My two sports heroes as a youth were Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi. However, it wasn't long during my early adult years, that Tony Gwynn would become my third sports hero, As I stated in an earlier post, my wife and I had always wanted to meet him, hoping to see him at San Diego State, where he coached baseball. I guess it wasn't meant to be.
In honor of his 60th birthday, MLB TV is recognizing Gwynn with day-long coverage, including a documentary and four games highlighting his prowress. The schedule includes:
11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT - "MLB Network Presents: Mr. Padre
Noon ET/ 9 a.m. PT - 1994 All-Star Game
3 p.m./Noon PT - San Francisco Giants. vs. San Diego Padres (Aug. 4, 1993 - 6-hit game)
6 p.m./3 p.m. PT - Padres vs. Montreal Expos (Aug. 6, 1999 - Gwynn's 3,000th hit)
10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT - Game 5 of the 1984 NLCS vs. the Chicago Cubs
I've seen the Mr. Padre feature before - it's really quite good. I recommend you take the time to watch it if you get the opportunity.
It starts out with Tony Gwynn Jr. in the AleSmith Brewing Company, which makes the San Diego Pale Ale .394 beer (Gwynn's highest batting average). The brewery even has a museum dedicated to Tony Gwynn.
It then goes on to document his career from playing basketball and baseball at San Diego State, to his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame (with Cal Ripken), based upon his 97.6 percent of the voters, and his eventual passing and acolades from players.
What's there not to like about Tony Gwynn. For the stat-driven baseball fan, how can you overlook his .338 lifetime batting average, 15-time All-Star selection, eight National League batting titles, or three Gold Gloves?
For the baseball purist, he played all 20 of his professional baseball league seasons with San Diego. He was only three hits shy of hitting .400 during that strike-shortened season in 1994. He never batted below .309 in any one season, and only once, in his 20 seasons, did he ever strike out more than 35 times.
For the average fan, he was humble, affable, always smiling, and had that booming voice and infectious laugh you'd recognize anywhere.
For the San Diego Padre fan, he was simply "Mr. Padre" and symbolized the team and its city.
With more than 900 Gwynn cards in my collection, I can admit a cardboard affinity for Mr. Gwynn. As far as I can recall, this was one of the first Tony Gwynn card I found when I was younger..
I received a bunch of food issue cards from a friend when I was younger, and this 1994 Post Cereal Gwynn (#13) was included.
My last Gwynn card find?
I pulled this 2020 Donruss Holo Red Retro Gwynn (#218) from a Rack Pack at our friendly neighborhood Target store. (And yes, I was masked and maintained a 6-foot perimeter).
As for my favorite Gwynn card, that's way too easy...
It would have to be his 1982 TCMA Hawaii Islanders card. He's not Tony Gwynn the All-Star yet, he's got his whole life ahead of him, without all the pressure of being Tony Gwynn.
I'm not afrraid to admit, I cry when I watch the end of Field of Dreams. Just like the Kevin Costner fil, I always get a lump in my throat when watching the end of MLB's Mr. Padre documentary. The show's final shot has Tony sitting in the dugout, facing the camera.
"Now I just want all you fans out there to know, coming from me, no script, no nothing, this is from the heart," he says, "It has been absolutely wonderful playing major league baseball for the last 20 years. Having the opportunity to mingle and talk to you fans, I know I've enjoyed it, and I hope you have too.
"Now I just want all you fans out there to know, coming from me, no script, no nothing, this is from the heart," he says, "It has been absolutely wonderful playing major league baseball for the last 20 years. Having the opportunity to mingle and talk to you fans, I know I've enjoyed it, and I hope you have too.
"So with that," he says, "I say goodbye, and thank you."
He then stands up, turns to his left, and slowly walks away, as the film fades to black.
He then stands up, turns to his left, and slowly walks away, as the film fades to black.
Happy Birthday, Tony and thank you for all those wonderful memories.
Stay healthy and safe out there.
I'd love to watch the documentary at some point... and I originally had planned to write about the first Gwynn card I ever owned. It's his 1983 Topps rookie card... that I still have sitting somewhere in my collection. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it. I'm guessing it's sitting in one of my 1983 Topps set inside of a box somewhere.
ReplyDeleteAnyways... it's so sad that he's gone. But like I wrote in my post, he's so well loved by baseball fans that he won't be forgotten.