OT: RIP Tony Gwynn

btkpath · #1 06-16-2014, 02:02 PM

How tragic!!

One of the players that I admired most growing up. A sad day for all!

DerekMichael · #2 06-16-2014, 02:11 PM

Man. I just saw this. This is seriously depressing.

He always seemed like such a kind person, and he was by far one of the absolute best hitters of my lifetime. He is kind of larger than life down where I live, and I am sure to all baseball fans.

I remember when I was a kid, he was hitting something like .394 before the strike, isn't that right? Absolutely amazing.

RIP Mr. Gwynn. One of the all time greats, no question.

Sean · #3 06-16-2014, 02:23 PM

Yeah, that strike took away his chance to achieve something that would be remembered for ages. But he never showed any bitterness over his lost opportunity.

brianp-beme · #4 06-16-2014, 02:36 PM

I was a lifetime Dodgers fan even after having moved to San Diego for years. Tony was a big part of me gradually switching my allegience to the Padres--I loved the way he hit and played the game.

Even before I made the switch I was appluading whenever he got a hit when the Dodger came to town. And I love the fact the way he decided to become the manager for SDSU. I know the baseball community will miss him, but so will San Diego--he was practically royalty there.

Brian

deadballfreaK · #5 06-16-2014, 02:53 PM

I just heard the news and it makes me feel like throwing up. I knew he had cancer, but had the idea that he caught it in time and was in recovery. I am actually crying as I try to type. He was one of the truly great. Like Stan Musial you can't find anyone with a bad word to say about him. Wasn't he the one who practically invented watching video tape?

bbsports · #6 06-16-2014, 03:06 PM

All the net 54 members are right about Tony. He was one of the best natural hitters in the game & a great ambassadors to the game of baseball. According to reports, Gwynn had cancer in his right cheek, possibly caused by chewing tobacco. Chewing tobacco is as bad as smoking tobacco. Some of baseball fans out there remember a player in the 1960's name Bill Tuttle, who was big tobacco chewer in his playing days & he passed away from mouth cancer.

deadballfreaK · #7 06-16-2014, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbsports

All the net 54 members are right about Tony. He was one of the best natural hitters in the game & a great ambassadors to the game of baseball. According to reports, Gwynn had cancer in his right cheek, possibly caused by chewing tobacco. Chewing tobacco is as bad as smoking tobacco. Some of baseball fans out there remember a player in the 1960's name Bill Tuttle, who was big tobacco chewer in his playing days & he passed away from mouth cancer.

I did not know he was a chewer. I was a coal miner for 31 years. Also a smoker. You can't smoke underground so I took up the disgusting chewing habit. It was pleasurable, but after doing it about 15 years I developed several bad sores in my mouth. Luckily at a routine 6 month checkup at my dentist, he was alarmed. He made me go see a doctor and it was the beginning of cancer. I gave up tobacco completely both smoking and chewing and I recovered pretty quickly. I'm sure that dentist saved my life.

bnorth · #8 06-16-2014, 02:45 PM

I have always hated Tony for totally shellfish reasons. Even though I think my all time favorite player Wade Boggs was a better hitter in their primes Tony ended his career with better numbers. With that said RIP Tony you are a legend.

the 'stache · #9 06-18-2014, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean

Yeah, that strike took away his chance to achieve something that would be remembered for ages. But he never showed any bitterness over his lost opportunity.

The strike cost him .400. I've always felt that way, and the numbers back it up, Sean.

He played 10 games in August, right before the strike hit. How was he doing in August, you may ask?

He had 19 hits in 40 at bats. He was hitting .475 in August. And in those 40 at bats..he struck out one time.

Tony was in the zone.

His 1994 performance was part of maybe the greatest five year hitting demonstrations in modern baseball history. From 1993 to 1997 (age 33 to 37), he hit .358, .394, .368, .353, and .372. His composite batting average for those 5 years was .368. And remember, by this point in his career, Tony had added weight. His knees were betraying him. And when you consider that Tony had changed his approach at the plate, what he accomplished was all the more impressive. Read this article on Deadspin about his chance meeting with Ted Williams at the 1992 All Star Game.

http://deadspin.com/how-tony-gwynn-c...ege-1591491368

Tony went from hitting .309, .317, .317 from 1990 to 1992 to the mind-boggling five year streak I referred to. Hell, at ages 40 and 41, when he was just a part time player, with only 229 at bats between those two seasons, he still hit .323.

The man was incredible.

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