RIP Tony Gywnn

Only 54 years old and by all accounts as good a human being as you'll ever run across. The greatest pure hitter I've ever seen. Rarely can you call someone an artist, but Gywnn was Picasso w/his bat, and he could seemingly 'paint' the ball anywhere on the field. 20 major league seasons w/a career .338 batting average, that is good for 17th all time, but only Ted Williams, Lou Gerig, and Gywnn did it after 1938 :shock: Hit over .350 7 TIMES (including one year at .394). His lowest batting average when playing a full season was .309. At age 41 in his last season when his body started breaking down, all he did was hit .324. Career batting average w/the bases loaded: .444 :shock: :bow-yellow: RIP

 

As the manager in "The Natural" stated: "...best damn hitter I ever saw..."

RIP, Mr. Gwynn. .394 in the strike year of '94 was tantalizing, could he reach .400? We'd never know, but I learned to hit the other way from him (and my dad). Nothing wrong with punching one through the 5.5 hole. And he hit over .400 against Maddux in his career - that alone should warrant the HOF. If this guy had played in NY, or Boston or Philly...well that's how the story goes. A great, great, great baseball player.

 

A sad day for America. I still love baseball, and this guy was a credit to the game both on and off the field. Didn't even know he was sick. As great a pure hitter as you'll ever see.
Godspeed, #19.

 

Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn were the two players I would turn a baseball game on just to watch them hit with no other interest in the game. Both were masters at their craft who never seemed to take a pitch off much less an entire at bat. RIP Tony Gwynn.

 

Yes, great person on and off the field. Rest is peace Tony.

I didn't know he was sick either. I also didn't know that he was addicted to chewing tobacco or that was even a problem with players.
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/k...-chewing-tobacco-cut-his-life-short-1.1036325

 

One of my 2 favorite players growing up (the other was Kirby Puckett since I'm from Minnesota and all), and both were taken too early from this world. And being a lefty, I patterned my hitting style after Tony although I couldn't slap it like he could. Best hitter I ever saw and, dare I say, will ever see! RIP Mr. San Diego!