Blum signs deal to return to Padres
Infielder glad to return to San Diego after departing in July
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
It was Sunday, July 31, and Geoff Blum was about as down as a guy could be, having just learned that he'd been shipped to the White Sox in a trade deadline deal.
Calling his four months as a Padre "the best experience of my professional career," Blum was packing his bags and fighting back the tears. He was Chicago-bound in body only, his heart still with the club he was leaving behind.
As he was departing PETCO Park that day, making the rounds hugging teammates, Blum talked about his four daughters, including triplets who arrived in early May, that he'd be leaving at his San Clemente home and said, "You never know about these things. Maybe I'll be back."
And back he is, returning to the Padres as a World Series hero.
Blum, whose homer decided Game 3 of the Fall Classic for the White Sox in Houston on their way to a sweep of the Astros, signed a one-year contract with the Padres on Wednesday.
Making the announcement was executive vice president/general manager Kevin Towers, who earlier in the day agreed to a deal with the Mets for center fielder Mike Cameron, pending a physical examination of Cameron's eyesight.
Trading Xavier Nady, a young talent full of promise, in the Cameron deal can't be easy, but the arrival of the two-time Gold Glove center fielder and the popular and versatile Blum had to cheer the Padres and fans who want to see the Friars successfully defend their National League West title in 2006.
"Blum is someone who fits into our needs for a bench player who can help in a number of ways," Towers said. "We talked about him coming back when we made the deal with the White Sox."
The Padres acquired Minor League left-hander Ryan Meaux from the White Sox for Blum, who gave Chicago support in the infield and off the bench in their World Series championship run.
Blum, 32, batted .229 with six home runs, 15 doubles and 25 RBIs in 109 combined games between the Padres and White Sox in '05. Blum, who started at all four infield positions for the sixth consecutive season, batted .241 with five home runs and 22 RBIs in 78 games with the Padres before being traded to Chicago.
Over parts of seven Major League seasons with Montreal, Houston, Tampa Bay (2004), the Padres and White Sox, Blum has a career batting average of .251 with 62 home runs, 127 doubles and 277 RBIs in 791 games.
A star at the University of California before signing with the Expos as a seventh-round choice in the 1994 First-Year Player Draft, Blum had one of the hottest streaks in Padres history in late May, delivering multiple hits in seven consecutive games.
A switch-hitter, Blum provides support at third, short and second, positions he plays with equal skill and grace. He signed with the Padres as a free agent last Dec. 9 and was doing an excellent job at shortstop with Khalil Greene injured, when Blum went on the 15-day disabled List on May 2 after an outfield collision with left fielder Ryan Klesko.
It was while he was on the DL that his wife, Kory, gave birth to the triplets, giving the Blums four daughters under the age of 2.
Now, just as he'd envisioned on that day he was sent to Chicago, he's back in Southern California with a team he didn't want to leave.
Infielder glad to return to San Diego after departing in July
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
It was Sunday, July 31, and Geoff Blum was about as down as a guy could be, having just learned that he'd been shipped to the White Sox in a trade deadline deal.
Calling his four months as a Padre "the best experience of my professional career," Blum was packing his bags and fighting back the tears. He was Chicago-bound in body only, his heart still with the club he was leaving behind.
As he was departing PETCO Park that day, making the rounds hugging teammates, Blum talked about his four daughters, including triplets who arrived in early May, that he'd be leaving at his San Clemente home and said, "You never know about these things. Maybe I'll be back."
And back he is, returning to the Padres as a World Series hero.
Blum, whose homer decided Game 3 of the Fall Classic for the White Sox in Houston on their way to a sweep of the Astros, signed a one-year contract with the Padres on Wednesday.
Making the announcement was executive vice president/general manager Kevin Towers, who earlier in the day agreed to a deal with the Mets for center fielder Mike Cameron, pending a physical examination of Cameron's eyesight.
Trading Xavier Nady, a young talent full of promise, in the Cameron deal can't be easy, but the arrival of the two-time Gold Glove center fielder and the popular and versatile Blum had to cheer the Padres and fans who want to see the Friars successfully defend their National League West title in 2006.
"Blum is someone who fits into our needs for a bench player who can help in a number of ways," Towers said. "We talked about him coming back when we made the deal with the White Sox."
The Padres acquired Minor League left-hander Ryan Meaux from the White Sox for Blum, who gave Chicago support in the infield and off the bench in their World Series championship run.
Blum, 32, batted .229 with six home runs, 15 doubles and 25 RBIs in 109 combined games between the Padres and White Sox in '05. Blum, who started at all four infield positions for the sixth consecutive season, batted .241 with five home runs and 22 RBIs in 78 games with the Padres before being traded to Chicago.
Over parts of seven Major League seasons with Montreal, Houston, Tampa Bay (2004), the Padres and White Sox, Blum has a career batting average of .251 with 62 home runs, 127 doubles and 277 RBIs in 791 games.
A star at the University of California before signing with the Expos as a seventh-round choice in the 1994 First-Year Player Draft, Blum had one of the hottest streaks in Padres history in late May, delivering multiple hits in seven consecutive games.
A switch-hitter, Blum provides support at third, short and second, positions he plays with equal skill and grace. He signed with the Padres as a free agent last Dec. 9 and was doing an excellent job at shortstop with Khalil Greene injured, when Blum went on the 15-day disabled List on May 2 after an outfield collision with left fielder Ryan Klesko.
It was while he was on the DL that his wife, Kory, gave birth to the triplets, giving the Blums four daughters under the age of 2.
Now, just as he'd envisioned on that day he was sent to Chicago, he's back in Southern California with a team he didn't want to leave.
