OT- Tony Gwynn has passed

Submitted by chomz14 on
Wish this wasn't my first post. He was one of my faves as a kid. RIP

AlaskanYeti

June 16th, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^

Beat me posting to the board. Very sad indeed. One of the greatest hitters of all time. Definately shows the dangers of using chewing tobacco as he dies from mouth cancer. Apparently, he beat it once, but came back.

Jskohl88

June 16th, 2014 at 11:41 AM ^

Not only was he one hell of a ballplayer, but I had the pleasure of meeting him about 13 years ago, I believe his final season. I was a teenager traveling with my grandparents to see a bunch of ballparks, and the Padres were in San Francisco (which, by the way, is a beautiful place to see a game). He was signing autographs, doing the rounds with the fans, and he took like 5-7 minutes just to talk to me about how much he loved the game and how he'd miss it. Really seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

Cool story bro, I know. RIP Tony and condolences to your family. 

GoWings2008

June 16th, 2014 at 11:42 AM ^

is that he's WAY to young to have passed.  I'm shocked, quite honestly, and I hope his family is well supported.  Such a shame, great ball player.  RIP

HelloHeisman91

June 16th, 2014 at 11:44 AM ^

I never rooted for the Padres. I didn't watch any NL baseball growing up. I loved Tony Gwynn. Thanks, to This Week in Baseball and Sportcenter, for letting me see his swing.

BlastDouble

June 16th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^

personal letters to baseball players when I was young. He was one of the only ones to write me back. Seemed to be a true class act. Thanks Tony.

True Blue Grit

June 16th, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^

And a very cool story BTW - thanks for posting that.  I lived out in San Diego for a while in the 80's and he was THE big Padres star.  I saw him play on occasion.  But, my impression of him based on seeing interviews and reading articles in the paper from that time was he was a person of real class.  Sad to see him gone.  RIP Tony!

Blue In NC

June 16th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^

My favorite player when I was a kid even though I had no connection to him or the Padres. Always seemed very humble and obviously a great hitter. RIP.

Evil Empire

June 16th, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^

Sad to see him go so young.  I couldn't help but laugh at this final paragraph in ESPN.com's story on Gwynn's death:

After spending parts of just two seasons in the minor leagues, he made his big league debut on July 19, 1982. Gwynn had two hits that night, including a double, against the Philadelphia Phillies. After doubling, Pete Rose, who had been trailing the play, said to Gwynn: "Hey, kid, what are you trying to do, catch me in one night?"

Avon Barksdale

June 16th, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^

A legend gone way too soon. He passed today at 54, and yesterday Rodney Thomas (a former RB with the Titans) passed away at 41. It's crazy to see professional athletes going so soon.

LSAClassOf2000

June 16th, 2014 at 12:47 PM ^

Certainly, he was one of the best natural hitters - as well as one of the most intelligent - ever to don a baseball uniform. In 20 years, he struck out only a shade over 400 times, I believe, or only around 20 Ks per year. That's increible. Equally as incredible was that he hit .350 or better seven times in he career - that alone put him in rarified air. Off the field, as others have mentioned here and on Twitter, he was genuinely likeable and could talk baseball for hours and mesmerize people. Very sad, and so young. 

RIP Tony Gwynn. 

Louie C

June 16th, 2014 at 12:50 PM ^

When I was growing up, it seemed like Canseco, Fielder, McGwire, and the like got all they hype, while Gwynn just quietly did his thing. Hell of a hitter, and from many accounts and the way he carried himself, a real good guy. RIP.

alum96

June 16th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^

Yes he played in a modest market on the left coast.  Also San Diego was not really that good for long periods of time when he played. 

If a guy plays for the A's or San Diego or Seattle you just don't get the pub (the one exception seems to be the Dodgers and maybe Angels to a degree).   If he played in Philadelphia or Atlanta or anywhere east of the Mississippi he'd have been far more hyped.  Like everyone else says, one of the best pure hitters we'll ever see and from all accounts a gentleman.

aratman

June 16th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^

When I was in the Navy  I spent several years in San Diego and my two sports heros were Tony Gwynn and Junior Seau.  They both seemed to play there games the right way and I admired that.  I would have never guessed they both would be gone so young.  They both will be missed.

 

mGrowOld

June 16th, 2014 at 1:35 PM ^

FYI I just found out that my Terrritory Sales Manager for Southern California was a friend and roomate of Tony's way back in the day.  He shared an apartment with Gynn, Michael Cage and Bud Black (current Padres manager) and remained in contact with Tony up until the very end.

Even sadder was that the medical device my company sells could've potentially helped Tony had the surgeon utilized it on his first procedure but we werent approved yet by the hosptials Value Analysis Committee for usage as we were deemed at the time to be "too expensive".

mGrowOld

June 16th, 2014 at 2:33 PM ^

Your correct on the cancer - to clarify when I said "helped" I was referring to the post-op complications that occurred during his inital procedure.  It was a revision paratoid and they sacraficed the facial nerve. Not saying it could have saved him, but it could have helped clinically.  I didnt word that very clearly.

Medic

June 16th, 2014 at 2:22 PM ^

Absolutely heartbreaking news this morning. Arguably the best hitter in the game. He conducted himself with class and humility, took ridiculous amounts of time to chat with fans and sign autographs, stayed with one team his whole career and was an incredible mentor to SDSU players as a manager. 

Nobody meant more to the San Diego community and he is gone much much too soon.

Naked Bootlegger

June 16th, 2014 at 2:47 PM ^

The top 80's hitters were Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs.   I hated Wade Boggs.   I loved Tony Gwynn.   He had the smoother swing and seemed like a nicer guy.   RIP to the sweetest swing around.

96goblue00

June 16th, 2014 at 2:48 PM ^

Tony embodied class on the field and off the field. He sort of reminds me of Barry Sanders, an elite talent yet very humble, quiet, generous to fans, just an all around good guy.

Danwillhor

June 16th, 2014 at 3:15 PM ^

but just like him for some reason. I tend to gravitate to athletes who know they're amazing so they do their thing and keep quiet. Crazy sad news.

Sllepy81

June 16th, 2014 at 3:45 PM ^

also had the obvious San Diego vibe(listen to him and Marshall Faulk). Sucks to go out like this, wasn't his kid floating in the minors or majors? I quit following baseball after roidball

amichfan2

June 17th, 2014 at 4:04 AM ^

Sad to hear of his passing. He was a class act.

 

First post huh? What took you so long. Seems like someone who's been around so long should have thousands of points!

ShadowStorm33

June 17th, 2014 at 3:44 AM ^

Dead at 52. Should be a reminder to anyone considering dipping just how bad it is for you (if the fact it contains fiberglass, on purpose, wasn't enough)...