Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr., nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 20 seasonsin Major League Baseballfor the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hitting Gwynn won eight batting titles in his career, tied for the most in National Leaguehistory. He is considered one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He had a .338 career batting average, never hitting below .309 in any full season. Gwynn was a 15-time All-Star, recognized for...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth9 May 1960
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
When you faced the Cardinals, it was a seven-inning game. You better have the lead after seven. If not, here comes Sutter and that was it.
Ted Williams is one of the best hitters ever to play the game, and I didn't get a chance to see him play, so all I could do was read books and look at pictures.
Nobody talked about my defense or that I used to steal bases, too.
The only thing I do to my bat is put some tape around the handle to build it up a little bit because I broke my finger about six years ago and can't really close it the way I want to. Other than that, the same bat, same Louisville Sluggers.
I was a contact hitter my whole career but I learned how to handle the ball inside. And Ted Williams played a big part in that. He gave me the advice on how to handle inside pitches.
I hate to say it, but, yeah, I'm a tobacco junkie.
What drives me is trying to be perfect.
Like a lot of kids, you kind of think baseball's boring - that's the perception.
Either you have the ability to hit or not. But I also think you have to work at it.
When I was a kid, man, my dad used to buy me the Ted Williams glove at Sears with the Ted Williams shoes with the eight stripes on 'em. I used to play Little League, and I was Ted Williams-ed out.
I think the ability to hit - some guys have it and some guys don't - but I think how dedicated you are to trying to get the most out of yourself, I think kind of determines how good you are and for how long. I was born with the ability to hit, but my work ethic has taken it to the next level.
I think if you enjoy teaching, if you enjoy talking about your craft, that's probably the best way to do it... because once a player starts to get it, once he figures it out, he'll never forget it.
I had no idea that all the things in my career were going to happen. I sure didn't see it. I just know the good Lord blessed me with ability, blessed me with good eyesight and a good pair of hands, and then I worked at the rest.
Sometimes technique works better than a whole lot of other things.