Tony Gwynn (2007)


Date of Birth: 5/9/1960
Date of Death: 6/16/2014
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
College: San Diego State University

Tony Gwynn played baseball in both high school and at San Diego State University, where he excelled in basketball as well as in baseball. His brother was also a major league baseball player, spending time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals and, along with Tony, with the San Diego Padres from 1987 through 1996.

San Diego Padres

Gwynn was drafted by the Padres in June, 1981, and he started his professional baseball career in the minor leagues. A year later, he played in 54 games with the Padres. He batted .289 with 55 hits. He played in 86 games with San Diego in 1983, playing the rest of the season in the minor leagues. He batted .309 with 94 hits.

In 1984, his first full season in the major leagues, Gwynn batted .351 with 213 hits, 21 doubles, 10 triples, 33 stolen bases, and 71 RBIs in 158 games. That season he won his first of eight NL batting titles and his first of seven Silver Slugger awards, and he led the NL in hits and in batting average. He also played well defensively, leading all NL right fielders in putouts with 343.

Gwynn again led the NL in hits in 1985. He finished the season with 197 hits, 29 doubles, 46 RBIs, and a .317 batting average in 154 games. In 1986, he again led the NL in hits and he won his second Silver Slugger award. He batted .329 with 211 hits, 33 doubles, 37 stolen bases, and 59 RBIs in a career high 160 games. That year he also won his first Gold Glove, again leading NL right fielders in putouts with 335.

Gwynn won the NL batting title again in 1987, batting .370. He also won another Silver Slugger award and a second Gold Glove and he led the National League in hits (218) and in batting average (.370). He had career highs in triples with 13 and in stolen bases with 56. The following year, he had a league leading batting average of .313 in 133 games. He finished the 1988 season with 163 hits, 22 doubles, 26 stolen bases, and 70 RBIs.

Gwynn won his fourth Silver Slugger award and his third Gold Glove in 1989. He led the NL in hits and batting average again. He finished the season with 203 hits, 27 doubles, 40 stolen bases, 62 RBIs, and a .336 batting average in 158 games. The following year, he batted .309 with 177 hits, 29 doubles, 10 triples, and 72 RBIs in 141 games. He won his fourth Gold Glove in 1990, once more leading NL right fielders in putouts with 328.

Gwynn batted .317 and he had 27 doubles in both 1991 and 1992. He had 168 hits, 11 triples, and 62 RBIs in 134 games in 1991, and he had 165 hits and 41 RBIs in 128 games in 1992. He won his fifth and final Gold Glove in 1991. He batted .358 in 122 games in 1993, and he had 175 hits, 41 doubles, and 59 RBIs.

Gwynn had a strong 1994 season, batting a career high .394 in 110 games. He won his fifth Silver Slugger award and he led the NL in hits, batting average, and on-base percentage. He had 165 hits, 35 doubles, 64 RBIs, and a career high on-base percentage of .454.

In 1995, Gwynn again led the NL in hits and batting average. He finished the season with 197 hits, 33 doubles, 90 RBIs, and a .368 batting average in 135 games. He won his sixth Silver Slugger award and he received the Branch Rickey award in 1995.

Gwynn played in just 116 games in 1996, but he had another stellar season. He batted .353 with 159 hits, 27 doubles, and 50 RBIs. The next year, he won his seventh and last Silver Slugger award and he once again led the NL in hits. In 1997, he had career highs in hits (220), doubles (49), home runs (17), and RBIs (119). He batted .372 in 149 games.

Gwynn's playing time was greatly reduced in his final two seasons in the major leagues. He played in just 36 games in 2000, and he batted .323 with 41 hits. In 2001, he batted .324 in 71 games. He received the Commissioner's Historic Achievement award that year.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Gold Glove (5 times)
  • Silver Slugger award (7 times)
  • Branch Rickey award
  • Lou Gehrig Memorial award
  • Roberto Clemente award
  • Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award
  • Led NL in batting average (8 times)
  • Led NL in hits (7 times)

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Gwynn in 16 full seasons (1984-1999) in the major leagues include:

  • 14 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 220 in 1997
  • 7 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 49 in 1997
  • 5 seasons with over 25 stolen bases, with a high of 56 in 1987
  • 16 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .394 in 1994

Career batting statistics for Gwynn include:

  • 2,440 games played
  • 3,141 hits
  • 543 doubles
  • 135 home runs
  • 319 stolen bases
  • 1,138 RBIs
  • 434 strikeouts to 790 walks
  • .338 batting average
  • .388 on-base percentage
  • .847 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Gwynn as a right fielder include:

  • 2,144 games played
  • 56 errors
  • 4,052 putouts
  • .987 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Gwynn include:

  • 3 postseasons
  • 27 games played
  • 108 at-bats
  • 33 hits
  • 7 doubles
  • 1 home run
  • 2 stolen bases
  • 11 RBIs
  • 10 strikeouts to 6 walks
  • .306 batting average

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a major league player, Gwynn became the head baseball coach at his alma mater, San Diego State University. He occasionally served as an analyst for ESPN.

Gwynn was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2007 on the first ballot with 97.6% of the vote.

Gwynn died on June 16, 2014, from cancer and cardiac arrest.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Tony Gwynn
ESPN - Tony Gwynn
Baseball Reference - Tony Gwynn

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