The National League West-leading Padres have had mostly happy days this season and one of their newest teammates, Aaron Cunningham, epitomizes that. Ever since he was called up from AAA Portland on June 11, every day seems to have been Fonz-tastic for Cunningham.

Joanie loves Chachi; Aaron Cunningham loves

the Padres.

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First, his teammates welcomed him with open arms.

"I feel like it's not just teammates," Cunningham says. "You have friends here and it's like a big family and I've only been here for however long and I just want to be part of this family. It's a lot of fun and this is a great team."

"I call him Richie Cunningham," said Padres' shortstop Jerry Hairston Jr. Fortunately, the 24 year-old outfielder plays much better than the character from the old Happy Days sitcom.

Cunningham went into the All-Star break with a .339 batting average and a career-high 10-game hitting streak.

"I've been having a lot of fun," Cunningham says. "If you are having fun, you can contribute."

Cunningham contributed right away. In his third game with the Padres, on June 15, he hit a grand slam to help the Friars beat Toronto.

He came to the Padres from the Oakland A's along with Scott Hairston in the Kevin Kouzmanoff trade, and because of injuries to the Padres, joined the big league club for the first time in mid-June.

"I was ecstatic," Cunningham says. "I was struggling down in the minor leagues, and it was kind of a down year for me. (For them to) let me know that they still have confidence in me to put me out there, gave me a lot more confidence to go out there and have fun."

Cunningham has also made plays with his glove, an aspect of his game he says he has diligently worked on.

"We knew it was going to take more than 25 guys to get this thing done," Hairston says. "We have a handful of guys who are able and willing at AAA and sometimes it takes 30-35 players through the course of a long season to contribute."

Cunningham has dealt with the ups and downssmoothly. He was sent back down to Portland on July 1 when Matt Stairs came off the disabled list, but then recalled less than 48 hours later when Wil Venable went on the DL.

Whether or not he stays with the big club through the rest of the season, he says he will keep his Happy Days attitude.

"You never know, you just have to be happy," Cunningham says. "You're playing baseball for a living. You just have to be happy with what comes and what goes. Just keep on going with it."