198 Facts About Tony Gwynn

The left-handed hitting Gwynn won eight batting titles in his career, tied for the most in National League history.

Tony Gwynn is considered one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history.

Tony Gwynn was a 15-time All-Star, recognized for his skills both on offense and defense with seven Silver Slugger Awards and five Gold Glove Awards.

Tony Gwynn was the rare player in his era that stayed with a single team his entire career, and he played in the only two World Series appearances in San Diego's franchise history.

Tony Gwynn was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, his first year of eligibility.

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Tony Gwynn attended San Diego State University, where he played both college baseball and basketball for the Aztecs.

Tony Gwynn was an all-conference player in both sports in the Western Athletic Conference, but was honored as an All-American in baseball.

Tony Gwynn was selected by the Padres in the third round of the 1981 MLB draft, as the 58th overall pick.

Tony Gwynn made his major-league debut the following year, and captured his first batting title in 1984, when San Diego advanced to its first-ever World Series.

Tony Gwynn played in his second World Series in 1998, before reaching the 3,000-hit milestone the following year.

Tony Gwynn played two more seasons, hampered by injuries in both, and retired after the 2001 season with 3,141 career hits.

Contact hitter, Tony Gwynn excelled at hitting the ball to the opposite field.

Widely considered the greatest player in Padres history, Tony Gwynn regularly accepted less money to remain with the small-market team.

Tony Gwynn became the head baseball coach at his alma mater, and spent time as a baseball analyst.

Tony Gwynn died of salivary gland cancer in 2014 at the age of 54.

Tony Gwynn was born in Los Angeles, California, to Charles and Vendella Tony Gwynn.

Tony Gwynn was nine when his parents decided they would move from their apartment and buy a house in Long Beach, a location they chose because of its schools, parks, and youth sports options throughout the year.

Tony Gwynn's father worked at a warehouse from 7:30am until 5:00pm, and he coached Pop Warner football and Little League Baseball; his mother worked at the post office from 5:30pm until 3:00am His mother and father instilled in him the value of being prepared.

Tony Gwynn filled his time playing mostly basketball, which was his favorite sport.

Tony Gwynn's father encouraged his sons to play ball in the makeshift baseball field that he assembled in their backyard.

Tony Gwynn admired Davis for being black, left-handed, and "aggressive but under control"; he respected Davis' work habits as well.

Unlike other kids that tracked home run hitters, Tony Gwynn checked the box scores in the newspaper every morning to follow high-average hitters like Pete Rose, George Brett and Rod Carew.

Tony Gwynn attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, which was a high-profile school in sports.

Tony Gwynn was a two-sport star in both basketball and baseball.

Tony Gwynn had considered quitting baseball as a senior to concentrate on basketball, but his mother talked him out of it.

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Tony Gwynn's teammates included Michael Wiley, who became a professional player in the National Basketball Association.

Tony Gwynn received scholarship offers to play college basketball, but none for college baseball.

Tony Gwynn went unselected in the 1977 MLB draft, which Gwynn attributed to his limited playing time.

Tony Gwynn wanted to play both sports for Cal State Fullerton, which was okay by basketball coach Bobby Dye, but baseball coach Augie Garrido did not believe an athlete could handle both sports in college.

San Diego State basketball coach Tim Vezie wanted Tony Gwynn to commit to playing two years of basketball before playing baseball.

Tony Gwynn chose to attend SDSU, calling it "the best option I had".

Tony Gwynn was a two-sport star with San Diego State, playing three seasons of baseball and four of basketball.

Tony Gwynn was a two-time All-American outfielder in his final two seasons, when he led the team in hitting.

Tony Gwynn is the only player in the history of the WAC to earn all-conference honors in two sports.

Tony Gwynn was overweight at 205 pounds, and Vezie wanted him to get in shape for the next basketball season.

In baseball, Tony Gwynn was primarily a left fielder and designated hitter at San Diego State.

Tony Gwynn was twice named to the All-WAC Second Team, and he averaged 8.

Tony Gwynn had a quick first step in either sport, and was able to run 60 yards in 6.

Tony Gwynn indirectly received exposure from scouts watching SDSU that were interested in Meacham, who would become a first-round pick in 1981.

Tony Gwynn had started the baseball season late in 1981, as the basketball team was still competing, and some scouts had already seen enough of Meacham and stopped following SDSU.

Tony Gwynn was initially interested in seeing Meacham, but became more impressed by Gwynn after seeing him at an exhibition game between the Aztecs and Padres; Gwynn had just re-joined the baseball team five days earlier.

Tony Gwynn had gone to Padres games while he was at San Diego State, and would sit there thinking that they had the "ugliest uniforms I've ever seen in my life".

Later that day, Tony Gwynn was selected by the San Diego Clippers in the 10th round of the NBA draft.

Tony Gwynn chose to play baseball with the Padres in what he termed a "practical" decision, citing his physical battles pushing and fighting against larger players such as Charles Bradley while playing WAC basketball.

Tony Gwynn finished the season in Class AA with Amarillo for 23 games while batting.

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Tony Gwynn participated at spring training with San Diego in 1982, and hit an impressive.

Tony Gwynn started in center field against the Philadelphia Phillies in place of a slumping Jones.

Tony Gwynn's 15-game hitting streak was the longest on the team that season.

Tony Gwynn reinjured his wrist playing winter ball in Puerto Rico and started 1983 on the DL.

Tony Gwynn missed the first two months of the season and struggled after his return, and his average fell as low as.

Tony Gwynn asked his wife to record the games before a road trip, and he began using video recording to review his at-bats.

Tony Gwynn finished third in the balloting for the National League MVP behind Chicago Cubs winner Ryne Sandberg and runner-up Keith Hernandez of the New York Mets.

Tony Gwynn had 213 hits, breaking the Padres record of 194 set by Richards in 1980.

Tony Gwynn hit second in the Padres batting order behind Alan Wiggins, and benefited from the higher number of fastballs opposing pitchers threw in response to the speedy leadoff hitter being on base.

Tony Gwynn said it took him a month to realize the change in opponents' strategy, and a while to adjust.

Still, Tony Gwynn was named with seven other Padres to the 1985 All-Star Game.

Tony Gwynn played a career-high 160 games in 1986, when he led NL position players in Wins Above Replacement.

Tony Gwynn scored 100 runs for the first time, and tied for the NL lead.

Tony Gwynn set then-career highs for doubles, homers and steals.

Tony Gwynn was honored for his defense with his first Gold Glove after leading the league in total chances and putouts.

Tony Gwynn finished fifth among NL outfielders voting for the All-Star game, which Padres manager Larry Bowa called "a joke".

Year, Tony Gwynn had two five-hit games, the first of eight in his career.

Tony Gwynn won his second batting title that season after hitting.

Tony Gwynn stole 56 bases and became the first NL player to hit.

Tony Gwynn never went more than eight at-bats without recording a hit, and he had a hit in 82 percent of the 155 games he batted.

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Tony Gwynn finished eighth in the voting for NL MVP, but continued to resist altering his hitting style to hit more home runs to earn more respect.

Tony Gwynn had surgery on the hand during Spring training the following season.

Early in 1988, Tony Gwynn was on the DL for 21 days after spraining his thumb after tripping rounding first base in Pittsburgh.

Tony Gwynn denied that injuries impacted his hitting, instead attributing his struggles to "mechanics".

Tony Gwynn struck out a career-high 40 times that season, while his.

In December 1989, Tony Gwynn fell to being the seventh-highest-paid Padre at $1 million a year, and he questioned the team's salary structure.

Tony Gwynn felt he deserved more money than players like Jack Clark, who signed a lucrative deal with the New York Yankees before being traded to San Diego.

Tony Gwynn said he resorted to bunting to advance the runners because he was not a good pull hitter.

The Padres said a groundskeeper was responsible, but Tony Gwynn believed it was a cover-up.

Tony Gwynn left the team for the season to avoid contact with the media and teammates.

Tony Gwynn was further upset that neither management nor other teammates came to his defense at the time.

Tony Gwynn later regretted saying he wanted to avoid his teammates in general instead of being more specific which ones he was referring to.

Tony Gwynn began experiencing soreness and swelling in his left knee.

Tony Gwynn felt appreciated after he was signed to a three-year contract extension for $12.

Tony Gwynn's left knee began causing him problems before the All-Star break, and he had been suffering from shin splints as well.

Tony Gwynn played through the injury, missing just one game over the next.

Tony Gwynn attempted to finish out the season, but lasted just five more games.

Tony Gwynn underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean out the knee and smooth the articular cartilage, missing the final 21 games of the year.

However, Tony Gwynn was still reeling from Clark's criticism over his conditioning and being selfish, and he wanted to continue playing.

In 1992, Tony Gwynn ended the season on the DL for the third straight year.

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Tony Gwynn sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in the same game, and played just four more innings the rest of the season.

Tony Gwynn met Hall of Famer Ted Williams for the first time during the 1992 All-Star Game, which was hosted at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

At the time, Tony Gwynn considered himself to be an accomplished hitter, content to hit singles and doubles.

Tony Gwynn entered the 1993 season anticipating that he would be better after his past two surgeries, and he had incorporated Williams' advice into his swing.

Tony Gwynn was affected early in the season by a sprained thumb, but he hit.

Still wary of Clark's earlier criticism that he was selfish, Tony Gwynn did not contest his removal, which angered his manager when he found out after the game.

Tony Gwynn might have gone 7–for–7 if not for an excellent play at first base by Will Clark.

Tony Gwynn was 6-for-9 in the last two games and 3-for-5 in the eventual finale, falling short of batting.

Tony Gwynn hit in 15 straight games in July, his longest hitting streak since his 18-game run in 1988.

Tony Gwynn tried multiple shoes to alleviate the pain, and was on the DL for a month at midseason.

Tony Gwynn played the rest of the year in pain, and surgery after the season revealed a 40 percent tear at the top of his right Achilles' tendon.

Tony Gwynn called it his most memorable regular-season hit until his 3,000th career hit.

That season, Tony Gwynn reached career highs with 17 home runs and 119 RBIs.

Tony Gwynn led the NL in hits for the seventh time, tying Rose's record.

Tony Gwynn hit a Padres record of 49 doubles, ranking second in the league, and established a career-best of 324 total bases.

Tony Gwynn began the year with his first-ever opening-day home run, and continued his trend of hitting for more power with 16 homers for the season.

Tony Gwynn hit a home run off the second-deck facade in the opening game at Yankee Stadium against pitcher David Wells, which he called his favorite hit and highlight of his career.

Tony Gwynn approached 3,000 hits on the road, first playing in a series against the Cardinals.

The following day, Tony Gwynn collected hit number 2,999 in the same game that the Cardinals' Mark McGwire hit his 500th home run.

Tony Gwynn reached 3,000 in 2,284 games, the third-fewest games among the 22 players to reach the mark behind Cobb and Nap Lajoie.

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Tony Gwynn, who turned 40 in 2000, had a left knee injury that required his knee to be drained seven times before he underwent season-ending surgery.

Tony Gwynn was limited to playing just 36 of the Padres' first 71 games, and he started only 26 games in right field.

Tony Gwynn had microfracture surgery performed on his knee, which involved tiny holes being created to promote cartilage growth.

Tony Gwynn was honored as a non-playing squad member at the 2001 All-Star Game.

On October 6,2001, at Qualcomm Stadium, Tony Gwynn had a pinch RBI double off Gabe White of Colorado for the final hit of his career.

Tony Gwynn considered starting the next day in the final game of the season, but he was not confident he could handle a fly ball.

Tony Gwynn was an aggressive hitter who was able to expand his hitting zone and frequently hit bad balls that were out of the strike zone.

Tony Gwynn rarely struck out and generally did not draw many walks.

Tony Gwynn was less concerned with getting a hit in a particular at-bat and was more focused with being comfortable at the plate, having a fluid swing, and making solid contact.

Tony Gwynn saw the ball better than any of his peers, identifying the type of pitch as the ball left the pitcher's hand.

Tony Gwynn rarely recognized the rotation of the ball, and did not look to the pitcher's arm speed for clues.

Tony Gwynn tried wearing glasses around 1994 but stopped, fearing he "looked like a dork".

Tony Gwynn would identify gaps in the defense based on where fielders were positioned, and then wait for a pitch which allowed him to hit the ball where he wanted.

Tony Gwynn's bats were as small as anyone used during his career, and their lightness allowed him to wait longer before committing to his swing; he was rarely fooled by a pitch.

Tony Gwynn started with a 34-inch, 32-ounce aluminum bat in college.

Tony Gwynn wanted his wooden bats light like his aluminum ones in college.

Tony Gwynn was able to hit the ball to all fields, but liked to hit balls the opposite way to the left, between third base and shortstop.

Tony Gwynn preferred an outside pitch, waiting as long as possible and using his strong wrists to quickly hit the ball.

Tony Gwynn was not considered a home run hitter, reaching double-figures just five times, but he was a gap hitter with power to drive hits between outfielders.

Tony Gwynn became a complete hitter after following Ted Willams' advice to drive inside pitches instead of finessing them, which Tony Gwynn learned he could do without sacrificing his average.

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Tony Gwynn initially thought that home runs were "boring", and he concentrated on his craft of making contact.

However, Williams said Tony Gwynn was "wasting an opportunity", and convinced him to turn on inside fastballs more and capitalize on his strength and power pitchers pitching him inside.

Tony Gwynn credited his later improvement to Williams and his book, The Science of Hitting, which he said that he read "four or five times a year".

Tony Gwynn lamented not having met Williams earlier and possibly adjusting his hitting approach sooner.

Tony Gwynn's roly-poly frame was a self-described "body by Betty Crocker", a reference to the food product brand.

Tony Gwynn contended that his weight was only a topic when he was struggling, and not when he was performing.

Tony Gwynn believed that the criticism stemmed mainly from his not fitting people's profile of what an athlete should look like.

Tony Gwynn said he had "a football player's body", with his father, grandfather and brothers being big.

Tony Gwynn said his hitting style put a lot of torque on his knees.

Tony Gwynn started experiencing problems with his legs in 1986, when he suffered from shin splints.

Tony Gwynn used to run a great deal to keep in shape, but his last five years were mostly limited to working out in the gym.

Tony Gwynn was a leading base stealer in the first half of his career.

Tony Gwynn was able to hit triples, reaching double figures four times.

Tony Gwynn worked on his defense, constantly checking right field walls in ballparks to study how balls bounced off them.

When he entered the majors, Tony Gwynn was not a very good right fielder nor an accurate thrower.

Tony Gwynn was hard-working and renowned for his work ethic and devotion to extra batting practice.

Tony Gwynn's wife traveled with a Betamax video cassette recorder that was the size of a suitcase to tape his at-bats.

Tony Gwynn later invested in close to $100,000 in video equipment that he shared with his teammates.

Tony Gwynn studied pitchers, watching them in the bullpen and on television or video, to learn their tendencies on every count.

Tony Gwynn spent hours watching video and analyzing his swing frame by frame.

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Tony Gwynn had one tape of each team, which included his at-bats against that team in the season.

Tony Gwynn was friendly and accessible to both the media and fans.

Tony Gwynn spoke with a twang in his high-pitched voice, often filled with loud, infectious, childlike laughter.

Tony Gwynn possessed a cheerful personality, being friendly towards others while being critical of himself.

Tony Gwynn was inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame in 2002, and the team retired his No 19 in 2004.

Tony Gwynn was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2016.

Tony Gwynn was relieved that he did not exceed Tom Seaver's record of 98.

Tony Gwynn considered his selection to be validation for the value of contact hitters, who are not as celebrated as power hitters.

Ripken and Tony Gwynn are two of the 46 players in the Hall of Fame who played their entire major league career for only one team.

In 2002, Tony Gwynn was inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.

Tony Gwynn was a 15-time All-Star, voted 11 times by fans to be a starter.

Tony Gwynn was often lauded for his artistry at the plate, and his Hall of Fame plaque refers to him as "an artisan with the bat".

Tony Gwynn won eight NL batting titles, tying him with Honus Wagner for the league record— second only to all-time Major League leader Ty Cobb, who won 12 AL titles.

Tony Gwynn finished in the top 10 in batting for 15 consecutive seasons.

Tony Gwynn recorded five of the 14 highest season averages since Ted Williams hit.

Tony Gwynn was just the fourth player in MLB history to hit above.

Tony Gwynn is the only major leaguer to win four batting titles each in two separate decades, and he batted.

Tony Gwynn had the fourth-highest career average of any player with 3,000 hits, and the highest of anyone who was born after 1900.

Tony Gwynn had eight seasons, including six consecutive, when he had fewer than 20 strikeouts.

Tony Gwynn struck out only 434 times in his whole career, which averaged out to just once every 21 at-bats, or 29 times per 162 games.

Tony Gwynn became more difficult to strike out later in his career, even as pitchers were growing bigger and stronger and throwing harder.

Tony Gwynn struck out three times in a game just once in his career, compared to his 297 career three-hit games.

Tony Gwynn is one of five players with more than 500 doubles and fewer than 500 strikeouts in their career and the only Hall of Famer since 1965 to finish his career with more doubles than strikeouts.

Tony Gwynn did not draw many walks, but drew more walks than strikeouts in every season but his rookie year.

Tony Gwynn drew 203 intentional passes during his career, which was 50 percent more than his career home run total.

Tony Gwynn was solid on defense, and won five Gold Gloves in a six-year span.

Tony Gwynn stole 318 bases in his career, with a high of 56 and a four-year stretch when he averaged 40.

Tony Gwynn was just the 10th player to retire with over 3,000 hits and 300 steals.

Tony Gwynn was the 11th player to collect all 3,000 hits with one team.

Tony Gwynn played his entire career for San Diego, a rarity for his generation in an era of free agency.

Tony Gwynn regularly took less money to keep his family rooted in San Diego, which prompted criticism from the MLBPA for his setting a lower market value for other star hitters.

Tony Gwynn earned $47 million as player, but never received more than $6.

Tony Gwynn is widely considered the greatest Padres player ever.

Tony Gwynn eschewed the added fame that might have come from playing elsewhere, opting instead to stay with the small-market team that had just seven winning seasons and three playoff appearances during his two decades with them.

Tony Gwynn's career paralleled that of Wade Boggs, who debuted in the major leagues in 1982.

Tony Gwynn placed in the top 10 in voting for the National League MVP seven times in his career, including his only top-five finish in 1984, when he ended up third.

However, Tony Gwynn's significance is muted by the non-traditional measurements in sabermetrics, which tends to favor power and the ability to get on base over batting average.

Tony Gwynn exceeded 90 RBIs in a season just once, when he had 119 in 1997, but he batted.

Tony Gwynn was honored for his character and humanitarianism with the 1995 Branch Rickey Award, the 1998 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award and the 1999 Roberto Clemente Award, which USA Today called "baseball's Triple Crown of humanity and kindness".

In September 2001, Tony Gwynn signed a three-year contract with his alma mater to be an unpaid volunteer coach for 2002 with a base salary of $100,000 starting in 2003.

However, Tony Gwynn's teams improved their academic performance for the five years ending in 2012.

Tony Gwynn missed the start of the 2012 season after undergoing surgery, and missed games in 2013 while involved with a clinical trial.

Tony Gwynn was a broadcaster, working as a game and studio analyst for ESPN.

Tony Gwynn served as color analyst for Padres games on Channel 4 in San Diego and later Fox Sports San Diego.

In May 2012, Tony Gwynn joined a group led by movie producer Thomas Tull to bid on purchasing the Padres from Moores.

Tony Gwynn had three procedures to remove noncancerous growths from his parotid gland beginning in 1997.

Tony Gwynn was declared cancer free afterwards, and regained his ability to smile.

Tony Gwynn attributed the cancer to the dipping tobacco habit that he had since playing rookie ball in Walla Walla in 1981.

Tony Gwynn did not closely adhere to the diet, and his weight loss began to stall.

Tony Gwynn needed a walker before he had the damaged disc removed to cure the pain while walking.

Tony Gwynn was sent to rehabilitation to learn how to walk again.

On June 16,2014, Tony Gwynn died at Pomerado Hospital in Poway of complications from his cancer.

In 2018, Tony Gwynn's family reached a confidential settlement with the US Smokeless Tobacco Company after filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the company in 2016, charging that Tony Gwynn had become "hopelessly addicted" to its products.