time to pad his lead here.

Chase Headley came in second place at 18.2 bWAR from 2007 to 2018. Phil Nevin barely edged out Caminiti's 17.5 bWAR for third place.

Left Field - Gene Richards

Two of the Padres' all-time outfield spots seemed to be up in the air before the numbers were checked. We decided to be make sure that guys had actually played at each position and for left field, Gene Richards gets the spot.

Richards gets missed sometimes when looking at all-time great Padres, but he was a really strong hitter for San Diego from 1977 to 1983. in over 3800 plate appearances with the team, Richards put up 19.0 bWAR with a .291/.357/.387 line and 242 stolen bases. A lack of power hurt him (he had just 26 homers with the Padres), but he easily took home the left field honors nonetheless.

Ryan Klesko came in second place as he put up 15.7 bWAR from 2000 to 2006 while hitting 133 home runs. Bip Roberts makes another appearance here as he came in comfortably in third place.