In a time in which the San Diego Padres are one of the top four teams in MLB and are vying for a place in the World Series, it’s convenient to remember Tony Gwynn.
Mr. Padre played his entire 20-year career with San Diego and played in the only two World Series the franchise took part in, in 1984 and 1998.
He was a master of the art of hitting, which is arguably one of the hardest things to do (well) in professional sports.
In fact, there is a graph that proves he always excelled against top competition.
Tony Gwynn was ELITE pic.twitter.com/tRi2vmHKEE
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 20, 2022
The Atlanta Braves rotation dominated the 90s: Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine were the core of that group, three Hall of Famers who routinely made hitters look foolish.
Gwynn owned them all.
He wasn’t really a home run hitter, but managed to hit two homers against Glavine and Smoltz anyway.
He mustered nine extra-base hits against Maddux, one of the very best pitchers in the history of the game, and hit .429 off him.
There Was No One Like Gywnn
When it comes to hitting for average, there was no one like Gwynn during his playing days.
He won eight batting titles, and his lowest batting average output was .309.
Hitting .309 these days would probably put that hitter in contention for the batting title: how times change!
Gwynn retired after the 2001 campaign with a lifetime .338 batting average, 3,141 hits, 135 home runs, and 1,138 RBI.
He went to 15 All-Star Games (1984–1987, 1989–1999), won five Gold Glove Awards (1986–1987, 1989–1991) and seven Silver Sluggers (1984, 1986–1987, 1989, 1994–1995, 1997).
He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2007.
We lost him in 2014, but his contributions to the game of baseball have come to light again now that his beloved Padres are competing for the pennant.
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