R.I.P. Tony Gwynn

Universally considered one of the nicest guys in all of sports. A life lost too soon at 54. I've read that one person attributed his cancer to chewing tobacco. The description of his facial surgery certainly gives rise to that possibility.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11091626/hall-famer-tony-gwynn-san-diego-padres-died

 

So sorry to hear that about Gwynn, he was one of the good guys. Oral Cancer doesn't get much publicity but it's a bitch and can be very disfiguring.

 

Got this tidbit off another board, not sure if it's true, but if so then it a testament to how great a hitter Tony was.


Gywnn faced Greg Maddux 107 times in his career, more than any other pitcher. Gwynn batted .415 vs Maddux and never struck out.

 

I just learned, reading about his passing, that he owned a home in Fishers, IN, where I live.

 

Here's a stat that emphasizes what a great hitter he was:

Unbelievable! Only 3 career SOs vs. that gauntlet, 2 of which were by lefty Glavine. He sure had trouble with lefties. :lol: :lol:

 

Terry, your fact about Gwynn vs. Maddux is true. It must be. I saw it on the internet. :lol: Seriously, I saw it confirmed on Fox Sports.

 

:shock:

Great stats...that's amazing! Here's some more. This was on ESPN.

Highest lifetime batting average for players who played after 1938...

1. Ted Williams .344
2. Lou Gehrig .340
3. Tony Gwynn .338

From the Baseball Encyclopedia:

All-Time (lifetime) highest batting average for a right-fielder...

1. Babe Ruth .342
2. Harry Heilmann .342
3. Wee Willie Keeler .341
4. Tony Gwynn .338

Guys like that don't come along very often. In the strike shortened season of 1994, Gwynn hit .394...

 

I met the Gwynn brothers many times. Every good story you've heard about Tony is true and every story doesn't do him justice. Very sad. The world lost a good one.

 

Very sad. Numbers may never be duplicated again.

 

:cry: he was an all around good guy .... Family man.. coach, player worked a lot with youth organizations in San Diego gone way to soon

 

Another amazing stat from Twitter:

I must confess that I had no idea how unbelievably great he was in terms of the entire history of MLB.

 

That's the price he paid for playing in San Diego. He could have made more money elsewhere, but it was his hometown. He was a graduate of San Diego State and later coached there until he died. It was his town.