R.I.P. Tony Gwynn
 

Wow. Best hitter for average I've ever seen, and always a great, fun personality. So young :(

So Young. RIP

Oh wow.

Damn. RIP

Always loved watching him hit growing up.

What a great hitter, and he really seemed to be a great guy, just someone you could go have a beer with and he wouldn't big time you. A terrific ambassador for the game in his time, too. Way too young. RIP.

:(

Saw this article that was posted yesterday linked elsewhere.

The Gwynn men: A son's love, a father's fight | Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia

My most favorite player all-time. RIP. :(

It sounds like he's been through a lot health-wise. And this article doesn't even include the last 3 years.

Gwynn taking fight with cancer a day at a time | MLB.com: News

Heartbreaking, one of the really good guys in sports. RIP

RIP.

ugh.

Being my childhood local hero, I realized it was Gwynn that I compared and held all other players against. Sad when your point of reference passes away.

Special hitter. He did all of his destructing lacing liners and gappers all over the field without any great power or speed. One of a kind.

Per Bleacher Report, faced Pedro 36 times, 0 K. Schilling 42 times, 2 k. Neat.

Hit .415 in over 100 ABs against Maddux lifetime.

Really sad to see this. I guess he chewed for 25 years or so - sigh.

Gwynn was baseball in the 1980s in many ways. One of the last heroes of the game.

Man, this one hits hard. Tony Gwynn was one of those rare sports figures that transcended team loyalties and was a universally likeable guy. RIP Tony, and Fuck Cancer.

Well said, RIP.

Wow this really surprised me - great player and great guy. RIP.

As a friend of mine texted me:

"RIP Tony Gwynn. Amazing stats and the only black guy to naturally talked like a black guy imitating a white guy."

Seriously, RIP. By all accounts a wonderful man.

It is heartening to see such universal praise for someone that I had loved and admired since 1979. I first met Tony on campus in 79 and followed his career since he was drafted and played for the Islanders. As my brother said, he was the one that we measured all other players against, both on-field and his sportsmanship and off-field with his role-model attitude and behavior.

I'll just echo the other statements. One of the best players of my generation and a great guy. Always was one of my favorites. RIP.

I don't know a lot about Tony Gwynn, but I bet he hated gangster rap!

Kidding. He was a great baseball player and by all accounts a great dude.

Not a baseball fan, but even I knew how great Gwynn was and how respected he was. Just a shame.

Loved watching him play the game

Even more impressive is that Maddux never struck him out.

Ive read twice today (its on the net so it has to be true, right?)
That the specific type of cancer he had shows zero link to tobacco use.

RIP to the best pure contact hitter of our generation.

RIP :( sad day

The "Angels in Heaven" needed another clutch hitter for the team.
Sad that an icon and hitting guru had to leave so soon.
:(

R.I.P "Mr. Padre"

Damn.....knew this day was coming but not this soon. Since I still listen to sport radio podcasts from San Diego, there was talk for a while that he was not looking too well. One of my favorite players on the Padres. Ultimate team player and overall humble guy. Now he will be on the other side with Jerry Coleman calling his plays again.

It sucks that he lost in the World Series against those damn Yankees even while belting one of those rare homeruns. One of my many favorite memories of Gyynn.

Pretty sure the cancer was directly linked to chewing tobacco, including from quotes from Gwynn himself. Don't get me wrong I wish cancer on nobody. My brother got a "lifestyle caused" cancer and it didn't make it any less painful and trying in every way that my dad's "non-lifestyle" cancer did.

Yeah, salivary gland cancer is one of those rare ones that they haven't found a whole lot about. The researchers do believe that it is caused by environmental factors more than by genetic predisposition.

One of the all-time greats. I remember as a kid looking at his stats on his baseball cards, and thinking they had to be mistakes. :)

I wasn't a Padres fan growing up, but regardless, I idolized Tony Gwynn. Very sad to see him pass, but it's been nice to see all the stories popping up about him the past few days. Here are a couple...

I Was Tony Gwynn's Batboy

Keith Olbermann Tearfully Remembers Tony Gwynn

Tony's passion for the game and his genuine love of the fans and the community won me over when I moved to San Diego in 1990. He will be my favorite baseball player forever. Here's a short piece I was moved to write about Tony over on LinkedIn yesterday.

Tony Gwynn is the best pure hitter Ive ever seen in my lifetime.

That said, Im not old enough to have seen Ted Williams at the plate, but I have met the man.

I was a 10 year old kid paying 20 bucks to get his autograph at a card show. The only card of his I could afford was a Senators Manager card from the late 60s. Stood in line for almost an hour to get 20 seconds up there.


He was a dick.


RIP TONY