The Padres would have been one heck of a get for the first opening day held outside the United States or Canada had they not lost Kevin Brown, Ken Caminiti and Greg Vaughn from their World Series roster. Then again, maybe the story at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey on April 4, 1999, would have been about the return of Mexico’s own Vinny Castilla no matter what.
On cue, the Colorado Rockies third baseman gave a sellout crowd of 27,104 plenty to cheer about on Easter Sunday, collecting four of his team’s 18 hits in an 8-2 win in what was billed as a home game for the Padres.