Tony Gwynn
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox baseball biography Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hitting Gwynn won eight batting titles in his career, which is tied for the most in National League (NL) history. He was a 15-time All-Star and won seven Silver Slugger Awards and five Gold Glove Awards. Gwynn stayed with the Padres his entire career and played in the only two World Series appearances in San Diego franchise history. Having hit over .300 for 19 straight seasons, Gwynn retired with a .338 career batting average, the highest mark since Ted Williams retired in 1960; Gwynn also holds the highest adjusted batting average of all time at .342. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 in his first year of eligibility, and is widely considered the best pure hitter of his generation.<ref name=jenkins_06152014/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Gwynn attended San Diego State University (SDSU), where he played both college baseball and basketball for the Aztecs. He was an all-conference player in both sports in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and was also honored as an All-American in baseball. Gwynn was selected by the Padres in the third round of the 1981 MLB draft as the 58th overall pick. He made his major-league debut the next year and won his first batting title in 1984, when San Diego advanced to its first-ever World Series. Gwynn was a poor fielder in college and the minor leagues, but improved over time and received his first Gold Glove in 1986. The next year, he won the first of three consecutive batting titles. From 1990 to 1994, Gwynn endured four injury-shortened seasons, then had four straight batting titles starting in 1994, when he batted a career-high .394 in a strike-shortened season. Gwynn played in his second World Series in 1998 and reached the 3,000-hit milestone the following year. He played two more seasons, hampered by injuries in both, and retired after the 2001 season with 3,141 career hits.
A contact hitter, Gwynn frequently hit the ball to the opposite field. After first meeting Hall of Famer Ted Williams in 1992, Gwynn modified his hitting approach and became more adept at pulling the ball and using the entire field, as well as hitting for more power. In his early career years, he was also a threat to steal bases. In an era before MLB teams used video for scouting, Gwynn pioneered the practice of recording and studying video to improve his hitting, for which he received the nickname "Captain Video". Widely considered the greatest player in Padres history, Gwynn regularly accepted less money to remain with the small-market team; he became a civic icon for the city of San Diego.
During his later playing years and throughout retirement, Gwynn was an outspoken critic of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. After he retired from playing, the Padres retired his No. 19 in 2004. Gwynn became the head baseball coach at his alma mater university and also spent time as a baseball analyst. Gwynn developed a decades-long addiction to smokeless tobacco as a young adult, and was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer in 2010; Gwynn died of the cancer in 2014 at the age of 54. His death increased awareness regarding tobacco usage in MLB, leading to the 2016 league-wide ban on the substance for new players.
Early life and family
Family background
Gwynn was born in Los Angeles, California, to Charles and Vendella Gwynn,<ref name=rhoden_10011996>Template:Cite news</ref> who originated from Gallatin, Tennessee.<ref name="staples367">Staples, Herschlag 2007, p. 367.</ref><ref name="sdm2023">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Charles excelled at sports, preferring football and baseball which he played in high school, and was also very passionate about history and politics; he spent the majority of his young adulthood in the 1950s serving for the U.S. Army. Vendella grew up in a large family and house upon several acres of land that functioned as a small farm; she was also athletically inclined, particularly in basketball and volleyball. The pair met and married in the mid-1950s. In 1958, Gwynn's older brother Charles Jr. was born and sometime thereafter, Charles was discharged from the Army. In 1959, Charles decided to move the family west from Tennessee under the belief that doing so would provide additional economic opportunity for a young black family.<ref name="staples367"/><ref name="mikeorgan"/>
Childhood
The family's first residence in California was a two-bedroom apartment and they had one car, a Chrysler 300. Gwynn's favorite meals were Friday dinner because he'd get to eat fish, and any meals on Saturday and Sunday because that's when the whole family was together.<ref>Staples, Herschlag 2007, p. 367–368.</ref> Shortly after younger brother Chris was born in late 1964, the family moved to a larger apartment, a second-floor duplex that included a small grass backyard unlike the previous apartment. In the yard, Gwynn and Charles Jr. frequently played basketball games such as "Twenty-one" and "H-O-R-S-E" using a trash can against the building's back wall as the basket.<ref>Staples, Herschlag 2007, p. 368.</ref> Gwynn's "big thrill" was regularly going to the store to get RC Cola for his father using the latter's borrowed money. On one of these occasions when Gwynn returned from the store with the cola, he was also chewing a wad of gum; his father noticed this and asked Gwynn where the gum came from, and he confessed to shoplifting the gum. His father responded by taking Gwynn downstairs to a bush out in front of the apartment building, and pulling a switch from it to punish him with.<ref>Staples, Herschlag 2007, p. 369.</ref>
Gwynn's favorite time of year was the annual summer family vacation to go visit his grandparents in Tennessee for six days, traveling in the family car. He personally liked his paternal grandparents more, but preferred to stay with his maternal grandparents because their residence (where his mother grew up) had acres of open land and a farm, which Gwynn said was "like a paradise". He gathered eggs from the chicken coop every morning and cooked breakfast with them, and also played baseball using black walnuts that had fallen.<ref>Staples, Herschlag 2007, p. 369–370.</ref> Through these visits, Gwynn grew an affinity for his grandmother Callie's Southern cooking.<ref name="mikeorgan">Template:Cite news</ref>
At age nine, Gwynn received a Sting-Ray bike with a banana seat from his parents coupled with the expectation that he was to use it to fetch groceries from the store. Gwynn refused to have a bicycle basket installed, insisting that it was only for "sissies", so he hauled groceries home using his arms. He was also allowed to use the bike for play; one time while doing so near the family's parked car, he crashed the bike into Chris who appeared out of nowhere. Chris bled from his face from hitting the cement, and had to get hospitalized with five stitches. Gwynn's parents initially threatened to whip Gwynn upon learning about the incident, but later changed their minds after discussing it with Chris, believing it was impossible for the boys to see each other before the crash.<ref>Staples, Herschlag 2007, p. 372–373.</ref>
A few weeks after the bike crash, his parents decided they would move from their apartment and buy a house in nearby Long Beach, a location they chose because of its schools, parks, and youth sports options throughout the year.<ref>Staples, Herschlag 2007, p. 367–373.</ref><ref name=goldstein_06162014/><ref name=eisenberg_06172014>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn joined a Little League team in Long Beach at the age of nine. When the coach asked him which position he wished to play, Gwynn indicated that he wanted to be the first baseman since he was left-handed, but the coach said that spot was occupied by a returning left-handed player, and instead offered the center fielder position to Gwynn.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 99. (Pete Brown)</ref> Gwynn's parents were civil servants and tag-team parents.<ref name=keisser_07262007>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn's father worked at a warehouse from 7:30Template:Nbspa.m. to 5:00Template:Nbspp.m., and he also coached Pop Warner football and Little League Baseball; his mother worked at the post office from 5:30Template:Nbspp.m. to 3:00Template:Nbspa.m. His mother and father instilled in him the value of being prepared. He played mostly basketball, then his favorite sport.<ref name=rhoden_10011996/><ref name=goldstein_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=will1990_p164>Will 1990, p. 164–165.</ref><ref name=benson>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn seldom played tennis, but readily defeated his older brother Charles Jr. (who regularly practiced the sport) when challenged.<ref>Kingdon 2023, p. 7.</ref>
Gwynn's father encouraged his sons to play ball in the makeshift baseball field that he assembled in their backyard.<ref name=eisenberg_06172014/> The setup was a narrow strip of grass that was longer than it was wide.<ref name=eisenberg_06172014/><ref name=staple2007_p373-4/> Pulling the ball too much resulted in it being lost over the neighbor's fence, but left field being short ruled out hitting it to the opposite field.<ref name="eisenberg_06172014" /><ref name="keisser_07262007" /><ref name="staple2007_p373-4">Staples, Herschlag 2007, pp. 373–374.</ref><ref name=sn_07281997>Template:Cite news</ref> Once the brothers' supply of wiffle balls was out, they resorted to using a sock rolled in rubber bands, a wad of tape, or a hardened fig from a neighbor's tree.<ref name="eisenberg_06172014" /> Gwynn could pull the ball in his backyard, but he would naturally hit it the other way during regular games.<ref name="sn_07281997" /> Growing up, he attended Los Angeles Dodgers games and watched his hero, Willie Davis; the Dodgers outfielder had twice as many stolen bases as home runs (398 SB, 182 HR) in his career. Gwynn admired Davis for being black, left-handed, and "aggressive but under control"; he respected Davis' work habits as well.<ref>Will 1990, p. 228.</ref> Unlike other kids who tracked home run hitters, Gwynn checked the box scores in the newspaper every morning to follow high-average hitters like Pete Rose, George Brett, and Rod Carew.<ref name=keisser>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> By age thirteen, Gwynn had joined an adult baseball league.<ref name="gilbert">Template:Cite book</ref>
High school years
Gwynn attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, a high-profile sports school.<ref name=Tennis_06172014/><ref name=canepa_09131984/> In high school, Gwynn considered himself to be "kind of a nerd" and also shy, particularly with girls. His friends often attended parties with drugs and alcohol on Friday nights, but Gwynn abstained from such activities to avoid disappointing his parents and squandering future opportunities.<ref>Staples, Herschlag 2007, pg. 377.</ref> Gwynn worked during the summers. One year, he got a job as a softball coach at Silverado Park after his name was chosen in a lottery drawing for the position; some of his responsibilities included managing the field, painting the foul lines, and picking up trash from the field. Another year, he was on a crew that painted athletic facilities in Long Beach public schools.<ref>Staples, Herschlag 2007, pg. 377–378.</ref> Gwynn also played summer baseball for the Long Beach Jets (coached by 1964 Olympic high jumper John Rambo) in the Joe DiMaggio Summer League at Blair Field.<ref name="wolfe3032"/> Gwynn was the center fielder and his younger brother Chris was on the team.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 39. (Bobby Meacham)</ref> One year, Gwynn and the Jets won the local league and advanced to the state tournament in San Rafael of Northern California; they were defeated in the championship game.<ref name="wolfe3032">Wolfe 2014, p. 30–32. (Nick Harsh)</ref>
He was a two-sport star in basketball and baseball. In his final two years, his Jackrabbits baseball team was a combined 3–25–2 in the league, while his basketball team went a combined 53–6 and twice reached the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)'s Southern Section 4A championship game. Gwynn had considered quitting baseball as a senior to concentrate on basketball, but his mother talked him out of it. "She said it might be something down the road and that I might be sorry later if I didn't play," recalled Gwynn.<ref name=Tennis_06172014>Template:Cite news</ref>
As a junior, he was the starting point guard on Poly's basketball team, which went 30–1 and won the Southern Section 4A title that year. The final was played for more than 10,000 fans at the Long Beach Arena, where Gwynn scored 10 points in the 69–50 victory over Buena of Ventura.<ref name=Tennis_06172014/> His teammates included Michael Wiley, who became a professional player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).<ref name=basketball_in_lb>Template:Cite book</ref> In Gwynn's senior year, Poly was 23–7, and again advanced to the championship round, despite finishing third in the Moore League. Their bid for a second straight title ended with a 57–50 loss to Pasadena.<ref name=Tennis_06172014/> Gwynn averaged 10.3 points and totaled 178 assists for the season, and he was named to the All-CIF Southern Section Second Team.<ref name=Tennis_06172014/><ref name=basketball_in_lb/><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> After the season, he switched to baseball, which was already well underway for the year. Despite his shortened season, he earned first-team All-Southern Section honors after batting .563. Poly's baseball team's struggles taught him to remain focused, continue executing, and stay productive.<ref name=Tennis_06172014/><ref name=canepa_09131984/>
Gwynn received scholarship offers to play college basketball but none for college baseball.<ref>Staples, Herschlag 2007, p. 381.</ref> He also went unselected in the 1977 MLB draft, which Gwynn attributed to his limited playing time.<ref name=canepa_09131984/> He wanted to play both sports for Cal State Fullerton, which was fine with basketball coach Bobby Dye, but baseball coach Augie Garrido did not believe that an athlete could handle both sports in college. San Diego State basketball coach Tim Vezie wanted Gwynn to commit to two years of basketball before playing baseball. Gwynn also had an offer from Texas Christian University (TCU), but he was told that he would be their first black player in 30 years, which ruled them out from his consideration.<ref name=maffei_11242007/> He chose to attend SDSU, calling it "the best option I had."<ref name=maffei_11242007>Template:Cite news</ref>
College career
Gwynn was a two-sport star with San Diego State, playing three seasons of baseball and four of basketball.<ref name=cushman2006/> He was a recreation major.<ref name="wolfe29"/> He was an All-American outfielder in his final two seasons, when he led the team in hitting.<ref name=goaztecs/> A skilled playmaker in basketball,<ref name=goldstein_06162014/> he set multiple school records for assists.<ref name=goaztecs/> He was the first player in the history of the WAC to earn all-conference honors in basketball and baseball.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> Gwynn was not allowed to play baseball as a freshman. He was overweight at Template:Convert, and Vezie wanted him to get in shape for the next basketball season.<ref name=canepa_09131984>Template:Cite news</ref>
By the following season in 1979, Gwynn still had not heard from Aztecs baseball coach Jim Dietz about joining the team after the basketball season.<ref name=cushman_10072001>Template:Cite news</ref> However, an opportunity arose after two outfielders riding bicycles were struck by an automobile and injured, leaving Dietz in need of replacements.<ref name=cushman2006>Template:Cite journal</ref> Freshman shortstop Bobby Meacham, who played against Gwynn in high school, convinced the coach to give Gwynn a chance.<ref name=maffei_11242007/><ref name=goaztecs/> Dietz had never seen Gwynn play but contacted him mostly because he trusted Meacham.<ref name=cushman2006/> Vezie by then had been fired, and his successor, Smokey Gaines, allowed Gwynn to play baseball.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=ringolsby_06162014/> Were it not for the accident, Gwynn doubted he would have ever played baseball with SDSU. "Knowing what I now do about Coach Dietz ... [h]e's too loyal to his athletes to have allowed me to walk over after basketball season and join the team," remarked Gwynn.<ref name=cushman_10072001/>
In baseball, Gwynn was primarily a left fielder and designated hitter (DH) at San Diego State. He hit .301 in his first season but said he "stunk defensively."<ref name=cushman2006/> After his first season of baseball with the Aztecs, Gwynn played collegiate summer baseball for the Boulder Collegians while also enrolling in 10 transferable summer school units at the University of Colorado Boulder. During a game with the Collegians, he tripped while rounding first base trying to stretch a single into a double, and went down in pain having dislocated his ankle. Coach Jim Dietz chose to pop Gwynn's ankle back into place, because Dietz believed that having surgery done instead would've harmed Gwynn's chances of playing professional baseball; Gwynn was sent home for the remainder of the summer.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 29.</ref><ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 50. (Jim Dietz)</ref> In 1980, Gwynn hit .423 with six home runs and 29 runs batted in (RBI), and was named third-team All-American by Baseball News. The following season, he was a first-team All-American after batting .416 with 11 home runs and 62 RBI. He also was named a first-team All-WAC outfielder.<ref name=goaztecs/> In his three years, he had a career average of .398, and the team went 146–61–4.<ref name=maffei_11242007/>
Playing basketball, Gwynn set Aztecs basketball records for assists in a game (18), season (221), and career (590).<ref name=goaztecs>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=maffei>Template:Cite news</ref> He was twice named to the All-WAC Second Team, and he averaged 8.8 points per game his senior year.<ref name=benson/> Playing point guard developed Gwynn's baseball skills, as the dribbling strengthened his wrists—avoiding what he called "slow bat syndrome"—and basketball taught him to be quick, which improved his baserunning.<ref name=will1990_p164/><ref name=kreidler_04091985>Template:Cite news</ref> He could dunk a basketball,<ref name=kuenster2006_p406/> though he was unable to palm the ball with his small hands.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006>Template:Cite news</ref> He had a quick first step in either sport and was able to run Template:Convert in 6.7 seconds.<ref name=kuenster2006_p406>Kuenster 2006, p. 406.</ref>
Gwynn indirectly received exposure from scouts who were interested in Meacham, who would become a first-round pick in 1981.<ref name=cushman2006/><ref name=ringolsby_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> Also on the Aztecs baseball team was Casey McKeon, son of Jack McKeon, who was the San Diego Padres general manager at the time. Given his son's involvement, McKeon often went to Aztec games.<ref name=cushman2006/> He was initially interested in seeing Meacham but became more impressed by Gwynn after seeing him at an exhibition game between the Aztecs and Padres;<ref name=maffei_01012008>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn had re-joined the baseball team five days earlier.<ref name=ringolsby_06162014/>
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues (1981–1982)
The Padres selected Gwynn in the third round of the 1981 MLB draft with the 58th pick.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> The Padres scout credited for discovering Gwynn was Cliff Ditto from the Los Angeles area; his scouting report was the only one the Padres had for Gwynn.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 142. (Jack McKeon)</ref> The Houston Astros had also scouted Gwynn and wanted to select him, but since the team had no picks in the first two rounds, their first possible chance was in the third round after the Padres' third round pick when Gwynn was taken.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 147. (Bob Cluck)</ref> He had attended Padres games while he was at San Diego State and thought they had the "ugliest uniforms I've ever seen in my life." Those uniforms again came to his mind after he was drafted.<ref name=psullivan_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> McKeon had wanted to take Gwynn with the Padres' first pick, but they chose two other players in the first round and another in the second. McKeon threatened to walk out of the draft room had San Diego not selected him in the third.<ref name=maffei_01012008/> Later that day, Gwynn was also selected by the San Diego Clippers in the 10th round of the NBA draft.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> According to then-Clippers general manager Ted Podleski, Gwynn might have gone as high as the sixth round if he was not a baseball player.<ref name=maffei_01012008/> 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.<ref name=benson/>
Coming out of college, Gwynn was initially worried about the transition from using an aluminum bat to a wooden one,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but his concerns were allayed once he found a bat comparable to the size he had used with the Aztecs.<ref name=verducci_06255007>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He led the Northwest League with a .331 batting average,<ref>Chandler, Swank 2012, p. 327.</ref> and added 12 homers and 17 stolen bases in just 42 games for the Walla Walla Padres, San Diego's Class A minor league affiliate, earning him the league's most valuable player (MVP) award in 1981.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/><ref name=posnanski_12212013/> In his professional debut on Opening Day, Gwynn went 3-for-5 with a triple, a walk, two steals, two runs, and a strikeout. His salary in Walla Walla was $500 per month.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 97. (Pete Brown)</ref> In the summer of 1981, Gwynn was promoted to the Padres' Reno affiliate but was unable to travel there due to the ongoing air traffic controller strike, so he got sent to Amarillo instead.<ref name="buchan95">Wolfe 2014, p. 95. (Jim Buchan)</ref> He finished the season in Class AA with the Amarillo Gold Sox for 23 games, while batting .462.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/>
San Diego Padres (1982–2001)
1982–1983
Gwynn participated at spring training with San Diego in 1982 and hit .375. However, the Padres were set in the outfield with veterans Gene Richards, Ruppert Jones, and Sixto Lezcano, and Gwynn began the season with the Hawaii Islanders of Triple-A.<ref name=jenkins_06122015>Template:Cite news</ref> He was batting .328 in 93 games with the Islanders when he was promoted and debuted for the Padres on July 19, 1982. He started in center field against the Philadelphia Phillies in place of a slumping Jones.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In his fourth at-bat, Gwynn got his first major league hit—a double—against reliever Sid Monge. Pete Rose, the Phillies' first baseman who later became the major-league all-time hit leader, told Gwynn, "Congratulations. Don't catch me in one night."<ref name=verducci_08091999>Template:Cite news</ref> Five weeks later against Pittsburgh, Gwynn injured his left wrist after diving for a ball and hitting the hard artificial turf at Three Rivers Stadium, and missed three weeks while on the disabled list (DL).<ref name=center_10032001/><ref name=staple2007_p385>Staples, Herschlag 2007, p. 385.</ref> He finished his rookie season batting .289 in 54 games, the only season he hit below .300.<ref name=madden_06162014/> His 15-game hitting streak was the longest on the team that season.<ref name=staple2007_p385/>
Gwynn reinjured his wrist playing winter ball in Puerto Rico and started 1983 on the DL.<ref name=verducci_08091999/><ref name=center_10032001/> He missed the first two months of the season and struggled after his return.<ref name=madden_06162014/> His average fell as low as .229 by July 29.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He asked his wife to record the games before a road trip, and he began using video recording to review his at-bats. After looking at the tapes and correcting his swing during batting practice, Gwynn became a believer in using video.<ref name=verducci_08091999/> He said video "turned around my career".<ref name=kuenster2006_p409>Kuenster 2006, p. 409.</ref> He heated up to a .309 average for his shortened season, and his 25-game hitting streak set a Padres record. For the second straight season, San Diego finished with a .500 record.<ref name=staple2007_p385/>
1984–1986
In his first full season in 1984, San Diego won their first NL West title.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> Gwynn was elected to start in his first All-Star Game, and he won his first batting title with a .351 average along with 71 RBIs, and 33 stolen bases; he had only 23 strikeouts in 606 at-bats. He 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.<ref name=center_84>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=vecsey_10141984>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref><ref name=ap_11171984>Template:Cite news</ref> He had 213 hits, breaking the Padres record of 194 set by Gene Richards in 1980.<ref name=center_84/> 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 (70 SB) being on base.<ref name=will>Template:Cite book</ref> Wiggins' speed also disrupted the defense and opened up holes that Gwynn was able to exploit for hits.<ref name=distel_0325985>Template:Cite news</ref> He hit above .400 when Wiggins was on base ahead of him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "Anybody can hit a fastball", said Gwynn.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The duo was one of the biggest reasons behind San Diego's success.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They could score fast with Wiggins getting on first, stealing second, and Gwynn singling him home.<ref name=chass_08251985>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn batted .410 with runners in scoring position,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and manager Dick Williams said his records indicated that Gwynn had the best "RBI percentage" on the team.<ref name=distel_0325985/>
In the playoffs, the Padres won the first NL pennant in its team history, defeating the Cubs in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) before losing the World Series to the Detroit Tigers.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> Gwynn batted .368 in the NLCS, and his one-out single in the bottom of the ninth in Game 4 set up Steve Garvey's game-winning homer.<ref name=center_84/> Gwynn hit .263 (5-for-19) in the World Series,<ref>Naiman, Porter 2010, p. 179.</ref> and flied out to Tigers left fielder Larry Herndon for the final out of the fall classic.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the offseason, Gwynn took less money to stay in San Diego by signing a six-year, $4.6 million contract with the Padres.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=krasovic_10072001>Template:Cite news</ref> Still, his new salary of more than $500,000 salary for 1985 represented a sizable raise over the $180,000 he would have received, or the $100,000 he had received in 1984.<ref name=ap_11171984/>
Wiggins entered drug rehab in 1985 and was traded later in the season to the Baltimore Orioles, resulting in Gwynn seeing fewer fastballs and more breaking balls. Gwynn said it took him a month to realize the opponents' strategy change and a while to adjust.<ref name=verducci_08091999/><ref name=center_85>Template:Cite news</ref> His average was under .300 into June when he got hot but then sprained his wrist on June 27 in a collision with Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia. Still, Gwynn was named with seven other Padres to the 1985 All-Star Game. San Diego then led the NL West but finished the season in third place. After Gwynn's wrist healed, he hit .339 after the start of August and finished the season with the fourth-highest average in the NL (.317).<ref name=will/><ref name=center_85/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Without an adequate replacement for Wiggins batting leadoff, his RBIs fell to 46.<ref name=chass_08251985/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Gwynn played a career-high 160 games in 1986, when he led NL position players in Wins Above Replacement (WAR). He scored 100 runs for the first time and tied for the NL lead (107). He set then-career highs for doubles (33), homers (14), and steals (37).<ref name=br_career/><ref name=center_86>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=pouliot_06162014/> On September 20 against the Houston Astros, he had four hits and became the fifth NL player that century with five stolen bases in a game.<ref name=center_86/><ref name=jenkins_06292007>Template:Cite news</ref> He finished third in hitting (.329) after leading for most of the season. He hit only .296 in September, and he regretted paying too much attention to Tim Raines and Steve Sax, who were previously trailing him. Gwynn won his first Gold Glove after leading the league in total chances and putouts (337).<ref name=center_86/> His 19 outfield assists that year—one short of the league-high—were highlighted by the three Mets he threw out in one game.<ref name=center_86/><ref name=jenkins_06292007/>
1987–1989
Despite his financial problems and bankruptcy in 1987, Gwynn remained unfazed on the field.<ref name=canepa_06222014/> In the Padres' home opener, Marvell Wynne, Gwynn, and John Kruk hit back-to-back-to-back homers to start the game for San Diego, the first time an MLB team had led off a game with three consecutive home runs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In June, he had 44 hits in 93 at-bats for a .473 average, the best month in his career.<ref name=mcneal/> He finished fifth among NL outfielders voting for the All-Star Game, which Padres manager Larry Bowa called "a joke".<ref name=psullivan_06162014/> However, Gwynn was unperturbed: "People put a premium on the home-run hitters. I know what I am. I'm a contact hitter and not a home-run hitter ... I'm not going to try to be something I'm not."<ref name=psullivan_06162014/>
That year, Gwynn had two five-hit games, the first of eight in his career.<ref name=center_87/> He won his second batting title that season after hitting .370. It was the highest average in the NL since Stan Musial hit .376 in 1948. He also stole 56 bases and became the first NL player to hit .370 and steal 50 bases.Template:Refn<ref name=center_87/> 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. His 218 hits also led the league.<ref name=center_87>Template:Cite news</ref> He led the league in WAR,<ref name=pouliot_06162014/> and was second in stolen bases, triples (13), and on-base percentage (OBP) (.447); he also ranked fourth in runs scored (119) and 10th in walks with a career-high 82.<ref name=br_career>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Will 1990, pp. 166–167.</ref> His average, hits, runs, and triples were all Padre records.<ref name=center_87/> Although he only hit seven homers, Gwynn was second in the league with 26 intentional walks.<ref name=sullivan_06222014/> He finished eighth in the voting for NL MVP but resisted altering his hitting style to hit more home runs to earn more respect. The same year, Wade Boggs in the American League (AL) won his fourth batting title in five years, hitting .363 with 24 home runs, but finished ninth in MVP voting.<ref>Will 1990, pp. 169–170.</ref> Fox Sports baseball writer Rob Neyer believes that Gwynn may have been MLB's best player during his 1987 season,<ref name=neyer_01032015/> and sportswriter Joe Posnanski called Gwynn's 1987 season "otherworldly" while opining that "he probably should have won the MVP award".<ref>Posnanski 2021, p. 43.</ref>
During the last three months of the 1987 season, a finger on Gwynn's left hand would lock when he gripped a bat. It would open barely enough for the bat to slip out of his grip. He had surgery on the hand during spring training the following season. Early in 1988, Gwynn was on the DL for 21 days after spraining his thumb after tripping rounding first base in Pittsburgh.<ref name=will1990_p211>Will 1990, p. 211.</ref> He hit .246 as late as July 2, 1988, but won the batting title with a .313 average.<ref name=verducci_08091999/> Gwynn batted .406 in July and .367 in the last 73 games of the season. He denied that injuries impacted his hitting, instead attributing his struggles to "mechanics".<ref name=will1990_p211/> He struck out a career-high 40 times that season,<ref name=malinowski_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> while his .313 average was the lowest to win a title in NL history.<ref name=will1990_p211/> In the 112 years before, only nine batting leaders hit below .330,<ref name=will1990_p211/> the previous low being Larry Doyle's .320 in 1915.<ref>Chandler, Swank 2012, p. 331.</ref> For the 25 years ending in 1988, batting leaders averaged .343. Gwynn hit 119 points higher with runners on base (.382) than with the bases empty (.263), the largest differential in the NL that season.<ref name=will1990_p211/> He tied Pedro Guerrero for the highest average with runners in scoring position (.371).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=will1990_212>Will 1990, p. 212.</ref><ref group=lower-alpha>Baseball-Reference.com lists his average in scoring position as .371, not .382 as in Men at Work. .382 was his average with runners on base.</ref> During the season, McKeon replaced Bowa as Padres manager and moved Gwynn from right to center field.<ref>Will 1990, pp. 211–212.</ref> Gwynn also reached 1,000 career hits on April 22 with a single off Nolan Ryan of the Astros.<ref name=verducci_08091999/> On September 17, he passed Dave Winfield as the Padres' career leader in hits with his 1,135th off Jim Acker of the Atlanta Braves.<ref name=kernan_09181988>Template:Cite news</ref>
In the 1989 season, he was hurting in September while in the race for another batting title. His right toe made it hard for him to put a shoe on, and his left Achilles tendon was sore, preventing him from pushing off properly when swinging. His batting average dropped, but he insisted on playing until his manager forced him to sit out for two games.<ref name=will1990_p168/> The Padres were battling the San Francisco Giants for the division title in September, but they were eliminated from contention the game before hosting a season-ending three-game series with the Giants. Although the race for the division was over, Gwynn was still trailing San Francisco's Will Clark for the batting title, .333 to .332. Gwynn went 3-for-4 in the last two games, finishing at .336 to claim his third title.<ref>Chandler, Swank 2012, pp. 215–217.</ref> "I lost to the best", Clark said.<ref name=will1990_p168>Will 1990, pp. 165–166.</ref> Gwynn became the first NL player to win three consecutive batting titles since Musial (1950–1952).<ref>Will 1990, p. 168.</ref> In December 1989, Gwynn fell to being the seventh-highest-paid Padre at $1 million a year and questioned the team's salary structure.<ref name=kurkjian_03111991/> He 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.<ref name=stevenson_10111990>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn's request for a contract renegotiation was denied.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1990–1992
Gwynn in 1990 was accused by some teammates of being selfish and caring more about his batting average than winning.<ref name=kurkjian_03111991>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Naiman, Porter 2003, p. 126.</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> First baseman Jack Clark, most notably, stated that Gwynn should be swinging with runners in scoring position instead of bunting and protecting his batting average.<ref name=kurkjian_03111991/> Clark did not approve of Gwynn bunting with runners on first and second with nobody out, believing he was trying to either bunt for a hit or get credit for a sacrifice if he failed. On the other hand, Gwynn felt he was advancing runners for the team's "game changers"—Clark and Joe Carter—which was consistent with McKeon's style.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Gwynn said he resorted to bunting to advance the runners because he was not a good pull hitter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "No one bothers Tony Gwynn because he wins batting titles, but the Padres finish fourth or fifth every year", said Clark, who also stirred controversy on his prior teams.<ref name=kurkjian_03111991/><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> Teammates Mike Pagliarulo and Garry Templeton sided with Clark,<ref name=schwartz_05031991/> who also said Gwynn was "Template:Convert overweight", leading to his lower stolen base total.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref>
Stung by the criticism, Gwynn was miserable the rest of the season and became withdrawn and distrustful among his teammates. Conscious of being perceived as selfish, he altered his hitting style by attempting to pull the ball to move runners in situations where he would normally hit to the opposite field.<ref name=kurkjian_03111991/><ref name=schwartz_05031991>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> Rumors that he might be traded affected his play.<ref name=center_9091/> In September, Gwynn was upset when a figurine of his likeness was hanging in effigy in the Padres' dugout,<ref name=nightengale_03051991/> and race became an issue due to the undercurrent of lynchings being evoked with Gwynn being African-American and Clark being Caucasian.<ref name=smith_03031991>Template:Cite news</ref> The Padres said a groundskeeper was responsible, but Gwynn believed it was a cover-up.<ref name=nightengale_03051991>Template:Cite news</ref> Clark denied any involvement.<ref name=smith_03031991/> After breaking his right index finger mid-month in Atlanta while trying to make a catch at the wall, Gwynn missed the final 19 games of the season.<ref name=center_9091/> He left the team for the season to avoid contact with the media and teammates.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> He was further upset that neither management nor other teammates came to his defense at the time.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> He later regretted saying he wanted to avoid his teammates in general instead of being more specific which ones he was referring to.<ref name=kurkjian_03111991/> "It just involved one great guy, and that's Tony Gwynn, and anything they want to say about Tony Gwynn is going to be news. It got all blown out of proportion", Carter said.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> Gwynn countered, "I've been doing the same things my whole career, playing the same way. Now, why is it an issue? Because Jack Clark says it is."<ref name=suntimes_10111990>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> Gwynn finished the season batting .309, ranking sixth in the league but the lowest average of any full season in his career;Template:Efn<ref name=kurkjian_03111991/> he had entered the season with a .332 career average.<ref name=stevenson_10111990/> However, his 72RBI that season were a then-career high.<ref name=suntimes_10111990/> He also began experiencing soreness and swelling in his left knee. The cartilage under his kneecap was wearing out, which doctors attributed to his playing basketball and baseball year-round for seven years from high school through college.<ref name=center_10032001/><ref name=center_9091>Template:Cite news</ref>
Gwynn and Clark said they could continue to play together, but Clark signed with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in the offseason.<ref name=kurkjian_03111991/><ref name=smith_03031991/><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> Gwynn felt appreciated after he was signed to a three-year contract extension for $12.25 million, including a $1 million signing bonus.<ref name=kurkjian_03111991/> McKeon praised Gwynn, saying, "He's one of the most unselfish players I've ever managed. In '89, when he was going for a batting title, he was giving himself up to move runners along." Dick Williams, who managed Gwynn from 1982 through 1985, said of Gwynn, "I don't think I've ever had a player who worked harder, cared more and was more deserving of his awards."<ref name=kurkjian_03111991/> Clark continued criticizing him, which Gwynn attributed to jealousy.<ref name=nightengale_03051991/> In response, Gwynn knocked Clark: "Let's talk about him walking 104 times, being a No. 4 hitter. Let's talk about his not flying on team flights. Let's talk about him getting booted out of games on a called strike three."<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> In 1992, Gwynn sympathized with Clark, who filed for bankruptcy after bad loans by his agent. "I really appreciated the things Tony said about my situation", Clark said.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref>
Template:Quote box Gwynn, in 1991, passed Gene Richards as the Padres' all-time leader in steals and triples.<ref name=center_9091/> He reached a season-high batting average of .373 in June,<ref name=center_9091/> and late in the month was among the league leaders in RBIs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His left knee began causing him problems before the All-Star break, and he had been suffering from shin splints as well.<ref name=center_9091/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He injured his left knee on August 5 at Houston while sliding into second base. He played through the injury, missing just one game over the next Template:Frac weeks. He had fluid drained from his knee on August 31 and played just once in the week that followed while surgery was discussed. He attempted to finish the season but lasted just five more games.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean out the knee and smooth the articular cartilage, missing the final 21 games of the year.<ref name=center_9091/> Gwynn led the league in hitting at .326 late in August and had enough plate appearances already to qualify for the title, when many people—including his father and Padres announcer Jerry Coleman—advised him to take care of his knee and secure another batting title. However, Gwynn was still reeling from Clark's criticism of his conditioning and selfishness and wanted to continue playing. Gwynn finished the season ranked third in batting at .317, behind Terry Pendleton (.319) and Hal Morris (.318).<ref name=jenkins_06122015/><ref>Chandler, Swank 2012, p. 333.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the All-Star Game, he hit just .243.<ref name=center_9091/>
In 1992, Gwynn ended the season on the DL for the third straight year. On September 8, in a 16-inning game in San Francisco, he had the third five-hit game of his career and his first since 1987. In the same game, he sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee and played just four more innings the rest of the season. He required arthroscopic surgery on the knee.<ref name=center_92/> 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 (known later as Qualcomm Stadium).<ref name=jenkins_10012001>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, Gwynn considered himself to be an accomplished hitter, content to hit singles and doubles.<ref name=rhoden_07302007>Template:Cite news</ref> Williams called Gwynn "a big guy" and challenged him to hit for more power.<ref name=center_92/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He chided Gwynn for using a "toothpick" for a bat.<ref name=center_92/> His encounter with Williams spurred him to think more about hitting, and he began to hit for more power.<ref name=rhoden_07302007/> "I've never been a home run guy, never been a big RBI guy, but from that point to the end of my career, I was much better at it", said Gwynn.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1993–1997
Gwynn entered the 1993 season anticipating that he would be better after his past two surgeries, and he had also incorporated Williams' advice into his swing. The Padres lost 101 games that year for the team's worst record during his career.<ref name=center_93/> They finished last in the division, behind even the Colorado Rockies, who were an expansion team in their inaugural season.<ref>Staples, Herschlag 2007, p. 388.</ref> San Diego that season had traded most of its star players—including Fred McGriff, Gary Sheffield, and Tony Fernández—in fire sales.<ref name=olney_06162014/> Gwynn finished with a .358 average, the then-second best average of his career, but Colorado's Andrés Galarraga won the title at .370.<ref name=center_93/> Gwynn batted .587 on pulled balls, compared to his .315 in 1991 before Williams' pointers.<ref name=marchman_06162014/> He was affected early in the season by a sprained thumb, but he hit .400 (76-for-190) over the second half of the season.<ref name=center_93/> On June 10, Gwynn missed the opportunity to hit for the cycle when manager Jim Riggleman replaced him in the seventh inning of a 14–2 rout against the Dodgers after he had hit for a home run, double, and triple in his three prior at-bats. Riggleman was not aware that he needed a single to complete the cycle. Still wary of Clark's earlier criticism that he was selfish, Gwynn did not contest his removal,<ref name=tsullivan_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> which angered his manager when he found out after the game.<ref>Chandler, Swank 2012, p. 335.</ref> On August 4 against the Giants, Gwynn had the only six-hit game of his career. He might have gone 7–for–7 if not for an excellent play at first base by Will Clark.<ref name=center_93>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn recorded his 2,000th hit with a single off Colorado lefthander Bruce Ruffin on August 6.<ref name=verducci_08091999/> His last game was September 5 before undergoing arthroscopic surgery to clear "loose bodies" from his knee. It was the fourth consecutive year his season ended early, and the third straight season it was due to left knee surgery.<ref name=center_93/>
After the season, Gwynn's father, Charles, died of heart problems at the age of 57.<ref name=rhoden_10011996/><ref name=olney_06162014/><ref name=friend_06172014/> Two days earlier, Charles had argued with Gwynn that he should leave San Diego, questioning the Padres' commitment to winning. Gwynn eventually concluded, "No, I like it here, I should stay."<ref name=verducci_08091999/><ref name=center_92>Template:Cite news</ref> He contemplated leaving baseball after his father's death; however, he recalled his father always telling him to "never be a quitter, work hard".<ref name=rhoden_10011996/>
For years during Gwynn's career, media preseason predictions declared that "this season" he would become the first player to hit .400 since Williams in 1941.<ref name=thorn_et_al>Template:Cite book</ref> Relatively healthy in 1994,<ref name=olney_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn batted .394, his career-high and the highest in the National League since Bill Terry hit .401 in 1930.<ref name=goldstein_06162014/> He also had a league-leading .454 OBP.<ref name=madden_06162014/> From April 22 through the 24 against Philadelphia, he had eight consecutive hits and reached base nine straight times, tying Padres records held by Winfield and Bip Roberts, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=center_94/> Gwynn was batting .383 at the All-Star break; however, talk of a strike by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) was looming, and he wanted to get to .400 before that date.<ref name=center_94>Template:Cite news</ref> At the 1994 All-Star Game in front of the national television audience, Gwynn scored the game-winning walk-off run for the NL during the bottom of the 10th inning to seal the 8–7 victory, sliding into home plate from first base to barely beat the throw and tag following a Moises Alou double.<ref>Kingdon 2023, p. 99–100</ref> He hit .423 over 28 games in the second half, and heated up to .475 through 10 games in August, when the season ended prematurely on August 11 due to the baseball strike.<ref name=center_94/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was 6-for-9 in the last two games and 3-for-5 in the eventual finale, falling short of batting .400 by three hits.<ref name=center_94/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Fans were awaiting an end to the strike and for Gwynn to resume his quest for .400, but hopes of the season restarting were dashed when the World Series was canceled.<ref name=center_94/> He later commented, "I'm not unhappy or bitter that the strike came. I look at it this way: I would have sooner fell short due to the strike than if I would have hit .400 and then the strike came. Then people would have thought I would have collapsed down the stretch, instead of being at .390 when the strike came and being so close."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> That year, Gwynn pulled the ball with greater regularity.<ref name=krasovic_081995/> He was 10th in the league with a slugging percentage of .568, which was also his career-high.<ref name=krasovic_081995/><ref name=corcoran_06162014>Template:Cite magazine</ref> His 12 homers in 419 at-bats was a higher rate than in 1986, when he hit a then-career high 14 homers in 642 at-bats.<ref name=krasovic_081995>Template:Cite journal</ref> He won another batting title (.368) in 1995. For the second straight year, he did not go longer than two games without a hit. He led the NL in batting with runners in scoring position (.394), and he had a then-career high 90 RBI.<ref name=br_career/><ref name=center_95>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn hit in 15 straight games in July, his longest hitting streak since his 18-game run in 1988. He hit 28-for-65 (.431) with 15 RBI during the streak.<ref name=center_95/> Although he missed batting .400 in 1994, he batted .403 during a 179-game stretch between July 3, 1993, and May 9, 1995.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1996, the Padres won the division with 91 wins and returned to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.<ref name=rhoden_10011996/><ref name=jaffe_06162014/><ref name=mcneal>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn called it the worst injury season of his career. His hurt heel in April was diagnosed as an inflamed bursa sac. He tried multiple shoes to alleviate the pain, and was on the DL for a month at midseason. He played the rest of the year in pain, and surgery after the season revealed a 40 percent tear (or fraying) at the top of his right Achilles' tendon.<ref name=center_10032001/> On September 28, Gwynn hit a patented single between third base and shortstop to score two runs and break a 2–2 tie in the eighth against the Dodgers, clinching a playoff berth for the Padres. He called it his most memorable regular-season hit until his 3,000th career hit.<ref name=mcneal/> Gwynn's brother, Chris, also played for San Diego that season and hit the game-winner in the season finale in extra innings, completing a three-game sweep over Los Angeles to win the division. Chris had only hit .169 entering the game, and some fans were convinced that he was on the team only because of his brother. Earlier in the week, Gwynn had criticized fans for booing his brother.<ref name=rhoden_10011996/> "Today, I'm just Chris Gwynn's anonymous brother," said Gwynn, who also won his seventh batting title that day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although he was four plate appearances (PAs) short of the minimum to qualify for the title, MLB Rule 10.22(a)—which also came to be known as the Tony Gwynn rule—allowed hitless at-bats to be added to his record to qualify. Gwynn, who batted .353 in 498 PAs, would have dropped to .349 with the extra at-bats, still five points better than second-place Ellis Burks' .344.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the postseason, the Padres were swept by the St. Louis Cardinals in the opening round.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/>
In April 1997, Gwynn signed a three-year contract extension for $12.6 million.<ref name=chass_06292001>Template:Cite news</ref> Recovered from his Achilles problem the year before, he was able to plant his front foot to pull inside pitches.<ref name=sn_07281997/> That season, Gwynn reached career highs with 17 home runs and 119 RBIs. He batted .372 for his eighth batting title, second only to Ty Cobb (12).<ref name=thorn_et_al/> He led the NL in hits for the seventh time, tying Rose's record. The 220 hits led the majors and was a new team record. Gwynn led the majors with a .459 average with runners in scoring position.<ref name=br_career/><ref name=naiman_porter_p251>Naiman, Porter 2010, p. 251.</ref> In his 16th season, he became the oldest major leaguer at age 37 to reach 100 RBIs for the first time.<ref name=naiman_porter_p251/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His RBI total was the second-highest in club history.<ref name=naiman_porter_p251/> He also hit a Padres record of 49 doubles, ranking second in the league,<ref name=br_career/><ref name=naiman_porter_p251/> and established a career-best of 324 total bases.<ref name=corcoran_06162014/> On June 7, Gwynn hit his 100th career home run off of Donne Wall of Houston, becoming the third Padre to reach the mark.<ref name=naiman_porter_p251/> He was batting .402 on July 14, the latest in the season he had ever been at .400.<ref name=center_97>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, his average tailed off as he suffered from kidney stones later in the month,<ref name=center_97/> and he also battled problems with his left knee that required postseason surgery.<ref name=center_10032001/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1998–2001
In 1998, Gwynn batted .321 and helped the Padres win a franchise-record 98 games and their second pennant.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> He began the year with his first-ever opening-day home run,<ref>Chandler, Swank 2012, p. 247.</ref> and continued his trend of hitting for more power with 16 homers for the season.<ref name=thorn_et_al/> The Padres reached the World Series in 1998 after defeating Houston and Atlanta in the playoffs. However, the Padres lost to the Yankees in a four-game sweep, despite Gwynn hitting .500 (8-for-16) in the series;<ref name=goldstein_06162014/><ref name=madden_06162014/> the rest of the team batted only .203.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> Gwynn hit a two-run 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.<ref name=jenkins_06292007-2>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=mlb_11172010/> "That's the biggest game in the world, a World Series game. And the fact that it was in New York in Yankee Stadium. I'll remember that forever", he proclaimed.<ref name=mlb_11172010>Template:Cite news</ref>
Calf injuries forced Gwynn to miss 44 games in the first half of 1999.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> At the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park in Boston, he escorted Williams to the mound, and steadied his friend in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.<ref name="Death"/><ref name=silva_06162014/> It was Gwynn's most memorable All-Star moment in his career.<ref name=jenkins_10012001/> As he approached 3,000 career hits in July, two unidentified Padres said there was too much focus on reaching the milestone. Additionally, Jim Leyritz, after being traded from the Padres to the Yankees, said Gwynn lacked the "intangibles" of a team player.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the next game in San Diego, Padres fans gave Gwynn a standing ovation after he was removed for a pinch runner following his 2,994th hit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He approached 3,000 hits on the road, first playing in a series against the Cardinals. On August 4, he collected three hits, including a grand slam, to reach 2,998 hits, receiving a standing ovation from the St. Louis crowd after each hit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following day, Gwynn collected hit number 2,999 in the same game that the Cardinals' Mark McGwire hit his 500th home run.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn got his 3,000th hit on August 6 with a single in the first inning off Montreal Expos pitcher Dan Smith. He had four hits in the game. His 2,000th hit was also on August 6, which is also the birthday of Gwynn's mother.<ref name=chass_08071999>Template:Cite news</ref> He was the 11th player to collect all 3,000 hits with one team. George Brett of the Kansas City Royals and Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers had been last to achieve the milestone with a single team in 1992.<ref name=chass_08071999/> Gwynn's chase was prolonged by a left calf injury that season which sent him to the DL twice, forcing him to miss 44 games.<ref name=center_10032001/> He reached 3,000 in 2,284 games, the third-fewest games among the 22 players to reach the mark behind Ty Cobb (2,135) and Nap Lajoie (2,224).<ref name=chass_08071999/> No player born after 1900 got there in fewer games or at-bats (8,874) than Gwynn.<ref name=stark_06162014/>
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.<ref name=chass_06292001/><ref name=center_00>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was limited to playing just 36 of the Padres' first 71 games, and he started only 26 games in right field.<ref name=center_00/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He batted .408 from May 19 to June 23 to raise his average from .196 and finish the season at .323.<ref name=center_00/> Gwynn had microfracture surgery performed on his knee, which involved tiny holes being created to promote cartilage growth.<ref name=center_00/>
The Padres bought out their $6 million option on Gwynn for 2001, paying him $2 million instead, and he became a free agent for the first time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn received offers from a few different teams, and he was pressured by his son Tony Jr. to sign with a team that had a strong chance of winning a World Series championship, which included the Cleveland Indians.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After weeks of negotiation that were at times bitter, Gwynn re-signed with the Padres for 2001, agreeing to a one-year, $2 million contract with a chance to earn another $3.7 million in performance incentives.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, he was hampered that season by problems to his right leg, which had been his "good leg",<ref name=chass_06292001/><ref name=center_01>Template:Cite news</ref> and was limited to just 17 games on the field.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> In the first half of the season, he missed 64 games due to a right hamstring that resulted in two stints on the DL.<ref name=center_10032001/><ref name=center_01/> After returning, he began having problems with his right knee. He was limited to pinch-hitting duties and started only one game after mid-July due to a torn meniscus in the right knee.<ref name=center_10032001>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=center_01/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gwynn formally announced on June 28 that he would retire at the end of the season, and subsequently received an ovation at each stadium the Padres visited.<ref name=center_01/> He was honored as a non-playing squad member at the 2001 All-Star Game.<ref name=center_01/> During the game, he and Cal Ripken, who had announced his retirement nine days before Gwynn,<ref name=chass_06292001/> were presented the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award by Commissioner Bud Selig.<ref name=chass_06112001>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 6, 2001, at Qualcomm Stadium, Gwynn had a pinch-hit RBI double off Gabe White of Colorado for the final hit of his career.<ref name=sdut_01102007>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He considered starting the next day in the final game of the season, but he was not confident he could handle a fly ball. In his final appearance, he pinch hit in the ninth inning, grounding out to shortstop; earlier in the same game, teammate Rickey Henderson joined Gwynn in the 3,000 hit club.<ref>Chandler, Swank 2012, pp. 337–340.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although he was limited to only 112 plate appearances, Gwynn finished the season with a .324 average, his 19th consecutive season batting at least .300.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/><ref name=center_01/>
Player profile
Batting style
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.<ref name=glanville_06252015>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Will 1990, p. 191.</ref><ref name=murray_08171993/> He rarely struck out and generally did not draw many walks.<ref name=glanville_06252015/><ref name=bostrom_12252006/><ref name=neyer_01032015>Template:Cite news</ref> His philosophy was to "see the ball and react".<ref>Will 1990, p. 210.</ref> He 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. Over the course of the season, he figured it would result in success.<ref name=verducci_06255007/> Gwynn was known for his pitch recognition and ability to adjust his hitting based on defensive alignments, using his peripheral vision to anticipate plays.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/><ref name=elderkin_07081997/><ref name=will1990_p181>Will 1990, p. 181.</ref><ref name=kuenster2006_p406/><ref name=kuenster2010_p407/> He 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn particularly enjoyed hitting with a runner on first base because it meant the second baseman or shortstop had to play closer to second base to prepare for a double play or stolen base attempt, thereby opening a larger gap between infielders that Gwynn was more easily able to exploit.<ref>Posnanski 2021, p. 41–42.</ref> Gwynn's eye and pitch recognition also contributed to a low amount of times being hit by a pitch in his career (24) because he was usually able to dodge incoming pitches quickly enough.<ref>Kurkjian 2016, p. 46.</ref>
Among Gwynn's primary strengths was his patience in allowing the ball to reach the strike zone before starting his swing.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/> His 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.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/> According to Adam Dunn, Gwynn was the only left-handed batter who could successfully hit Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson's slider.<ref>Kurkjian 2016, p. 155.</ref> Gwynn started with a Template:Convert, Template:Convert aluminum bat in college. As a junior, he had to replace it after it got dented, and came across a Template:Convert, Template:Convert model that was more to his liking.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At his first minor league stop at Walla Walla, the shortest bat they had was Template:Convert. To Gwynn's surprise, he uncharacteristically started hitting home runs. On their first road trip to Eugene, Oregon, he acquired a couple of Template:Convert bats that he could better handle.<ref name=verducci_06255007/><ref name="buchan95"/> In the first 12 years of his MLB career, Gwynn used a Template:Convert, Template:Convert bat. In his final eight years, he employed a Template:Convert, Template:Convert bat,Template:Refn<ref name=sn_07281997>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=kurkjian_12282006>Template:Cite news</ref> adding the Template:Convert to improve his coverage on the outside of the plate.<ref name=sn_07281997/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn's preferred bat material was wide-grain ash wood.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 237. (Chuck Schupp)</ref> He wanted his wooden bats light like his aluminum ones in college. Instead of having the barrel of his bats shaved, as many batters do, he had them "cupped", with the end of the barrel hollowed out like the bottom of a wine bottle.<ref name=will1990_p196>Will 1990, p196.</ref> His small hands required that he use thin-handled bats.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/> His bat control made him a good hit-and-run batter,<ref>Will 1990, p. 180.</ref> although some former teammates complained he would swing for a hit even when a player was trying to steal, depriving his teammate of a stolen base.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Gwynn was able to hit the ball to all fields,<ref name=elderkin_07081997>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=bodley_07272007>Template:Cite news</ref> but liked to hit balls the opposite way to the left, between third base and shortstop. He dubbed it the "5.5 hole", since baseball scorekeeping designates third base using a 5 and shortstop with a 6.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn preferred an outside pitch, waiting as long as possible and using his strong wrists to quickly hit the ball.<ref>Will 1990, p. 204.</ref> He 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.<ref name=madden_06162014/><ref>Will 1990, pp. 172, 176.</ref> Opposing outfielders typically played him deep.<ref>Will 1990, p. 205.</ref> Gwynn became a complete hitter after following Ted Willams' advice to drive inside pitches instead of finessing them,<ref name=kuenster2006_p409/> which Gwynn learned he could do without sacrificing his average.<ref name=bodley_07272007/> He initially thought that home runs were "boring", and he concentrated on his craft of making contact. However, Williams said 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.<ref name=keisser/> Applying Williams' approach, Gwynn employed the entire field, and was no longer satisfied with mostly hitting to left field.<ref name=kennedy_06222014/> His home runs increased, and he drove in more runs.<ref name=silva_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Forty-three of his 135 career home runs were in his final three full seasons (1997–1999).Template:Efn<ref name=keisser/> 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".<ref name=silva_06162014/><ref name=kennedy_06222014>Template:Cite news</ref> He and Williams became friends, and they often talked for hours about hitting.<ref name=neyer_01032015>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn lamented not having met Williams earlier and possibly adjusting his hitting approach sooner.<ref name=keisser/> Gary Sheffield, who was traded to the Padres in 1992, credited Gwynn's hitting instruction for raising his season batting average to .330 (up from a previous high of .294) and hence winning a batting title over his teammate Gwynn that year.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 208. (Gary Sheffield)</ref>
Physique
Gwynn's physical appearance belied his athleticism. He stood Template:Convert, thick around the middle and thighs.<ref name=vecsey_10141984/><ref name=will1990_p165/><ref name=ap_10211998/> His weight was listed as Template:Convert during his junior year of college,<ref name="wolfe29">Wolfe, 2014, p. 29.</ref> and Template:Convert when he was in the minor leagues in 1981.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 98. (Pete Brown)</ref> Even at his athletic prime when he could really run, he weighed around Template:Convert and was considered pudgy. His roly-poly frame was a self-described "body by Betty Crocker", a reference to the food product brand.<ref name=vecsey_10141984/><ref name=will1990_p165>Will 1990, p. 165.</ref><ref name=ap_10211998>Template:Cite news</ref> Towards the end of his breakout season in 1984, he conceded that his "extra weight hasn't helped me. My bat's slower than it has been all year." At the time, he attributed his weight gain to soft drinks: "It's killing me. It's always been a weakness. I've gotta cut down on the soda pop."<ref name=canepa_09131984/> Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times opined in 1993 that Gwynn's "deceptive" looks and failing to "look the part" contributed to his regularly being overlooked in the voting for league MVP.<ref name=murray_08171993>Template:Cite news</ref>
Gwynn was sensitive about his weight,<ref name=elderkin_07081997/> sometimes getting angry when a reporter discussed or asked about it.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 121. (Tom Krasovic)</ref> His knee injuries over his career prompted the Padres organization, media, and fans to question his weight, conditioning, and eating habits.<ref name=center_10032001/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, he rejected the notion that his weight led to his injuries.<ref name=center_10032001/> Gwynn contended that his weight was only a topic when he was struggling, and not when he was performing.<ref name=nightengale_07182007>Template:Cite news</ref> He also believed that the criticism stemmed mainly from his not fitting people's profile of what an athlete should look like. He said he had "a football player's body", with his father, grandfather and brothers also being big.<ref name=center_10032001/> Gwynn said his hitting style put a lot of torque on his knees. He started experiencing problems with his legs in 1986, when he suffered from shin splints. In his career, he had 13 operations, including eight involving his knees.<ref name=center_10032001/> Padres hitting coach Merv Rettenmund blamed the fields at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, and Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati (which he said were "like cement") for causing extreme swelling on Gwynn's left knee which necessitated draining gallons of cartilage liquid.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 214. (Merv Rettenmund)</ref> Citing discussions with people in the sports medical community, San Diego sportswriter Tom Krasovic believed that the health problems on Gwynn's legs caused by the heavy bodyweight load were an obstacle to greater success; Krasovic posited that if Gwynn had sustained his lower early career weight, he would've challenged Pete Rose's career hits record.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 118–119. (Tom Krasovic)</ref> Limited by injuries, he played over 135 games just once in his final 11 seasons.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> Towards the end of his career, Gwynn had to have his knee drained twice per week to be in a condition to play.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 153. (Kevin Towers)</ref> 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.<ref name=center_10032001/> His actual weight is generally thought to have been under-reported during the latter part of his career, when it was officially listed between Template:Convert.<ref name=marchman_06162014/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Base stealing and fielding
Gwynn was a leading base stealer in the first half of his career.<ref name=madden_06162014/> He was also able to hit triples, reaching double figures four times.<ref name=corcoran_06162014/><ref name=sheehan_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> As he became slower in later years while his body grew and his injuries mounted,<ref name=kuenster2010_p407/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn would anticipate pitchers' moves and would sometimes steal bases by breaking for second base before the pitcher started delivering the ball to the hitter.<ref name=kuenster2010_p407>Kuenster 2006, p. 407</ref> Defensively, he improved considerably and was among the best right fielders at quickly going to the line, cutting the ball off, and throwing to second base. He worked on his defense, constantly checking right field walls in ballparks to study how balls bounced off them. His running ability also helped him on defense.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/><ref name=spencer_01092007/> When he entered the majors, Gwynn was not a very good right fielder nor an accurate thrower;<ref name=center_86/> in college, he could not even throw the ball from center field to second base without it hopping first.<ref name=verducci_06255007/> Dave Dravecky, Gwynn's teammate in the Padres minor league farm system, said that when Gwynn began his tenure with the Double-A Amarillo Gold Sox, he had "some of the worst throwing mechanics I have ever seen", and that "his throws from the outfield were limp balloons."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> For a long time, he worked on his defense harder than he did his hitting.<ref name=center_86/> Early on in Gwynn's major league tenure, Clyde McCullough coached Gwynn on fielding every night to strengthen his arm; McCullough repeatedly had Gwynn practice picking up the ball in right field and throwing it to second base.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 143. (Jack McKeon)</ref> Pitching coach Tom House taught Gwynn the proper grip and throwing motion, and Rob Picciolo hit several ground balls and fly balls to Gwynn.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 208. (Dick Williams)</ref> While with the Padres, Gwynn returned to SDSU in the fall every offseason to work on his fielding with an emphasis on foot positioning; he had the assistant coaches hit fly balls to him in the outfield, and he also fielded from the outfield during the team's live batting practice.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 52–53. (Jim Dietz)</ref> He was most proud of his five Gold Gloves,<ref name=canepa_06222014/> calling his first one from 1986 his most treasured piece of memorabilia.<ref name=verducci_06255007/> He became a perennial leader in outfield assists.<ref name=murray_08171993/> Although his arm was not particularly strong, Gwynn learned to use his body to build momentum into his throws.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Work ethic
Gwynn was hard-working and known for his work ethic and devotion to extra batting practice;<ref name=goldstein_06162014/><ref name=keisser/><ref name=kennedy_06222014/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> on the day of a night game, Gwynn would commence batting practice at the ballpark in the early afternoon between twelve and two o'clock,<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 57. (John Maffei)</ref><ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 145. (Jack McKeon)</ref><ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 230. (John Boggs)</ref> and also do batting practice in the batting cage after the game.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 244–245. (Charlotte Jones)</ref> On the road, he stayed in his hotel room, studying video of his at-bats or playing video games.<ref name=canepa_06222014>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=nightengale_06162014_greatest>Template:Cite news</ref> In an era before laptops and tablets, Gwynn bought his own video equipment and lugged it from town to town along with tapes of his games.<ref name=kepner_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=nightengale_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> His wife traveled with a Betamax video cassette recorder that was the size of a suitcase to tape his at-bats.<ref name=verducci_06162014/> Still, the Padres were the last MLB team to hire a video coordinator.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/> Gwynn later invested in close to $100,000 in video equipment that he shared with his teammates.<ref name=crasnick_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> Few hitters were as meticulous as Gwynn with his detailed notebooks and videotape, which he spent hours studying.<ref name=thorn_et_al/> He studied pitchers, watching them in the bullpen and on television or video, to learn their tendencies on every count. Gwynn spent hours watching video and analyzing his swing frame by frame. He had one tape of each team, which included his at-bats against that team in the season.<ref name=posnanski_12212013>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Will 1990, pp. 221–224.</ref> Gwynn also used video to scout umpires, studying the size and shape of each individual umpire's strike zone.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "Tony taught me more about hitting than I ever taught him", said Merv Rettenmund, his hitting coach for nine years with the Padres.<ref name=kuenster2006_p409/> Gwynn was also not averse to lending advice to opponents, as Hall of Fame player Todd Helton remarked how Gwynn guided him during his second year with the Colorado Rockies, about the ideal way to look for the ball being thrown by the pitcher;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> similarly, after Gwynn's former teammate John Kruk was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, when the Padres and Phillies faced each other and Gwynn reached base with the opportunity to chat with Kruk (who was the first baseman), Gwynn offered Kruk verbal scouting reports for new pitchers on Kruk's NL East divisional opponents.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 93. (John Kruk)</ref> Gwynn was also involved in the Padres' front office affairs as a player; general manager Kevin Towers usually consulted Gwynn for input on potential trades, particularly regarding whether the incoming players' character would be a good fit for the team. In this capacity, Gwynn researched and interviewed people as necessary.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 152, 206–207. (Kevin Towers)</ref>
Personality
Template:Quote box Gwynn was friendly and accessible to both the media and fans.<ref name=cushman2006/><ref name=verducci_06162014/> Even on the occasions that he began an interview tight-lipped, he almost inevitably opened up and offered abundant material.<ref name=canepa_06222014/><ref name=crasnick_06162014/> He spoke with a twang in his high-pitched voice, often filled with loud, infectious, childlike laughter;<ref name="Death"/><ref name=jenkins_06152014/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=graney_06162014/> Chris Berman of ESPN called Gwynn's laugh the "best sound I've ever heard in my life".<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 250. (David Johnson)</ref> Gwynn possessed a cheerful personality, being friendly towards others while being critical of himself.<ref name=will1990_p165/><ref name=graney_06162014/> He considered himself "a good player ... but I knew my place. I was not a game-changer. I was not a dominant player".<ref name=tsullivan_06162014/> His demeanor was even-keeled; Rettenmund said, "You couldn't tell if [Gwynn had] gone 3-for-3 or 0-for-3."<ref>Kuenster 2006, pp. 409–410.</ref> Gwynn disliked arrogant people, and was uncomfortable with receiving praise and flattery.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 75. (Ken Davis)</ref> Gwynn was unimpressed by other people's social standing, wealth, or fame; he received offers to appear on Jay Leno's talk show on several occasions and declined all of them. Another time, he was invited to a White House dinner with the President and personally didn't care to attend, only obliging at his wife Alicia's insistence because she really wanted to go.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 76–77. (Ken Davis)</ref> After his father died in 1993, Gwynn followed his advice and became more outspoken and more of a team leader.<ref name=rhoden_10011996/>
Views on performance-enhancing drugs
Template:Quote box In 1989, Gwynn first expressed his concerns regarding the increasing usage of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in baseball with Bob Nightengale, the Padres reporter for the Los Angeles Times.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1995 when very few in the baseball world were outspoken about the matter,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn went public with his opposition to PEDs, and consequently received pushback for doing so from veteran players, including his own teammates.<ref name="nightengale"/> In 2003, Gwynn stated that half of position players in the league used amphetamines; this influenced MLB and the players' union to add "greenies" (a type of amphetamine) to their list of banned substances in 2005. In 2013, Gwynn also advocated harsher penalties for players caught using PEDs, saying that first-time offenders should have their contracts fully voided instead of merely receiving a 50-game suspension; he believed that such punishments would act as a deterrent to curb PED use around the league.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn however, supported Mark McGwire's inclusion into the Hall of Fame, defending his stance with the rationale that the league had "no rules" regarding the use of PEDs throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s; he also said that McGwire "dominated an era" from an on-field standpoint.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Legacy
Template:Very long section Template:Quote box Gwynn was a 15-time All-Star, voted 11 times by fans to be a starter,<ref name=bostrom_12252006>Template:Cite news</ref> the most by an NL outfielder, and tied with Reggie Jackson for the most among MLB outfielders.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gwynn accumulated 3,141 hits and a career batting average of .338, and hit .371 in two World Series.<ref name=madden_06162014/> He was lauded for his artistry at the plate,<ref name=posnanski_10192009/> and his Hall of Fame plaque refers to him as "an artisan with the bat".<ref name=verducci_06162014/> Jayson Stark labeled Gwynn as "the greatest bat artiste of his generation" and remarked that Gwynn achieving a .338 lifetime batting average during his era is "the equivalent of bicycling to the moon".<ref name="stark"/> Walter Leavy called Gwynn a "legendary artist", likening him to Pablo Picasso, and offered serious consideration of Gwynn as the greatest hitter ever.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Jason Quick recalled that in an interview with Gwynn about hitting, the latter was "describing art in the most passionate and beautiful way possible…It was like hearing Picasso talk about art...And Maya Angelou about poetry."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Tim Kurkjian referred to Gwynn as an artist and said "his bats were his magic brushes".<ref>Kurkjian 2016, p. 154.</ref> David Jones stated Gwynn had "unmatched hitting prowess,” comparing it to the artistry of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Claude Monet;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Troy Renck said that when he encountered Gwynn practicing, "it was as if I had stumbled into the recording studio to find Mozart."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Gwynn has the highest adjusted batting average of all-time with .342.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Barry Bonds, MLB's all-time home run leader, called Gwynn "the best hitter of my generation";<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> similar sentiments were echoed by Jayson Stark,<ref name="stark">Template:Cite news</ref> The Oklahoman sportswriter Berry Tramel,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Holland Sentinel sportswriter Dan D'Addona,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Esquire news editor Ben Collins.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Associated Press called him "arguably the best pure hitter of his generation".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux, against whom Gwynn had more hits than any other pitcher, called him "the best pure hitter...Easily".Template:Refn<ref name=mcneal/> A 1997 Sports Illustrated cover declared Gwynn as "The Best Hitter Since Ted Williams".<ref name=jaffe_06162014/>
Gwynn won eight NL batting titles, tying him with Honus Wagner for the league record— second to all-time major league leader Ty Cobb, who won 12 AL titles.<ref name=thorn_et_al/><ref name=spencer_01092007/> Gwynn and Cobb are the only MLB players with two separate runs of three or more straight batting titles.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 229. (John Boggs)</ref> Gwynn finished in the top 10 in batting for 15 consecutive seasons.<ref name=br_career/><ref name=spencer_01092007/> From 1984 though 1997, Gwynn finished in the top five in all but one season (1990), when he missed it by one hit.<ref name=br_career/><ref name=stark_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> He recorded five of the 14 highest season averages since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.<ref name=chass_06292001/> Gwynn hit above .300 in an NL-record 19 consecutive seasons, exceeded only by Cobb (23).<ref name=keisser/><ref name=center_01/> The only season Gwynn failed to bat .300 was his first, when he hit .289 in 54 games.<ref name=chass_06292001/> Seven times he batted over .350, the most of any player since World War II.<ref name=jaffe_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> He was the fourth player in MLB history to hit above .350 for five consecutive years.Template:Refn During that span (1993–1997), which was preceded by his first meeting with Williams, Gwynn averaged .368 while leading the league each season except 1993, when he hit .358 to finish second.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/><ref name=marchman_06162014/><ref name=chass_06292001/> The four consecutive NL batting titles he won starting in 1994 had not been matched since Rogers Hornsby won six straight beginning in 1920.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn is the only major leaguer to win four batting titles each in two separate decades,<ref name=naiman_porter_p178/> and he batted .351 over his final 10 seasons.<ref name=keri_06162014/> Six times he led the NL in both batting average and hits in a season,<ref name=center_84/> and five times he reached the 200-hit milestone.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name=neyer_01032015/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2005, Sporting News ranked Gwynn No. 57 on the list of their 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and he was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.<ref name=bostrom_12252006/> In 2019, he was listed at No. 95 on writer Joe Posnanski's list of the 100 greatest baseball players, published by The Athletic.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Using a methodology that combined "career WAR, Hall of Fame status, peak performance, and overall contributions to the game", ESPN ranked Gwynn No. 44 on its list of "Top 100 MLB players of all time" in 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=neyer_01032015/><ref name=sheehan_06162014/><ref name=posnanski_10192009>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2014, his career 65.0 WAR ranked 34th among outfielders, and a few above him had not yet been voted into the Hall of Fame.<ref name=swydan_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> While he had an on-base percentage of .388, he was one of only four players to hit .335 or more who did not have career .400 OBP.<ref name=posnanski_12212013/> During his career, he finished in the top-10 in the NL in OBP 10 times.<ref name=pouliot_06162014/> Gwynn's run production was another rap against him.<ref name=murray_08171993/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He exceeded 90 RBIs in a season just once, when he had 119 in 1997, but he batted .349 in his career with runners in scoring position.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "He was devastating with runners in scoring position. Impossible", former player Eric Davis said.<ref name=jenkins_06152014/>
Gwynn's .338 career average ranks 17th all-time.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/> It is the highest of any player who began his career after World War II,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the highest since Williams retired in 1960 with a .344 career average.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> They are the only ones of the top-17 to play after 1938.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/> Gwynn had the fourth-highest career average of any player with 3,000 hits,Template:Efn and the highest of anyone who was born after 1900.<ref name=stark_06162014/> Ever since MLB began tracking the statistic in the early 1990s, Gwynn holds the highest two-strike batting average at .302, which is 40 points above second-place Wade Boggs with .262.<ref>Kingdon 2023, p. 170.</ref> Playing in an era when around 75 batters struck out 100 times in a season, Gwynn never struck out more than 40 times a year.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/> He had eight seasons, including six consecutive, when he had fewer than 20 strikeouts.Template:Efn<ref name=stark_06162014/> Ten times in his career he finished the season as the hardest player in the NL to strike out.<ref name=sullivan_06222014>Template:Cite news</ref> Since 1975, Gwynn is one of only two players that batted .300 in a season while striking out at most once every 25 at-bats.Template:Efn He 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.<ref name=bostrom_12252006/><ref name=neyer_01032015/> He became more difficult to strike out later in his career, even as pitchers were growing bigger and stronger and throwing harder.<ref name=neyer_01032015/> He struck out three times in a game just once in his career, compared to his 297 career three-hit games.<ref name=graney_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.Template:Refn He did not draw many walks, but drew more walks than strikeouts in every season but his rookie year.<ref name=shaikin_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> Though he was not considered a power hitter, opposing managers chose to intentionally walk him nonetheless. He drew 203 intentional passes during his career, which was 50 percent more than his career home run total.<ref name=malinowski_06162014/>
On defense, Gwynn won five Gold Gloves in a six-year span.<ref name=marchman_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=swydan_06162014/> He stole 318 bases in his career, with a high of 56 and a four-year stretch when he averaged 40.<ref name=kurkjian_12282006/><ref name=keri_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> Only four players in MLB history had 300 steals and a career batting average of at least .338; Gwynn was the only one of the four to have played since 1928.<ref group=lower-alpha>The others are Cobb, Lajoie, and Tris Speaker.</ref><ref name=kurkjian_12282006/> He was also just the 10th player to retire with over 3,000 hits and 300 steals.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> Gwynn in 1999 was the first National League player to reach 3,000 hits since Lou Brock in August 1979. Seven American Leaguers reached the mark after Brock and before Gwynn; all but one played at least 400 games as a designated hitter.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> An NL player could not be a DH until 1997, when it was allowed for the few interleague games that were played in AL parks. Just six of Gwynn's first 3,000 hits came as a designated hitter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "If you want to do it in the National League, you have to play a position", he said. "It's been 20 years since anybody has been able to do it. That tells you how tough it is to do it in this league."<ref name=chass_08071999/>
Gwynn played his entire career for San Diego, a rarity for his generation in an era of free agency,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=perry_06162014/> and earned the nickname "Mr. Padre".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "In this era it doesn't happen. It takes a little bit of loyalty and luck. It also takes the organization wanting a player to stay with the club", said Gwynn.<ref name=chass_06292001/> He 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.<ref name=madden_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=krasovic_10072001/> Gwynn earned $47 million as player,<ref name=verducci_06162014/> but never received more than $6.3 million in a season, nor signed a contract valued over $12.25 million.<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> Only 17 MLB players have played at least 20 seasons with one club.<ref name=spencer_01092007/> He is widely considered the greatest Padres player ever.<ref name=bostrom_12252006/> "There's simply no bigger figure in baseball that San Diego's ever had", said former teammate Trevor Hoffman.<ref name=jenkins_06152014/> The San Diego Union-Tribune placed Gwynn No. 1 in their 2014 ranking of the city's most influential sports figures.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He eschewed the added fame that might have come from playing elsewhere,<ref name=nightengale_06162014_greatest/> 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.<ref name=miller_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn became a civic icon.<ref name=perry_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "It's rare, and becoming rarer, that one man is so identified with a franchise and a city as Tony is with San Diego and the Padres", said political columnist and baseball writer George Will.<ref name=perry_06162014/> Grantland called him "quite simply, one of the most beloved figures in the history of the city of San Diego."<ref name=keri_06162014/>
Gwynn's career paralleled that of Wade Boggs, who also debuted in the major leagues in 1982. Gwynn and Boggs were the premier contact hitters in an era dominated by home runs. They both won multiple batting titles—Gwynn's eight to Boggs' five—and each won four straight to join Cobb, Hornsby, and Carew as the only players to do so. Gwynn and Boggs each hit over .350 in four straight seasons, the only players to do so since 1931. They joined Brock and Carew as the only players whose careers ended after World War II who finished with 3,000 hits and fewer than 160 home runs.<ref name=verducci_08091999/><ref name=chass_08071999/> Gwynn, though, had a career slugging percentage of .459, higher than comparable contemporaries such as Boggs, Brock, Carew, and Rose. Among that group, he had more RBIs (1,138) than everyone but Rose.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Nicknamed "Captain Video",<ref name=posnanski_12212013/><ref name=br_career/> Gwynn used video to study his swing before it became common in baseball.<ref name=goldstein_06162014/> When he began the practice in 1983, MLB teams were years away from using video for scouting.<ref name=jenkins_06152014/> Hoffman said that Gwynn "revolutionized video in baseball";<ref name=jenkins_06152014>Template:Cite news</ref> likewise, Padres manager and general manager Jack McKeon called Gwynn the "father of the video in baseball".<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 144. (Jack McKeon)</ref> Gwynn prospered during the steroid era of baseball. While other players were transforming their physiques over a single offseason, his body grew pudgier and rounder. Though no longer the base stealer or defensive player he was early in his career, he continued to excel as a hitter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From 1995 through 2001, Gwynn hit a major league leading .350 while power hitters were recording the six highest single-season home run totals in MLB history.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Quote box Gwynn was known for his dignity and modesty.<ref name=verducci_06162014/><ref name=perry_06162014/> He received the 1995 Branch Rickey Award, the 1998 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award and the 1999 Roberto Clemente Award,<ref name=verducci_06162014/> which USA Today called "baseball's Triple Crown of humanity and kindness".<ref name=nightengale_06162014/> Tom Verducci of SI.com called Gwynn "an ambassador not just for the game of baseball but for mankind".<ref name=verducci_06162014/> Commissioner Selig called Gwynn "the greatest Padre ever and one of the most accomplished hitters that our game has ever known, whose all-around excellence on the field was surpassed by his exuberant personality and genial disposition in life".<ref name=shaikin_06162014/> Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux referred to Gwynn as "the greatest ambassador baseball ever had".<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 221. (Greg Maddux)</ref>
National Baseball Hall of Fame
On January 9, 2007, Gwynn was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, being selected on 532 out of 545 ballots (97.61%), the seventh highest percentage in Hall of Fame voting history.<ref name=spencer_01092007>Template:Cite news</ref> Upon receiving the news of being elected, Gwynn broke down into tears; his wife Alicia said this was the first time she ever saw him cry.<ref>Chandler, Swank 2012, p. 11.</ref> He was relieved that he did not exceed Tom Seaver's record of 98.8 percent. Gwynn considered his selection to be validation for the value of contact hitters, who are not as celebrated as power hitters.<ref name=tsullivan_06162014/> He was inducted alongside Cal Ripken Jr. on July 29, 2007. Ripken and Gwynn are two of the 46 players in the Hall of Fame who played their entire major league career for only one team. Both were elected almost unanimously in their first year of eligibility.<ref name=jenkins_06152014/>
Template:External media The Gwynn-Ripken induction weekend set a number of attendance records, which were announced during the ceremony. About 14,000 people visited the Hall of Fame Museum on July 28, a record number for a single-day. Baseball attendance for all games played on July 28 also set a single-day record. The induction ceremony also had the greatest collection of Hall of Famers present, 53 of the 61 living members.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A record crowd estimated at 75,000 attended the induction ceremony,<ref name=shaikin_06162014/> shattering the previous record of 25,000 in 1999. A week before his induction, Gwynn appeared on a Wheaties box.<ref name=nightengale_07182007/> Additionally, a giant 1984 replica Tony Gwynn Padres jersey measuring Template:Convert tall and Template:Convert wide was draped on the tower of the San Diego County Administration Building to commemorate the occasion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Other honors and tributes
In 1989, Gwynn was inducted into the San Diego State Aztecs Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1997, SDSU's baseball facility, Smith Stadium, was extensively renovated with $4 million from Padres owner John Moores. At Moores' request, the stadium was renamed Tony Gwynn Stadium.Template:Citation needed
Gwynn was inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame in 2002, and the team retired his No. 19 in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2002, Gwynn was also inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame, which honors athletes in San Diego.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was posthumously inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2007, a 9½-foot (Template:Convert), Template:Convert bronze statue of Gwynn was unveiled in the park just beyond Petco Park's outfield in an area named Tony Gwynn Plaza.<ref name=gwynn_joins_group/><ref name=schrotenboer_06082012/><ref name=shaikin_06162014/> The address of Petco Park is 19 Tony Gwynn Drive.<ref name=gwynn_joins_group/>
In 2014, the Mountain West Conference posthumously renamed its baseball Player of the Year Award to the Tony Gwynn Award.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2015, a segment of Interstate 15 in San Diego County was designated with road signage as "Tony Gwynn Memorial Freeway".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the 2016 All-Star Game in San Diego, MLB announced that the annual winner of the NL batting title would be known henceforth as the "Tony Gwynn National League Batting Champion".<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> On May 9, 2017, a memorial statue in his honor was unveiled at Lake Poway.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Post-playing career
Template:Infobox college coach
Following his playing career, Gwynn was the baseball head coach at SDSU for 12 seasons, compiling a 363–363 record including three Mountain West Conference championships and three NCAA tournament appearances.<ref name=kenney_06112014>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=wjp>Template:Cite news</ref> During his last season playing for the Padres in 2001, he lobbied for the coaching position after Jim Dietz announced he would step down after the 2002 season. In September 2001, 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn successfully lobbied for the SDSU Aztecs to play the first baseball game at Petco Park after the ballpark opened in 2004. The opponent was the Houston Cougars as a homage to the alma mater of Padres owner John Moores. The game drew a crowd of over 40,000 which set a record for the most attendees at a college baseball game; the Aztecs won.<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 68–69. (Kirk Kenney)</ref>
In the five-year period 2007–2011, the baseball team was penalized with a reduction in scholarships for failing to meet the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, Gwynn's teams improved their academic performance for the five years ending in 2012.<ref name=acee_07022012>Template:Cite news</ref> The Aztecs finished .500 or better in five of Gwynn's final seven seasons, and they qualified for the NCAA tournament three times in his final six seasons.<ref name=kenney_06112014/> As the Aztecs' coach, Gwynn oversaw the development of future major leaguers such as Justin Masterson and Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2009;<ref name=jaffe_06162014/> under Gwynn's coaching, Strasburg won the 2009 Dick Howser Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation's best college baseball player.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During his coaching tenure, Gwynn attracted uncharacteristically large crowds to games and other events, with most people coming mainly to see Gwynn (rather than the team and players) and possibly seek out his autograph; for this, San Diego Union-Tribune sportswriter Kirk Kenney said that Gwynn had "rock star status".<ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 67. (Kirk Kenney)</ref>
Gwynn's bout with cancer caused him to miss time intermittently. He missed the start of the 2012 season after undergoing surgery, and missed games in 2013 while involved with a clinical trial. Days before his death in June 2014, he was given a one-year contract extension although he had been on a leave of absence since March while recovering from cancer treatment.<ref name="Death"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Gwynn was also a broadcaster, working as a game and studio analyst for ESPN.<ref name=goldstein_06162014/> He also worked postseason games on TBS, and served as an expert analyst for Yahoo! Sports.<ref name=wjp/> He also served as color analyst for Padres games on Channel 4 in San Diego and later Fox Sports San Diego.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
.jpg){kind=link}
In May 2012, Gwynn joined a group led by movie producer Thomas Tull to bid on purchasing the Padres from Moores.<ref name=gwynn_joins_group>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn had no financial stake in the group,<ref name=schrotenboer_06082012>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=acee_06122012>Template:Cite news</ref> and Tull withdrew his bid in June.<ref name=acee_06122012/>
Head coaching record
Template:CBB yearly record start Template:CBB Yearly Record Subhead Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record entry Template:CBB yearly record subtotal Template:CBB yearly record end Source:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Personal life
Despite being born and raised in Southern California, Gwynn's family was from Tennessee,<ref name="sdm2023"/> and his voice was characterized as having a "country accent",<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> "Southern-esque drawl",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and "Arkansas accent".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Gwynn (along with his father) was fond of jazz music; he regularly listened to the genre prior to his baseball games, as well as during his 2010 radiation treatments to soothe his fear, anxiety, and unease. Kirk Whalum and Boney James were among the specific musicians he listened to.<ref name=friend_03252011/> When Gwynn and Darrin Jackson were teammates on the Padres between 1989 and 1992, the pair frequently did golfing, fishing, and ping-pong together.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn had vanity plates printed with "TGwynn" and "Padre19".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn had a fear of flying.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nightengale">Template:Cite news</ref>
Gwynn married Alicia Cureton on June 6, 1981, at a small Baptist church in Long Beach.<ref name="kenney">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Wolfe 2014, p. 35. (Nick Harsh)</ref> Alicia grew up in Southern California after having been born in Beaufort, South Carolina. When Gwynn played for the Padres, she frequently cooked her homemade family fried chicken recipe which the team ate in the clubhouse. When he coached at SDSU, she also cooked some for the fans, among whom it was popular. She later launched a food truck brand called "Gwynn Foods" centered around that recipe.<ref name="sdm2023"/> Gwynn was the father of R&B singer Anisha Nicole and major league outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr., whose major league debut (with the Milwaukee Brewers) and first major league hit on July 19, 2006, came 24 years to the day after his father's first major league hit—each Gwynn hit a double.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn's brother, Chris, was also a major league outfielder.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Both Chris and Tony Jr. played with the Padres during their careers.
Gwynn and his wife moved to Poway, California, in the mid-1980s. In 1991, they moved to a home in northern Poway, where he lived until his death.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1993, they bought a home in Fishers, Indiana, a suburb in Indianapolis where they lived during the baseball offseason for over a decade.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=wolfe2014_p156-159/> Alicia owned Steady Play, a sportswear business based in Fishers, and Studio 815, a recording studio in Indianapolis.<ref name=woods_06172014>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn enjoyed the relative obscurity he had in Indiana where he could live an ordinary life while virtually nobody in public knew or recognized him. He was a fan of the Indiana Pacers professional basketball team, often attending their games; he first got season tickets for them in the mid-1990s, two rows behind the Pacers bench.<ref name=wolfe2014_p156-159>Wolfe 2014, p. 156–159. (Dale Ratermann)</ref> On August 13, 1999, days after he collected his 3,000th career hit, Gwynn became the 3,000th season ticket holder of the Indiana Fever, a new women's basketball franchise.<ref name=woods_06172014/>
In 1997, Gwynn noticed forgeries of his signature on Padres memorabilia in an official team store in Encinitas, California.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After alerting MLB management, he assisted the FBI in verifying his signature and identifying fake autographs during their nationwide Operation Bullpen, which hunted down rings of memorabilia forgers.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Tobacco usage and health problems
While he was a member of the SDSU Aztecs baseball team, Gwynn started using smokeless tobacco (particularly dipping tobacco) on a regular basis, marking the beginning of his long-term addiction. The Gwynn family's legal case asserted that Gwynn was "deluged" with free samples from tobacco company campus sales representatives throughout his college baseball tenure. Over the next three decades, he consumed approximately two tins of the substance per day; the National Institutes of Health stated that Gwynn's tobacco usage was equivalent to smoking roughly four or five cigarette packs per day.<ref name="epstein">Template:Cite news</ref>
Gwynn had three procedures to remove noncancerous growths from his parotid gland beginning in 1997. In 2010, he was diagnosed with cancer of a salivary gland and had lymph nodes and tumors from the gland removed;<ref name=ap_10092010>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=brennan_06162014>Template:Cite news</ref> the cancerous location was the spot where Gwynn had placed his dipping tobacco daily for the prior three decades.<ref name="epstein"/> The operation left his face partially paralyzed on the right side, leaving him unable to smile.<ref name=friend_03252011/> Later that year, he underwent eight weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.<ref name=brennan_06162014/> He was declared cancer-free afterwards, and also regained his ability to smile.<ref name=friend_03252011/> Additional surgery was performed in 2012 to remove more cancerous growth and address nerve damage.<ref name=brennan_06162014/> Gwynn and his family attributed the cancer to his long-term dipping tobacco habit.<ref name=friend_03252011>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A few doctors stated that studies had not linked parotid cancer with use of chewing tobacco.<ref name=ap_10092010/><ref name=brennan_06162014/><ref name=friend_03252011/>
After his playing career ended, Gwynn's weight peaked at Template:Convert, 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. During that time, he was limited to a liquid diet and lost Template:Convert, all of which he regained after he resumed eating solid foods.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name=friend_06172014>Template:Cite news</ref> On June 16, 2014, Gwynn died at Pomerado Hospital in Poway of complications from his cancer. He was 54 years old.<ref name="Death">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=nightengale_06162014/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The night before, on Father's Day, he had gone into cardiac arrest, and he was rushed from his home to the hospital.<ref name=olney_06162014/><ref name=nightengale_06162014/>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was interred at Dearborn Memorial Park in Poway.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2018, Gwynn's family reached a confidential settlement with the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company after filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the company in 2016, charging that Gwynn had become "hopelessly addicted" to its products.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Impact on tobacco usage in MLB
Gwynn was referred to as the "poster player for banning smokeless tobacco."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Weeks before he died, Gwynn authored and endorsed a video message addressed to major and minor league players that warned of the health dangers of smokeless tobacco and urged them to quit or refrain from using the substance; Gwynn wanted to speak the part, but was physically unable to use his voice due to his cancer condition, so someone else spoke the message on his behalf.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gwynn's death brought the previously obscure issue of ubiquitous tobacco usage in MLB to the forefront of public awareness,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> prompting calls for a league-wide ban on the substance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A total of nine major anti-tobacco health organizationsTemplate:Efn co-wrote a letter to MLB commissioner Bud Selig and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) executive director Tony Clark; the letter included the following statements:<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
"As so many in baseball and in the media have expressed, Tony Gwynn was a true hero. We are deeply saddened that his life was ended far too soon by cancer that he attributed to his longtime use of chewing tobacco."{{#if:|
|}}{{#if:|
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
"There could be no better way to honor Tony Gwynn than to prohibit tobacco use throughout Major League Baseball."{{#if:|
|}}{{#if:|
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }} This ultimately led to a prohibition on smokeless tobacco for incoming players being written into the 2016 labor agreement, with existing players receiving a grandfather exemption.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Of the change, Gwynn's widow Alicia said, "I think it's a victory, and a positive step in the right direction."<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Additionally, veteran players Addison Reed<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Stephen Strasburg<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (who were both coached by Gwynn at SDSU), and Chris Sale<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> all chose to quit using tobacco upon learning about Gwynn's death.
Baseball achievements
Awards and honors
| Award/Honor | # of times | Dates | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL batting champion | 8 | 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 | <ref name=br_career/> |
| NL All-Star | 15 | 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 | <ref name=br_career/> |
| NL Silver Slugger | 7 | 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1997 | <ref name=br_career/> |
| NL Gold Glove | 5 | 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991 | <ref name=br_career/> |
| Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award | 1 | 2001 | <ref name=chass_06112001/> |
| Roberto Clemente Award | 1 | 1999 | <ref name=br_career/> |
| Lou Gehrig Memorial Award | 1 | 1998 | <ref name=br_career/> |
| Branch Rickey Award | 1 | 1995 | <ref name=br_career/> |
Records
| Accomplishment | Record | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| Most 5-hit games in a season | 4Template:Refn (1993) | <ref>Naiman, Porter 2010, p. 249.</ref> |
| Accomplishment | Record | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| Most batting titles | 8<ref group=lower-roman>Tied with Honus Wagner</ref> | <ref name=naiman_porter_p178>Naiman, Porter 2010, p. 178.</ref> |
| Most seasons leading league in hits | 7<ref group=lower-roman>Tied with Pete Rose</ref> | <ref name=naiman_porter_p178/> |
| Most consecutive seasons batting .300 or better | 19 | <ref name=keisser/> |
| Most seasons leading league in singles | 7 | <ref name=naiman_porter_p178/> |
| Accomplishment | Record | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest batting average, career | .338 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Highest batting average, season | .394 Template:Small | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Highest on-base percentage, season | .454 Template:Small | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most games played, career | 2,440 | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most at bats, career | 9,288 | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most plate appearances, career | 10,232 | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most runs scored, career | 1,383 | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most hits, career | 3,141 | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most hits, season | 220 Template:Small | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most total bases, career | 4,259 | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most doubles, career | 543 | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most doubles, season | 49 Template:Small | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most triples, career | 85 | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most triples, season | 13<ref group=lower-roman>Tied with Dave Roberts</ref> Template:Small | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most runs batted in, career | 1,138 | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most walks, career | 790 | <ref name=padres_top10/> | |
| Most stolen bases, career | 319 | <ref name=padres_top10/> |
Career statistics
- Bold indicates Padres all-time leader
| AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | FLD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .338 | 2,440 | 9,288 | 1,383 | 3,141 | 543 | 85 | 135 | 1,138 | 790 | 434 | 319 | 125 | .388 | .459 | .987 |
Source:<ref name=br_career/><ref name=padres_top10/>
Publications
Filmography
- Template:Cite AV media<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
Template:Portal Template:Div col
- Triple Play 97, a baseball video game featuring Gwynn on the cover
- DHL Hometown Heroes
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career batting average leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball hit records
- List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
- List of San Diego Padres team records
- List of San Diego State University people
- Major League Baseball titles leaders
- San Diego Padres award winners and league leaders
Notes
References
Sources
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
Citations
Further reading
- Mitchell, Jane. One on One: My Journey With Hall of Famers, Fan Favorites, And Rising Stars. Sweet Dreams Publishing, 2010. Template:ISBN.
External links
- Template:Official website
- Template:Bbhof
- {{#if:||* }}Career statistics from {{#invoke:String|join|Template:Space·Template:Space|{{#if: 115270
| MLB | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata MLB Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: 1150 | ESPN | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata ESPN Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: g/gwynnto01 | Baseball Reference | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata.shtml Baseball Reference Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: 1005166 | Fangraphs | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata Fangraphs Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: gwynn-001ant | Baseball Reference (Minors) | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata Baseball Reference (Minors) Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: G/Pgwynt001 | Retrosheet | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata.htm Retrosheet Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: | Baseball Almanac | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata Baseball Almanac Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}}}{{#if: g/gwynnto01 gwynn-001ant 1150 1005166 115270 G/Pgwynt001
Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata | | Template:Main other Error: Template:Baseballstats must contain at least one valid parameter name. }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters | check | unknown = Template:Main other | preview = Page using Template:Baseballstats with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | ignoreblank = y | br | brm | espn | fangraphs | id | mlb | retro | nobullet | almanac }}
- Template:Sabrbio
- Template:Find a Grave
- Template:YouTube, video feature on Gwynn's Hall of Fame induction and death
- Pages with broken file links
- 1960 births
- 2014 deaths
- African-American baseball players
- Amarillo Gold Sox players
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- Baseball players from Long Beach, California
- Basketball players from Long Beach, California
- Basketball players from Los Angeles
- Deaths from cancer in California
- Deaths from salivary gland cancer
- Gold Glove Award winners
- Hawaii Islanders players
- Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players
- Major League Baseball broadcasters
- Major League Baseball players with retired numbers
- Major League Baseball right fielders
- National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
- National League All-Stars
- National League batting champions
- San Diego Clippers draft picks
- San Diego Padres announcers
- San Diego Padres players
- San Diego State Aztecs baseball coaches
- San Diego State Aztecs baseball players
- San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball players
- Silver Slugger Award winners
- Tony Gwynn
- Walla Walla Padres players
- Point guards
- Sportspeople from Poway, California
- Sportspeople from Fishers, Indiana
- American men's basketball players
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen
- 21st-century African-American sportsmen
- Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni
- 21st-century American sportsmen