Nieto is a retired preschool teacher and president of the San Diego Madres who lives in Temecula. Visit sdmadres.org for more information.
I have been a Padres fan since I was a young girl watching the Pacific Coast League with my father and brothers at Westgate Park (where the Fashion Valley Mall is now). I still remember the sound of foul balls hitting the tin roof and playing in the grassy right field. I lived in Mission Village and, when I was older, I would walk down Mission Village Drive to watch the Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium aka “The Murph.” I remember the gates would be open after the seventh inning and we would go and watch the end of games. My brother Mike and I got season tickets in Loge section 31 in the late 1970s. I learned to keep score from another Padres fan and since then, I find it helps me keep my head in the game.
Bob and Patty Cordero share impressive memorabilia collection that dates back to 1969. Author: Jeff Zevely (Reporter) Updated: 12:26 PM PDT March 31, 2021
LAKESIDE, Calif. The San Diego Padres opened their season and Petco Park today to baseball fans. In this Zevely Zone, I went to Lakeside to meet a husband and wife who have been eagerly waiting to hear the words Play Ball . I figured why not take a swing at finding the two biggest Padre Fans? Let s just say there s a reason Bob and Patty Cordero didn t paint their home blue. We do not like the Dodgers, because we do not like LA. It s in our DNA, said Bob who was standing in front of his yellow home. The couple is going to paint their trim brown in order to officially have a Padre colored house. As you enter their home you are met by a life-sized poster of Eric Hosmer and a case of baseball pins. This is my pin collection that I started back in 1984, said Bob.