Tony Gwynn

[Edwards Kings]

(CNN) -- The San Diego Padres have confirmed on Twitter that Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn has died.

"We are terribly sad to say goodbye to our teammate, our friend and a legend, Tony Gwynn. Rest in peace, Mr. Padre," read the tweet.

The former outfielder died Monday at age 54 at Pomerado Hospital in Poway, California, according to a release from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Gwynn had cancer, the release said.

Gwynn was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, amassing a total of 3,141 hits in 20 seasons with the San Diego Padres from 1982-2001, according to the Hall of Fame. He won eight National League batting championships.

He was a key member, the release said, of the 1984 and 1998 San Diego Padres National League Championship teams.



One of the best pure hitters I ever saw. I do not know many pitchers who wanted to face him. Eight batting championships says it all.

RIP

[Roger Dorn]

Too young

[Roger Dorn]

fantasy gold
1987: 370 avg - 119 r -54 rbi - 7 hr -56 sb

[mcomitch]

I started following Tony when he played basketball and baseball at San Diego St. I don't know if any ball player ever did more with his abilities and through hard work than he did.

He still holds the assists records for game, season and career at SDSU and some pretty fair basketball players have played there since.
Since 2002 he was the baseball coach at SDSU. What a thrill it must of been to play under one of the best hitters ever.

Thankfully for us baseball fans he decided a career in the NBA for a short, fat point guard might not be his best choice so he stuck with baseball. GOOD CHOICE!

Since I knew Tony from his days at SDSU I made sure I was at old Jack Murphy stadium when he made his first appearence. I was blessed to see him hundreds of times over the years and he always understood he was a man playing a kids game that he loved.

My children grew up watching Tony. My brothers sons were on the same little league team as Tony's sons. That team had a pretty decent asst coach as hitting instructor.

Although I wasn't able to my son made the trip to Cooperstown when Tony was inducted into the Hall of Fame. What a year that was when two of the classiest and best ever went in together.

I'll miss seeing Tony's smiling face. He always said the worst thing he ever did in life was start to chew tobacco. How sad.

A loss to baseball, the community, San Diego St, those of us who knew him and especially his family.

Hopefully there are some more Tony Gywnn's out there to remind us what is good about baseball.

[Bronx Yankees]

Great posts. I never met the man, but his skill was undeniable. He and Carew were two of the best contact hitters I've ever seen. Schoenfield posted a decent article about Gwynn on espn.com today. Gwynn has the highest career batting average since 1950. More interesting to me was that he faced Greg Maddux 107 times and had a .415 average, and zero Ks, against him. Throw in eight batting titles, and you got a damn good player! His love for the game also was obvious and infectious in virtually every interview he ever gave. A sad day for baseball. Way too young. I hope some players, kids, etc., take away from this the dangers of chewing tobacco (I'm assuming that is what caused the cancer but don't know for sure).

Mike

[Outlaw]

Great Person, man and player. He will be missed by all he touched in his life!

[Doctor Who]

One of my favorite stories he ever told was about Rickey Henderson. He said Rickey got on the bus and said he wanted to sit in the front. Other players were already there. Tony said Rickey, you can wherever you want, you have tenure. Rickey said, "10 year?!? Rickey got 14 years!"

Tony was one of those guys you could listen to for hours. Almost has that Vin Scully in him where no matter what he talks about, you listen. He will be missed. Thanks Tony for all the memories.

[DOUGHBOYS]

When a hitter is so much better than pitchers or his peers, he is said to be, 'A Man among boys'.
For Tony Gwynn, he was, 'A Boy among Men'.
Not that Tony Gwynn did not play up to the standards of his peers.
In fact, he exceeded them and played better than most.
Tony Gwynn never lost the zealousness or appeal of a man playing a boys game. He retained that boyishness throughout his career. His hard work off the field made his work on the field look easy. Gwynn allowed himself smiles in an age where smiles were thought as a weakness.
He couldn't help it.
He loved the game.

There is no need to talk about or go over Tony Gwynn's statistics.
Today, they seem secondary.
Tony Gwynn was a walking, talking ambassador for the game of baseball.
One of the few baseball announcers that I personally never criticized. He was a little like Ron Santo in that his love of the game superceded any analysis that was asked of him.
He only started sentences with "I....", when he was asked by an interviewer or colleague about a previous experience.
Baseball was a game that was made for Tony Gwynn.
And even more importantly, Tony Gwynn was made for baseball.

At one time, a baseball players worth was indicated in how many hits he got in a game.
Now, a baseball players worth is more indicated in his actual worth, or salary.
Tony Gwynn may have been one of the last players of the former.
My minds eye's first snapshot of him is on a base, smiling.
I don't have to ask how he got there. It had to be a hit.
He seemingly always got a hit.
And today, sadly, our game of baseball takes a hit.

[Captain Hook]

Tony Gwynn was not only a great hitter but a truly nice person and he always had time for the writers and the fans.

If you want a mind boggling stat you could add an 0-X for each game this season and next to Gwynn's career numbers and ..... he would still be a lifetime .300 hitter

[whale4evr]

1994 ... coulda/shoulda/woulda. Gone too soon.

[COZ]

Very sad to hear this. Two years ago while I was in Kansas City for the All-Star game I decided to go to the Negro League Museum...as I have become fascinated with learning more about baseball history...and as I went from exhibit to exhibit, meticulously reading everything and studying every exhibit, as I'm want to do, so as not to miss anything....I heard a commotion and applause in the open area where the busts are at the end of the exhibits....and much to my surprise Matt Kemp, Tony Gwynn, and Joe Posnaski were leading an impromptu discussion on hitting...fascinating stuff, and to dumbly stumble upon this was a great treat. I don't remember specifically what was said, but I do remember Tony Gwynn just totally owning the room, getting into a faux batting stance as he discussed his approach to hitting and what makes a great hitter. What a class act, he was.


Joe Sheehan had a great write-up on his career today, and the one line I loved by him, which I think nails how I, and I'm sure most others, felt hearing of his passing today was that maybe we didnt fully appreciate his career due to the lack of homeruns. Sheehan, stated it perfectly,

"I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm certain that I did not sufficiently appreciate Gwynn during much of his career. Seeing him live in San Diego in 1993 was certainly a highlight of my first trip to Jack Murphy Stadium, but it wasn't the reason for going. Gwynn didn't hit for power and he didn't walk much, and to a young man who had recently discovered Bill James and sabermetrics and secondary skills, Gwynn represented an approach that was more style than substance, slapping singles rather than displaying the more sophisticated traits of taking pitches and launching dingers. The arrogance of youth, you see. In rejecting Gwynn I was rejecting my own childhood, which was spent hitting the exact same way that Gwynn hit, using an inside-out swing to line singles to left field and doubles down the third-base line, rarely striking out, but just as rarely -- never, in fact -- launching a ball over the fence and trotting around the bases to the cheers of my teammates. Jeez, even I could do what Gwynn was doing, but look at Phil Plantier! Looking back now, it's clear that Gwynn was a master and I was a a schmuck."

Fascinating Stat: Heard Tom Verducci on the Network say that Gwynn's Career Batting Average with 2 strikes was .302. Incredible. One of the greatest hitters of my generation.

COZ

[TOXIC ASSETS]

Another RIP and there have been too many of them lately.
Best stat I heard about Tony: 19 straight seasons hitting at least .300.

[Roger Dorn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PXSVbLhyMY#t=108

[BEF]

I just got back to my hotel from the game at Petco (great matchup, Cashner vs. King Felix) and before the game they replayed his entire HOF acceptance speech. Then all of the Pads players went out to RF and stood around a huge #19 that has been spray painted on to the grass while the National Anthem played. A very moving moment. I have a nice picture but it's just over the 256Kb max limit so I can't post it; if I can figure it out I'll post it later.

Brian