Padres Paradise Series

1997 Padres Paradise Series[1][2][3]
Teams
Date
  • April 19, 1997 (1997-04-19) – April 20, 1997 (1997-04-20)
  • 4:09 p.m. HST (Saturday, April 19)
  • 7:17 p.m. HST (Saturday, April 19)
  • 2:05 p.m. HST (Sunday, April 20)
VenueAloha Stadium
CityHonolulu, Hawaii
Managers
UmpiresWally Bell
Jerry Crawford
Tom Hallion
Ed Montague
Attendance
  • 37,382 (games 1 & 2)
  • 40,050 (game 3)
Time of game
  • 2:36 (game 1)
  • 2:34 (game 2)
  • 2:53 (game 3)

The Padres Paradise Series[1][2][3] was a three-game Major League Baseball regular season series between the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, on April 19 and 20, 1997. These were the first regular-season major league games played in Hawaii.[3][4] The Padres were the home team for all three games. The Cardinals won the opening two games (a twi-night doubleheader) on April 19, winning the first 1–0 and the second 2–1.[5][6] The Padres won the third game on April 20 by a score of 8–2.[7] Reported attendances were 37,382 (games 1 & 2) and 40,050 (game 3).[6][7]

The Padres front office saw the series as a test run for future exhibition games in Hawaii.[8] The Padres had played an exhibition series at Aloha Stadium in 1975 against Japan's Seibu Lions.[3][8] The Padres arrived in Hawaii with an 8–5 record. The three-game series began a stretch in which they lost 10 of 11 and dropped below .500 for the rest of the season.[9]

  1. ^ a b Sanchez, Jesse (August 19, 2017). "History made in first Little League Classic". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2021. In 1997, we played the San Diego Padres at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii in a three-game "Padres Paradise Series".
  2. ^ a b St. Louis Cardinals [@Cardinals] (August 20, 2017). "St. Louis Cardinals on Twitter" (Tweet). Retrieved August 11, 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c d "Padres to play Cardinals in Hawaii". AP News. Associated Press. February 25, 1997. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference available was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres Box Score, April 19, 1997 (Game 1)". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres Box Score, April 19, 1997 (Game 2)". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres Box Score, April 20, 1997". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Arnett, Paul; Yuen, Mike (February 25, 1997). "Padres, Cardinals to play in Hawaii". Sports. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  9. ^ Sanders, Jeff (April 19, 2020). "Padres history (April 19): Aloha, Major League Baseball". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 11, 2021.