Gaslamp Ballers, the day has finally come. History will be made at Petco Park today as Padres fans gather to honor one of the greatest players to ever put on a uniform. Trevor Hoffman's number 51 will be retired today in a ceremony at 12:30pm prior to the start of the game. Now a member of the Padres front office, the All-Time Saves Leader will become the fifth Padre to have his number retired. In his 16 years with the Padres, he recorded 552 of his career 601 saves and was a seven-time All-Star. When announcing his retirement from Major League Baseball in January, it was in front of just a few members of the media and staff, but today we will be able to give Trevor the celebration he deserves. For those who cannot attend the game in person, you can watch the ceremony live on Channel 4 or on Padres.com. It is sure to be a spectacle, a tear-jerker, and something no Padres fan should miss.
Oh yeah, and there's also a baseball game being played today. Game 4 of the Marlins series will take place after the retirement ceremony. Having won the first three of the series, the Padres look to complete the sweep and make it an even more special day for Trevor Hoffman. If you missed last night's game, you didn't miss much. Only a season high-14 runs scored against Florida's one run. Only Nick Hundley collecting four hits and falling just a triple short of the cycle. Only Hundley hitting the 1,000th home run in Petco Park history. You know, no big deal.
The Padres are undefeated against the Marlins this season and hope to keep it that way today. We will send Cory Luebke to the mound while the Marlins counter with Anibal Sanchez. If successful, a sweep today will be the first four-game sweep since September of 2007 last August. With the combination of Trevor Hoffman's retirement, our recent success, last night's rout of the Marlins, and the fact that the Padres lead the NL in scoring since the All Star Break, it's hard not to be confident going into today's game.