RIP Tony Gwynn

[helf35]

Wow, so young only 54. One of the greatest pure hitters ever in the game and a super nice dude. Sad day in baseball.

[emann]

Very sad, I had been following updates on his condition when available and it seemed like he was getting worse recently; RIP Tony Gwynn.

[Nnunnari]

Sad day.

[KGoldin]

Wow
that sucks
so sad to hear. was an awesome guy who I worked with many times

[johnsontravis@ymail.com]

Article published yesterday for father's day...dang.

http://www.csnphilly.com/baseball-philadelphia-phillies/gwynn-men-sons-love-fathers-fight

[Phil316]

Super sad day for baseball. This is an example for kids that chewing tobacco is not an option and should not be an option.

[ChrisCavalier]

Would not have thought this could happen at such a young age. Reminds you that life is precious and we need to value our time here.

My condolences to his family and loved ones.

-Chris

[3arod13]

Would not have thought this could happen at such a young age. Reminds you that life is precious and we need to value our time here.

My condolences to his family and loved ones.

-Chris

+1 Truly a sad day!

[ocab87]

Wow... I am truly lost for words.. Sad day for the game... RIP Mr. Padre

[Roady]

Loved watching Gwynn hit. He was a really good man too.

He had been selling off his personal collection so I guess he knew his cancer was much worse than he let on.

[emann]

Loved watching Gwynn hit. He was a really good man too.

He had been selling off his personal collection so I guess he knew his cancer was much worse than he let on.

I think the selling of his personal collection had more to do with financial issues (more than one bankruptcy if I recall). I was able purchase a few of his MLB awards and some equipment from him a few years ago...

Sad that someone who seemed like a really nice, genuine guy had such a rough time in his life after baseball.

[Roady]

I was told by someone last year it was to pay medical bills.

Maybe you are correct.

[Birdbats]

It's obvious to anyone who sees my collection that I'm a Cardinals guy. But, they'll also notice the Tony Gwynn GU jersey, bat and cap, the 3K hit ticket stub, and the signed ball. When I sold my single-signed ball collection a few years ago, I kept three -- Musial, Pujols and Gwynn. He was my absolute favorite player for many years. The night McGwire hit his 500th HR, I'm sure I was one of the few guys at Busch who was more excited about the prospect of Tony getting hit #3,000. He got 2,999, but couldn't come up with a second hit (Mac, meanwhile, hit 2 HRs). Tony was the best pure hitter since Ted Williams and he excelled during the peak of the 'roids era, when you know he was facing juiced pitchers. I don't think anyone could accuse Tony of abusing anything other than milkshakes. And sadly, as it turns out, chewing tobacco. RIP, 19.

https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/l/t1.0-9/p526x296/10351893_10203295673065899_979926028351408237_n.jp g

[mbenga28]

The Ebay account Steiner uses just listed a few Gwynn game used pieces.

[frikativ54]

Super sad day for baseball. This is an example for kids that chewing tobacco is not an option and should not be an option.

+1.

Sadly, this is another casualty of baseball's chew culture. How many other ballplayers die from smokeless tobacco that get overlooked, because they aren't of Gwynn's stature? MLB needs to ban this substance once and for all.

RIP, Tony. One of the best pure hitters you'll ever see.

[VintageGamerNoob]

Which account is that? I only see a signed photo in the SteinerSports store.

[johnsontravis@ymail.com]

+1.

Sadly, this is another casualty of baseball's chew culture. How many other ballplayers die from smokeless tobacco that get overlooked, because they aren't of Gwynn's stature? MLB needs to ban this substance once and for all.

RIP, Tony. One of the best pure hitters you'll ever see.

It should be said it was never proven to be caused by the tobacco. Gwynn believed it was because he always chewed on his right side and that is where it showed up.

Whether or not that is how he got his cancer doesn't really change how bad tobacco is...I'm just saying you really shouldn't just start demanding a ban on a non proven case.

[danesei@yahoo.com]

Sorry to hear Gwynn is gone, but at least that means he's not suffering. Hope all is well for those close to him.

As for the tobacco cancer issue... whether Gwynn's cancer was due to tobacco use or not doesn't change the established connection between tobacco and cancer.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/smokeless

In Thailand, cigarette packs are required to show quite gruesome images of tobacco related cancers. If you care to see what I mean, do a Google search.

Very sad day for baseball. Gwynn seemed like a nice guy.

[mbenga28]

Which account is that? I only see a signed photo in the SteinerSports store.


http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&item=201110098894&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&_osacat=0&hash=item2ed31893ce&_ssn=gameusedguru88&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313&_nkw=gwynn&_sacat=0&_from=R40

[Mattapan03]

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&item=201110098894&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&_osacat=0&hash=item2ed31893ce&_ssn=gameusedguru88&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313&_nkw=gwynn&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Bravo Steiner

[CampWest]

RIP Mr. Gwynn... One of my all time favorites. Loved the hitting discussions he filmed with Ted Williams, learned more about hitting listening to that conversation than in any other hour of my life.

[sox83cubs84]

I recall Gwynn's approach to dealing with the autograph seekers at Wrigley Field during his last several years with the Padres.

However many games the Padres were playing the Cubs on a particular road trip, Gwynn would pick one day out of the series to sign for the people at the players' gate. There was no advance notice as to which day he'd sign, you just showed up and took your chances. If you picked the right day, you got him. If you didn't, better luck next visit.

We'll miss you Tony...RIP

Dave Miedema

[kudu]

Gone way too soon. Its been a rough year this year being a Padres fan. Jerry Coleman passing away earlier this year. Then Tony. And can't say much for the team's performance. I've met Tony a handful of times, everytime as classy as the first. RIP Mr. Padre.

[gorilla777]

Gwynn was beloved in San Diego, for good reason. A first class individual that always signed team friendly deals to stay there, even when the team was going thru another down period.
I found this footnote on RiverAveBlues that really puts into context what a special hitter he was, pretty amazing...

Ben

"Following the news of Tony Gwynn’s death (http://riveraveblues.com/2014/06/rest-peace-tony-gwynn-may-9-1960-june-16-2014-104934/) yesterday, there were all sorts of fun information and hard-to-believe stats floating around the internet. My favorite (by far) comes from Chris Jaffe (https://twitter.com/jaffechris/status/478577577939177472), who pointed out Gwynn has the highest batting average in two-strike counts in baseball history by 40 (!) points. Here’s the full list (http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=AcRPI). Gwynn hit an absurd .302 in two-strike counts in his career. Fellow Hall of Famer and totally awesome hitter Wade Boggs is second with a .262 lifetime average in two-strike counts. Former Yankee Luis Polonia is third at .261. (Luis Polonia, huh? Alrighty.) Derek Jeter (http://riveraveblues.com/tag/derek-jeter/) is tied for 67th all-time with a .228 average with two strikes. During Gwynn’s career, from 1988-2001, all of baseball hit a combined .187 in two-strike counts. He was 115 points better than everyone else. We’re talking thousands of plate appearances too, so this isn’t some small sample noise. Hitting .300+ in general is hard. Doing it in two-strike counts over a 20-year career blows my freaking mind."

[Roady]

Having Gwynn and Boggs to watch hit was a real treat.

[tbone90]

His hitting prowess aside baseball could sure use a few more men the caliber of Tony Gwynn.

[Roady]

His hitting prowess aside baseball could sure use a few more men the caliber of Tony Gwynn.

Society could use more Tony Gwynns.

[r_phelps]

Too sad the news will never really sink in that he is gone. Rip mr. Padre

[Nnunnari]

Gwynn was beloved in San Diego, for good reason. A first class individual that always signed team friendly deals to stay there, even when the team was going thru another down period.
I found this footnote on RiverAveBlues that really puts into context what a special hitter he was, pretty amazing...

Ben

"Following the news of Tony Gwynn’s death (http://riveraveblues.com/2014/06/rest-peace-tony-gwynn-may-9-1960-june-16-2014-104934/) yesterday, there were all sorts of fun information and hard-to-believe stats floating around the internet. My favorite (by far) comes from Chris Jaffe (https://twitter.com/jaffechris/status/478577577939177472), who pointed out Gwynn has the highest batting average in two-strike counts in baseball history by 40 (!) points. Here’s the full list (http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=AcRPI). Gwynn hit an absurd .302 in two-strike counts in his career. Fellow Hall of Famer and totally awesome hitter Wade Boggs is second with a .262 lifetime average in two-strike counts. Former Yankee Luis Polonia is third at .261. (Luis Polonia, huh? Alrighty.) Derek Jeter (http://riveraveblues.com/tag/derek-jeter/) is tied for 67th all-time with a .228 average with two strikes. During Gwynn’s career, from 1988-2001, all of baseball hit a combined .187 in two-strike counts. He was 115 points better than everyone else. We’re talking thousands of plate appearances too, so this isn’t some small sample noise. Hitting .300+ in general is hard. Doing it in two-strike counts over a 20-year career blows my freaking mind."

That is incredible.

[R. C. Walker]

That is incredible.

Far more remarkable is this from ESPN's Jason Stark:

"Finally, what does it mean to have piled up a .338 batting average over a 20-year career, over 9,288 at-bats? It means Tony Gwynn would have had to go 0-for-his-next-1,183 to get his average to fall under .300 (and even then, it would have "plummeted" to a mere .29997). We kid you not."

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11092617/mlb-late-tony-gwynn-incredible-hitting-numbers

[kudu]

Classy move by the Philly fans and catcher Saltalamacchia:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/holding-back-tears-tony-gwynn-jr-returns-to-standing-ovation-in-philadelphia?ymd=20140624&content_id=81485432&vkey=news_mlb