Tony Gwynn Stats & Facts
VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA
Tony Gwynn Essentials
Position: Rightfielder
Bats: Left • Throws: Left
5-11, 185lb (180cm, 83kg)
Born: May 9, 1960 in Los Angeles, CA us
Died: June 16, 2014 in Poway, CA
Buried: Dearborn Memorial Park, Poway, CA
High School: Polytechnic HS (Long Beach, CA)
School: San Diego State University (San Diego, CA)
Debut: July 19, 1982 (12,242nd in MLB history)
vs. PHI 4 AB, 2 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: October 7, 2001
vs. COL 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 2007. (Voted by BBWAA on 532/545 ballots)
View Tony Gwynn’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Full Name: Anthony Keith Gwynn
Nicknames: Mr. Padre or Captain Video
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Relatives: Brother of Chris Gwynn; Father of Tony Gwynn
Nine Players Who Debuted in 1982
Tony Gwynn
Wade Boggs
Julio Franco
Willie McGee
Tony Phillips
Don Mattingly
Frank Viola
Doug Jones
Kevin Bass
The Tony Gwynn All – Teammate Team
C: Benito Santiago
1B: Steve Garvey
2B: Roberto Alomar
3B: Ken Caminiti
SS: Garry Templeton
LF: Rickey Henderson
CF: Steve Finley
RF: Carmelo Martinez
SP: Kevin Brown
SP: Ed Whitson
SP: Andy Ashby
SP: Eric Show
SP: John Montefusco
RP: Mark Davis
RP: Goose Gossage
M: Dick Williams
Notable Events and Chronology for Tony Gwynn Career
Biography Tony Gwynn
The finest scientific hitter of his era, Tony Gwynn compiled a lifetime batting average of .338 – the highest mark posted by any player whose career began after 1940, and the loftiest figure compiled by anyone since Ted Williams retired in 1960 with a mark of .344. Gwynn won eight batting titles during his career, one of which came during the strike-shortened 1994 campaign, when he posted a mark of .394. Gwynn’s average that year was the highest figure compiled by any National League player since Bill Terry batted .401 for the New York Giants in 1930, and the highest by any player since Ted Williams hit .406 for Boston in 1941. Gwynn batted over .350 seven times during his Hall of Fame career, surpassing the .370-mark on three separate occasions. He also collected more than 200 hits five times, leading the senior circuit in that category a total of seven times. A member of the exclusive 3,000 hits club, Gwynn amassed 3,141 safeties over the course of his his 20 major-league seasons, placing him 18th on the all-time hits list.
Born in Los Angeles, California on May 9, 1960, Anthony Keith Gwynn grew up in nearby Long Beach, where he attended Polytechnic High School. After graduating from Polytechnic, he moved on to San Diego State University, building a reputation for himself during his time there not only as a star baseball player, but also as a standout point guard on the Aztecs’ basketball team. Gwynn’s outstanding play in both sports ended up providing him with multiple career opportunities when the San Diego Padres (third round) and the NBA’s San Diego Clippers (tenth round) both drafted him in June of 1981.
After signing with the Padres, the lefthanded hitting outfielder spent the next season honing his skills in the minor leagues, before making his debut in San Diego a little over one year later, on July 19, 1982. Gwynn spent the final three months of the season with the Padres, compiling a batting average of .289 – the only time in his career he failed to hit over .300.
A fractured wrist suffered while playing in the Puerto Rican Winter League caused Gwynn to miss the first two months of the 1983 campaign. He struggled at first upon his return to the lineup, sinking as low as .229 by July 29. However, after using video recording to review his at-bats for the first time, Gwynn heated up over the final two months of the season to finish the year with a batting average of .309.
After splitting his time between all three outfield positions his first two seasons, Gwynn developed into a star in 1984 when he became San Diego’s regular rightfielder. The 24-year-old outfielder helped lead the Padres to the National League pennant by topping the senior circuit with a .351 batting average and 213 hits, en route to earning a third-place finish in the league MVP voting.
Gwynn performed extremely well in each of the next two seasons, compiling batting averages of .317 and .329, respectively, and leading the N.L. with 211 hits and 107 runs scored in 1986. More than just an exceptional hitter, Gwynn continued to develop into one of the league’s best all-around players, stealing 37 bases, compiling 21 outfield assists, and winning the first of five Gold Gloves in 1986. Gwynn took his game to the next level, though, the following year, when he topped the senior circuit with a .370 batting average and 218 hits, while also establishing career highs with 119 runs scored and 56 stolen bases.
Gwynn won each of the next two batting titles as well, posting marks of .313 and .336 in 1988 and 1989, respectively, while also stealing a total of 66 bases. Knee problems and a gradual gain in weight limited Gwynn’s effectiveness as a base stealer in subsequent seasons, but he remained an exceptional hitter and a solid defensive outfielder. The San Diego rightfielder continued his string of 19 consecutive years with a batting average in excess of .300, establishing a new National League record in the process (Honus Wagner held the previous N.L. mark with 17 straight .300-plus seasons). After hitting .358 the previous year, Gwynn flirted with the magical .400-mark throughout the strike-shortened 1994 campaign, ending the season with a career-high .394 batting average and .454 on-base percentage. He followed that up with league-leading marks of .368, .353, and .372 the next three seasons, with the last of those years being the most productive of his career.
In addition to leading the N.L. with a .372 batting average and 220 hits in 1997, Gwynn established new career highs with 17 home runs, 119 runs batted in, and 49 doubles.
At the age of 38, Gwynn batted .321 and hit 16 home runs for the National League champion Padres in 1998. Although San Diego lost the World Series in four straight games to the New York Yankees, Gwynn compiled a .500 batting average during the Fall Classic, totaling eight hits in his 16 times at-bat, with one home run and three runs batted in. He played three more years, batting well over .300 each season, before ending his career as a part-time player in 2001. Gwynn retired at season’s end having played his entire 20-year career with the Padres. In addition to batting .338 and accumulating 3,141 hits, he scored 1,383 runs and stole 319 bases. Although the Padres were a mediocre team for much of Gwynn’s career, he managed to finish in the top ten in the league MVP voting seven times. He also appeared in 15 All-Star games.
One of the game’s truly great hitters, Gwynn batted over .350 each year from 1993 to 1997, joining Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, and Al Simmons as the only players ever to top the .350-mark in five consecutive seasons. Gwynn also won a record-tying eight National League batting titles (Honus Wagner also won eight for Pittsburgh). Only Ty Cobb, who led the American League in hitting 12 times, won more batting titles. A superb contact hitter, Gwynn struck out only 434 times in 10,232 total plate appearances over the course of his career, never striking out more than 40 times in any single season.
Gwynn’s extraordinary plate coverage and exceptional hitting ability prompted former major league pitcher Al Leiter to suggest, “The only way to pitch to Tony (Gwynn) is to throw the ball down the middle and hope he hits it at someone.”
A person of great character off the field as well, Gwynn received the Roberto Clemente Man of the Year Award in 1999 for combining sportsmanship and community service with excellence on the field. That same year, he received the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, presented annually by Phi Delta Theta fraternity to the major league player who best exemplifies the character and leadership of the Hall of Fame first baseman both on and off the field.
Gwynn was elected to the Hall of Fame himself in 2007, the first time his name appeared on the ballot. He took over the coaching reins at San Diego State University some five years earlier, in July of 2002, after previously serving as a volunteer assistant coach with the Aztecs during the 2002 campaign under former head coach Jim Dietz, who retired at the end of that season. Gwynn continues to coach at his alma mater, while also occasionally providing analysis of Padres games during local telecasts.
Health Problems and Death
In 2010, he was diagnosed with cancer of a salivary gland and had lymph nodes and tumors from the gland removed. The operation left his face partially paralyzed on the right side, leaving him unable to smile. Later that year, he underwent eight weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. He was declared cancer free afterwards, and also regained his ability to smile. Additional surgery was performed in 2012 to remove more cancerous growth and address nerve damage. Gwynn attributed the cancer to the dipping tobacco habit that he had since playing rookie ball in Walla Walla in 1981. Doctors, however, stated that studies had not linked parotid cancer with use of chewing tobacco.
After his playing career ended, Gwynn’s weight peaked at 330 pounds (150 kg), and he underwent adjustable gastric banding surgery in 2009 in an attempt to lose weight. He did not closely adhere to the diet, and his weight loss began to stall. In 2010, his weight problem led to a slipped disc in his back that affected a nerve down his leg. He needed a walker before he had the damaged disc removed to cure the pain while walking. Later, he experienced a loss of taste for food during radiation therapy for his cancer, and while being limited to a liquid diet, he lost 80 pounds (36 kg), all of which he regained after he resumed eating solid foods.
Death
During another round of cancer treatments in April 2014, a mishap occurred in which Gwynn lost oxygen and was barely able to move. He was sent to rehabilitation to learn how to walk again. On June 16, 2014, Gwynn died at Pomerado Hospital in Poway due to complications from his cancer. He was 54 years old. The night before, on Father’s Day, he had gone into cardiac arrest, and he was rushed from his home to the hospital.
A public memorial service was held for Gwynn at Petco Park on June 26, 2014. The service was attended by 23,229 fans, who heard tributes to Gwynn from baseball and civic leaders, and from Gwynn’s family.
@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@
Factoids, Quotes, Strange Things that may only interest me
Rickey Henderson collected his 3,000th career hit in Gwynn’s final major league game
Best Season, 1997
In 1994, Gwynn was on his way to possibly becoming the first .400 hitter in more than 50 years when Bud Selig and Don Fehr interceded with a players strike. Gwynn had it all together that season. Three years later he had an almost equally impressive year – and he did it over the course of 149 games. In ’97, at the age of 37, Gwynn batted .371 (his highest mark for a full season), winning his fourth straight batting title, and his eighth overall. He collected 220 hits – an amazing total for a man his age, who had put on some weight and no longer legged out hits. Gwynn set a career record with 68 extra-base hits (including 49 doubles and 17 home runs), while scoring 97. He slugged .547 and drove in a career-best 119 runners. This was made more remarkable by the fact that the Padres won just 76 games that season.
Factoid
Tony Gwynn led the league in singles an NL record seven times (1984, tie in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1997) one shy of Nellie Fox’s ML record.
Post-Season Notes
Gwynn hit .371 in his two World Series appearances, with 13 hits in nine games, including a homer in his first game in Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, the Padres ran up against two of the best teams of their era: the 1984 Tigers and 1998 Padres.
Feats: On August 4, 1993, against the Giants, Gwynn laced six hits… Gwynn holds five of the top eleven single-season batting averages since the end of World War II… Gwynn and Ty Cobb share the distinction of being the only players in history to string together two separate streaks of three or more consecutive batting titles, with Tony earning three in a row from 1987-1989, then collecting four straight from 1994-1997… Gwynn is one of only 19 players with 200 hits in five or more seasons.
Factoid
Tony Gwynn Field, located at Gwynn’s Alma mater of San Diego State University, was named the fifth-best stadium in college baseball by Baseball America in 1998.
Quotes From Gwynn
“One of the things I’m proudest about is that I played for one team. My baseball card looks awesome because it has San Diego all the way down. I grew up in an environment where that kind of stuff was important. Loyalty was a small part of it. It was a matter of it being comfortable, of being in a place where I could do what I did without a lot of external pressure. This was just the place.”
“From 1992 to the end of my career, he [Ted Williams] made me a batter hitter, because he told me ‘When the ball isinside, just go with my swing, just go with it.’ “
Factoid
Tony Gwynn compiled a lifetime average of .300 or better against every team in the National League, with a high-water mark of .379 against Colorado.
Home Run Facts
Hit his first HR off Bill Campbell, and his 100th against Donne Walll… Gwynn hit two homers in a game four times (1986, 1997, 1998, 1999)… He hit four homers off Tom Browning, his most against any one pitcher… He belted three grand slams…
Matchup Data
Tony Gwynn faced Greg Maddux more than any other pitcher in his career. In 103 plate appearances, he went 39-for-91 (.429) with eight doubles, a triple, and nine RBI against Maddux.
Other Resources & Links