Today is Danny Tartabull’s fifty-fifth birthday, which is as good of a time as any to look back on both times the deadbeat dad best known for appearing on Seinfeld nearly came to San Diego. The two occasions were separated by over eight years, the first coming when he was in the prime of his career, with the second happening when he was nearly three years removed from his last major league game.
Padres general manager Joe McIlvaine first showed interest in Tartabull during the offseason between the 1990 and ‘91 seasons, but that never got past the inquiry stage as the Royals were uninterested in a proposed swap involving Joe Carter.