Tony Gwynn Was A Pro Off The Field Too

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For the second time in a week, baseball has suffered the loss of a great player, way too young.  Tony Gwynn died today of cancer of his salivary glands at the age of 54.  Bob Welch former Los Angeles Dodger and Oakland Athletics pitcher died of an apparent heart attack last week.

Tony Gwynn had 3,141 hits for the San Diego Padtes, his only Major League team.  Gwynn had a sweet natural swing but he worked very hard to get better and stay sharp. He was born May 9, 1960 in Long Beach, California.

Former Reds' manager Jack McKeon was the Padres' general manager when the Padres' brought Gwynn to the big leagues on July 19, 1982.  Gwynn had two hits in his debut.

McKeon would often use Gwynn as an example of how a player should work on his skills.  He also told off-the-record stories of people that Gwynn helped on and off the field.  McKeon made the press promise not to publish what Gwynn had done because he was adamant that it not be perceived that Gwynn did these things for public credit.

Personally, Gwynn was a delight to work with as a member of the media.  He was insightful and honest. Gwynn added so much to my knowledge of the game.

He would playfully question your motives for the question, then would give you an concise, information filled answer.

The following are two exchanges that I had with Geynn.

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I asked him about David Wells, shortly after the Reds' acquired him from the Detroit Tigers in 1995.

"Come on, you guys ask everybody that comes in here about him.  What do you want me to tell you?" Gwynn said.

"Just the truth Tony," I said.

After that he told me in detail what to look for from Wells.  He taught me that if Wells gets his breaking ball over he will use his fastball to get a batter out. If he has trouble getting his breaking ball over he can pitch backward (for Wells) and locate his fastball and use his breaking ball to get you out.

"You will be able to tell by whether he is getting more strikeouts or groundballs," Gwynn said.

I once asked him about the stuff of a young Reds' pitcher.

"Why are you asking me?" Gwynn said.

"Because your words mean more than all the others," I said.

He told me the pitcher had average stuff. That he needed to locate his pitches better. That he wasn't walking batters but his command wasn't sharp.

I asked him if he wanted off the record.  He said, "No, maybe he needs to hear this and it will help him out."

You got the impression that he would rather play or talk baseball more than anything out.  He was always cordial and would mess with me and smile the entire time.

Gwynn couldn't leave the game after retirement and became the baseball coach of his alma mater, San Diego State where he played four years as the basketball teams' point guard as well as baseball.  Gwynn was named head baseball coach at SDSU in 2001 and took a leave of absence in 2011 when he was diagnosed with cancer.  Gwynn blamed his disease on smokeless tobacco.

Gwynn went into baseball's Hall of Fame in 2007.