Hello Fans,
Last week was a very sad one. On Monday, San Diego State University Head Coach, MLB Hall of Famer, and baseball ambassador and legend Tony Gwynn passed away at the very young age of 54. He is known as one of the greatest hitters of all time after amassing 3,141 safeties over his storied career. Fittingly, ‘Mr. Padre’ played and lived in San Diego throughout his career, the birthplace of a fellow ‘greatest hitter who ever lived’, Teddy ‘Ballgame’ Williams.
I had the pleasure of watching him get inducted into the Hall on a sunny Cooperstown day in 2007, along with Cal Ripken Jr. What an induction ‘CLASS’ that was! Gwynn was a great person in general and for the game specifically. He was everything that can be right in sports and more. He represented to young people and all fans alike someone who would make us want to cheer them on no matter what, perhaps even against our favorite team. He will be missed, but his contributions and impressions on the game will last forever.
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard all the great and rare statistical feats of Number 19, who was known for his endless and trailblazing study of batting video. Here are some favorites anyway. He hit .300 all 19 of his full big-league seasons. He is number 2 all-time with nine games of 5 hits (Pete Rose is tops with 10), and had four such games in one season. Only Gwynn along with Ichiro Suzuki have done the latter. His 8 batting titles are tied for 2nd all-time with Honus Wagner to Ty Cobb’s 11 or 12 (one is controversial). To put those titles in perspective a little better though, Rod Carew, Stan Musial, and Rogers Hornsby had 7 each, and Ted Williams is next with 6 titles. Gwynn’s skill and accomplishments span across all eras and hitting styles of the game’s history. Plus, since Williams hit .406 in ’41, there have only been 8 seasons where a qualifying batter hit .370 or higher. Tony Gwynn owns 3 of those seasons, including his .394 high-water mark in ’94. What a hitter, what a class act.
R.I.P. Tony Gwynn.
Later Fans.