He's back for more

It's hard to believe, but Kevin Towers has been on the job with his current team longer than any other general manager in baseball. The Padres have benefited from his sharp eye on pitchers and ability to tilt the scales in trade talks since Nov. 17, 1995.

Now it's certain Towers will be on the job through 2010. Padres CEO Sandy Alderson made that official Wednesday during an afternoon press conference at PETCO Park. Reporter Corey Brock will have all the details on the padres.com home page.

Friar John can't help but get nostalgic when thinking about Towers' dozen years on the job. He rose from Padres scouting director to GM before Friar John had a blog. Heck, before anyone had a blog, probably. A guy who once wore out his boots on the dusty trails of Texas as an old-fashioned area scout who made his judgments with his eye now is the dean of GMs during the Internet Age, working for the avant garde Alderson, no less.

It nearly never happened.

Towers was but 34 years old when then-Padres president Larry Lucchino tabbed him to be GM, replacing Towers' good friend Randy Smith. Towers had served on the team's search committee, and Lucchino was impressed by Towers' baseball knowledge and personality during the interview sessions. Without ever applying for the job, Towers got the nod over such esteemed baseball men as Gerry Hunsicker, Dan Evans, Frank Wren, Roger Jongewaard and Frank Robinson.

But only after Billy Beane turned it down.

Beane was Alderson's assistant GM in Oakland then, and he had the inside track for the job. Towers and Beane were both products of the San Diego baseball scene (MiraCosta College and Mt. Carmel High School, respectively). They were close in age. And they were friends from the scouting circuit.

Towers wanted to work for another friend, and he lobbied Beane to take the job.

"Oh, I lobbied hard for a couple weeks," Towers recalled Wednesday. "It was, 'C'mon, Billy, it will be great working together."

Despite the lure of his hometown and his first GM job, Beane stayed put. He wasn't ready, he said. He took over for Alderson soon enough, and things seem to have worked out OK for both Beane and Towers.

"I guess I have him to thank," Towers said.

More nostalgia

Towers' first significant trade as GM was sending Bip Roberts to Kansas City for first baseman Wally Joyner, Towers' former teammate at BYU. Joyner was a key cog on two first-place Padres teams, 1996 and '98, and Towers still lists that deal among his best.

But Towers nearly had a blockbuster before that. He revealed he had a 5-for-1 offer to get Oakland slugger Mark McGwire during his first week on the job. His counterpart in those trade talks? Alderson.

"I can't remember who the players were anymore," Towers said. "But I remember it fell apart because Sandy was insisting on a sixth player."

Alderson's memory failed, too, though he offered that right-handed pitcher Marc Kroon was among the Padres prospects he coveted. Kroon is the closer for the Yomiuri Giants these days.

China trip set

The Padres will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in exhibition games March 15 and 16 in Beijing, China. Alderson, a longtime proponent of international baseball, had no small part in putting together the series.

"To be part of this event is incredibly significant for our franchise," he said.

Winter Warm-Up

The weeklong series of appearances by Padres players is going strong. Alderson and Towers joined several players at Camp Pendleton on Wednesday afternoon before heading south for the press conference. Another Winter Warm-Up event is on tap for Wednesday night at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido.

Thursday sees the Padres visit fire victims at Ramona High School and the Poway Kiwanis Club at the Doubletree Resort in Rancho Penasquitos. The team banquet is Thursday night downtown. Friar John suspects he might know who will be named team pitcher of the year. Humming, "Sweet Home Alabama."

Don't forget the best chance to mix and mingle is at the weekend FriarFest from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at PETCO Park. The Padres 12th Annual Blood Drive is part of the FriarFest, so you can help others in between gathering autographs. It's a cool event, and only $5 admission. Children 5 and younger get in free.

FJ