Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
Over the years, through the opaque lens of revisionist history, many Padres fans have questioned the multiplayer, 1981 trade that sent future Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Garry Templeton.
But the bottom line of that trade was 1984.
Templeton became an integral part of the team that gave the Padres the first of their two National League pennants.
"Shortly after the trade, I had talks with [manager] Dick Williams and [general manager] Jack McKeon," Templeton recalled recently.