ALL-STAR GAME IN S.D. FILLED WITH PADRES

The Padres didn’t have a single player in the starting lineup the first time the Allstar Game visited San Diego. Fourteen years later, the Friar Faithful had plenty to root for when the club played host to the event for the second time.

Not one, not two, but three Padres were in the starting lineup on this date — July 14 — in 1992 when Jack Murphy Stadium hosted the Midsummer Classic. To top it off, the rosters for both the NL and AL included two more current Padres and seven other former Padres.

“You know what this feels like?” Phillies first baseman John Kruk told the Uniontribune. “Looking around this clubhouse, it feels like an old-timer’s game.”

Kruk was appearing in his second All-star Game since the Padres traded him to Philadelphia. The American and National rosters included five former Padres teammates: NL starting right fielder Tony Gwynn, NL starting catcher Benito Santiago, AL starting second baseman Robbie Alomar, AL starting catcher Sandy Alomar and NL reserve outfielder Bip Roberts.

Alomar had been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in December 1990 alongside Joe Carter for Fred Mcgriff and shortstop Tony Fernandez.

All four were in San Diego for the All-star Game, with Carter and Mcgriff in the starting lineups and Fernandez on the reserve roster.

“Robbie told me he would be back,” Gwynn told the Union-tribune. “He said, ‘I will be there at the All-star Game.’ I will be there that day. I will be there in ’92. Mark it down, Tony.’ ”

The other ex-padres in the game were Carlos Baerga, who was traded away as a minor leaguer, and future Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, who was moved to St. Louis after establishing himself as a major leaguer in San Diego.

As for current Padres, Gary Sheffield also joined Fernandez on the NL reserve roster.

Of course, a different future Hall of Famer stole the show as Ken Griffey Jr. went 3-for-3 with a homer and a double to push the AL to a 13-6 win in front of a crowd of 59,372.

Among the current Padres in the game, only Mcgriff and Fernandez collected hits, as Mcgriff went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Fernandez went 1-for-2 with a run scored.

Gwynn mixed in a walk in his 0-for-2 game and also threw out Cal Ripken Jr. and Travis Fryman on the bases from right field.

“If there’s anything to feel good about, it is that defensively I was into the game,” Gwynn told the Union-tribune. “Truthfully, I’d rather have a good defensive game than a good offensive game. Making plays like that is fun. People associate me with hitting, so doing something like that is a kick.”

Also on this date

1970: Outfielder Cito Gaston was the first Padre to appear in an All-star Game, going 0-for-2 with a walk in the NL’S 5-4 win.

jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com