How good was Tony Gwynn? In 1995, he batted .368 and struck out just 15 times.
In death, Tony Gwynn is remembered as a baseball star, a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame. Gwynn is also remembered for something else: he’s the reason MLB banned tobacco use. Gwynn died of salivary gland cancer (“I hate to say it but, yeah, I’m a tobacco junkie,” he once said) at the young age of 54.
Tony as an SDSU basketball player (photo, WordPress.com)
Tony Gwynn was born in Los Angeles, California on May 9, 1960. When Tony was nine years old, the Gwynn family moved to Long Beach, California. Tony’s love of baseball started in an old baseball park there and, during high school, he was a baseball and basketball star.
Gwynn received several offers to play college basketball, but not for baseball, which was his first love. Worse yet, he wasn’t selected in the MLB Draft. So Gwynn decided to attend San Diego State, where he played both baseball and basketball for the Aztecs, excelling in both sports.
Major League Baseball was still in his sights though and, in 1981, the Padres selected him in the first round of the MLB Draft. He debuted in 1982 and went on to have a spectacular career with a .338 batting average, 3,141 hits, and 1138 RBIs. Gwynn was an eight-time batting champion and was selected to the All-Star team fifteen times.
Courtesy: East Village Times
Gwynn’s last game was played on October 17, 2001. Many honors followed, including having his number retired by the Padres. Following retirement, he returned to his collegiate alma mater as the head baseball coach. The ultimate tribute came when he was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2007, the first year he was eligible for election.
Although Gwynn lived a full life, his presence was cut short in 2014 when cancer ended his life.
Many athletes have experienced decorated careers, but Tony Gwynn also lived a distinguished life. One of the best hitters who ever lived, ‘Mr. Padre‘ was also an ambassador of the game.
