On Wednesday at Petco Park, the Cardinals and the Padres will collide in a study of historical contrasts. The Cardinals are in their 18th postseason since 1969, the year the Padres debuted as a franchise. The Padres will be making their sixth playoff appearance and their first in 14 years. Three of those trips were ended by the Cardinals, with St. Louis having won nine of its 10 playoff games against San Diego. It’s been a lopsided, albeit sporadic, matchup.
Especially this year, however, past meetings should have minimal bearing on this latest clash. The two teams will play a Wild Card Series in a fan-less Petco Park. They have not faced each other since last June, when their rosters, and so many other things, were different.
To be sure, there is plenty of familiarity in the air. Former Cardinals players in the Padres organization include Tommy Pham, Trevor Rosenthal and Greg Garcia. Skip Schumaker is now San Diego’s associate manager (i.e., bench coach),…
