Ed Whitson - Second Stint With The Padres

Second Stint With The Padres

Used primarily as a starter, Whitson went 11-20 with a 4.89 ERA his first season and a half back in San Diego, largely due to the fact that he led the league in home runs allowed in 1987 with 36. Still traumatized by his experience in New York, Whitson received a death threat prior to a scheduled start against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in 1987. He made the start, after being escorted to the stadium by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti and his security team. He was pulled from the game in the fourth inning after giving up six runs. However, he extracted some revenge on his home turf just two weeks later, beating the Mets 1-0 in San Diego.

He settled down some in 1988, improving to 13-11, and lowering his ERA to 3.77 while allowing only seventeen home runs. His two best seasons were 1989, where he won a career-high 16 games and with an impressive 2.66 ERA, and 1990, where he went 14-9 with a career-best 2.60 ERA, and hit his only career home run in a complete game victory over the Chicago Cubs.