The last pitcher of record to hit a walk-off homer to win the game?

If there's any team in baseball that's just chock-full of arcane bits of trivial information, it would have to be the San Diego Padres.

For example, did you know that up until August 15, 2015, the Padres and the Miami Marlins shared the distinction of being the only two teams in MLB history yet to have a player hit for the cycle.

While San Diego batters had been one hit shy of the cycle 361 times, with 258 of those falling a triple short, Matt Kemp was able to put it all together on that particular day. Considering the Padres have a 24-year head start on the Miami franchise, not having a player hit for the cycle until the team's 7,444th game, isn't a record you'd care to brag about.

Until June 1, 2012, the Padres were only one of two MLB teams yet to have a pitcher toss a no-hitter. On that day, Johan Santana, became the first New York Mets pitcher to throw a no-no after more than a half century and 8,020 Mets games. Even  more impressive, he did so against the defending World Series champs, St. Louis Cardinals.

By comparison, the Padres have thrown 30 one-hitters in their history and have carried no-hitters into the eighth inning of 19 games. If you want to look at it another way, San Diego has gone nearly 7,300 regular season games (as well as 34 postseason games) without having a no-hitter to their credit.

Jordan Lyles (7 1/3), Kirby Yates (1/3) and Brad Hand (1 1/3) were the latest Padres to fall victim, having a May 15, 2018 no-hitter broken up at Petco Park by Colorado's Trevor Story with a one-out, eighth-inning single off Lyles. However, as you may well know, close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.

By the same token, the Padres have been no-hit 10 games, with two of those courtesy of San Francisco's Tim Lincecum (2013, 2014).

And now, you can add another head-scratching trivia question to your vast vault of arcane baseball knowledge.

Who was the last pitcher of record to hit a walk-off homer to win the game?

The answer came courtesy of the New Orleans-based Junior Junkie, who writes the cool blog, The Junior Junkie: the Baseball Cards of Ken Griffey. Recently, I found a package of Padres cards he had sent me a few years ago.

This was my first trade with Junior and it was a great first package of Padres palyers. But one of those cards intrigued me, as it was a hand-signed, privately-printed card of San Diego pitcher Craig Lefferts, expressing his Christian faith.

 In researching this single card, I came across a really neat story of this German-born Padre.

More than 30 years ago, on April 25, 1986 (Happy Anniversary), Craig Lefferts, a Padres reliever, arrived at Jack Murphy Stadium with a 102-degree fever. Since he wasn't scheduled to pitch against the Giants that day, he hung out in the trainer's room hoping to keep cool, rested and hydrated.

Funny how things work out, though. In the top of the 9th, Goose Gossage blows a 7-5 Padres lead, allowing the Giants to tie the game. Lefferts, who was instructed to get ready in the seventh inning comes in to pitch the top of the 11th. He allows one hit and the game remains tied, 7-7.

The Giants' Greg Minton, who entered the game himself in the bottom of the 10th, continues the bottom of the 11th with another one-hit, no-run inning. Lefferts responds  in the top of the 12th by allowing a run on two hits by Jeffrey Leonard and Robby Thompson and trails 8-7.

Minton, who holds the record for the most consecutive innings pitched without allowing a home run (269.1 innings, June 1, 1979 through May 1, 1982), gives up a homer in the Padres' half of the 12th, to pinch-hitter Graig Nettles to start the inning. After inducing Garry Templeton into a groundout, Lefferts comes to bat, with the score knotted 8-8, with the bases empty and one out.

Minton goes ahead 0-2 on the count, throwing a pair of sinker balls, one for a strike, the second a foul ball. Lefferts then gets a slightly-hanging curve ball, which he then deposits into the stands for a 9-8 Padres win.

For Lefferts, it was his only home run among his 132 career MLB at bats - It was also the 10th time where a pitcher hit a walk-off homer for the win. (By the way, the first came may 30, 1957, when Detroit's Lou Sleater hit a homer off of Kansas City's Wally Burnette for the 6-5 win).

Happy Anniversary Craig.