A few days ago the Sports section of our local newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, ran an article about former big league ballplayer Kurt Bevacqua. Playing for the Padres during the 1984 World Series, Bevacqua hit a three-run homer in Game 2 against the Detroit Tigers to tie the series at 1-1. The Tigers won the next three games.

The next chance for the Padres came in 1998. Winning a record 98 regular season games, the team made it through the first two playoff rounds by beating the Astros and the Braves. Loaded with stars—Ken Caminiti, Steve Finley, Greg Vaughn, Kevin Brown, Trevor Hoffman, and the great Tony Gwynn—they faced off against the Yankees in the World Series. The Bronx Bombers won the series, four games to zero.

Kurt Bevacqua

When the Padres made it the World Series the next time…oh, wait, there hasn’t been a next time. Twenty-seven years have passed, and as yet they have not punched their ticket to the championship round. Which is why we hold the blast by Kurt Bevacqua is such high esteem. If you go by victories, it is our sole World Series highlight. Kind of sad, ya think?

No, it’s not from lack of trying. This is arguably the best era for Padres baseball. They’ve been to the playoffs in four of the past six years. Petco Park is filled with rabid fans every game. They’ve had stars and superstars on the team, some permanent, others passing through (think Juan Soto). But somehow, they come up wanting.

Less than two weeks ago, with a team loaded for a World Series run, they were eliminated by the Cubs in the Wild Card round. Their great pitching held the Cubs to six runs total in the three games. They scored five. This was reminiscent of last season’s Division series, where they had the hated Dodgers on the brink of elimination…but went without a run in the last two games.

Okay, that’s my venting for today. I love the Padres, and I will stick with them forever. Years ago I vowed to still be on this plane of existence until the Padres win a World Series, so I guess their elimination bought me another year. The hero of my six-book, comedy/science fiction bicycling series, Jack Miller, rides the universe with a Padres cap under his bike helmet. Being my alter-ego, he’s made the same vow as me in a couple of the books. As Commander Peter Quincy Taggart in Galaxy Quest once declared, “Never give up! Never surrender!” And we won’t!