Latest
Statue of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn outside Petco Park in San Diego

Tony Gwynn, Mr. Padre, and the art of hitting

by

Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Tony Gwynn was born in Los Angeles in 1960 and grew up in Long Beach. He went to San Diego State on a basketball scholarship and played baseball there too. The Padres drafted him in 1981, and he reached the major leagues the next year.

The hitter

Gwynn became one of the best pure hitters in baseball history. He won eight National League batting titles and hit over .300 in 19 straight seasons. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, he was hitting .394 when play stopped. He finished his career in 2001 with a .338 average and 3,141 hits.

He was known for studying video of his at-bats, a habit that was unusual when he started. He stayed with the Padres for his entire career, turning down chances to leave, and helped lead them to the World Series in 1984 and 1998.

After playing

Gwynn became head baseball coach at San Diego State, where the stadium now bears his name. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, and a statue of him was unveiled outside Petco Park the same year.

Gwynn died in 2014 at 54 from salivary gland cancer, which he attributed to his years of using chewing tobacco. His death drew attention to the risks of smokeless tobacco in baseball. In San Diego, his number 19 is retired, and his statue is a gathering place for fans.

More in Business Leaders