Best Padres season

As we wrap up our look at the best season of each team in the National League, it's time to take a look at another team that has yet to win a World Series. The San Diego Padres have been in existence since 1969, but it that time they haven't had much success at all. 

In their 52 seasons, the Padres have only made the playoffs five times. Each time was as a division champion; the Padres have never earned a Wild Card berth to the postseason. 

They had a couple of good runs in the playoffs, making the World Series in 1984 and again in 1998. Once they reached the Fall Classic, though, their momentum stalled. The '84 team lost 4-1 in the series while the '98 squad got swept by the Yankees. 

The limited success makes my job easier, though, as there are few seasons to choose from for the best in franchise history. With 98 wins, a division title and a World Series appearance, the 1998 Padres will go down as the best group of players to take the field for San Diego. 

The team had two future Hall of Famers in Tony Gwynn (arguably the best hitter of all-time) and Trevor Hoffman (arguably the best closer of all-time). Each made the All-Star team in 1998, along with Andy Ashby, Kevin Brown and Greg Vaughn. 

The team had two players - Vaughn and Hoffman - place in the top 10 in NL MVP voting. San Diego also had two pitchers - Hoffman and Brown - place in the top 3 of NL Cy Young voting. 

The pitching staff ranked third in ERA (3.63) and second in strikeouts for the season (1,217). Hoffman led the league with 53 saves in the season while Brown was fourth in the league with 257 strikeouts. 

The Padres' 1998 team was not only the last time San Diego made it to the World Series, it was also the last time they won a playoff round. The team has made the postseason twice since then and has failed to advance beyond the divisional round each time. 

While San Diego's future looks promising, they have yet to produce anything on the field, but they'll always have the 1998 season to look back upon.