RIP Tony Gwynn

[Tabascocat]

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/16/hall-of-famer-tony-gwynn-has-died-at-54/

Way too young to go, he was an exciting player to watch and one of the best hitters I have even witnessed

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/16/hall-of-famer-tony-gwynn-has-died-at-54/

Way too young to go, he was an exciting player to watch and one of the best hitters I have even witnessed

Wow! I can not believe Tony Gwynn is dead. He couldn't have been more then 55. That's way young.

Great, great hitter and a real student of the game.


RIP Tony Gwynn.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Sad story but there is a lesson to learn:

Gwynn had been fighting cancer, which had first manifested itself as a malignant growth inside his right cheek, for four years. Gwynn attributed the cancer to years of smokeless tobacco use.

 

[brickman]

Wow. What a loss to the Sports World. Always liked the way he played the game. May he rest in peace.

 

[cajuncocoa]

RIP, Tony

 

[Phoenix]

Wow, condolences to his family. And I just saw this:

Retweeted by Linda Cohn
Jason McCallum ‏@ESPNJMac 31m
Only time Tony Gwynn struck out 3 times in a game was 4/14/86. Pitcher who struck him out 3 times was Bob Welch, who died a week ago today.

 

[Joe Realist]

He was an awesome hitter. 338 lifetime average. We won't see that again.

 

[maxdallasfan]

Sad story but there is a lesson to learn:

I agree, but his doctors said that it wasn't related to tobacco use. I'm of the stance that you either have it or you don't. Luck of the draw.

Jim Kelly never used tobacco. Even LeBron James had a growth removed a few years back. IDK. Based on the # of former and current MLB players who did or do it, you would think that there would be a much larger percentage of cases.

I'm not seeing it. More ex players die of brain tumors than anything else. Is that related to wearing a hat all your life?

Not picking a fight. Just passing the boredom.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Likeable.
Class.
Played hard.

True gamer.

Respectful.... Especially to players from the past.

RIP

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Woah!

It seems like he was just playing.

 

[jobberone]

Sad news. Too bad. He was a great ambassador for baseball and one of the best pure hitters baseball has seen.

 

[CashMan]

He was an awesome hitter. 338 lifetime average. We won't see that again.

I don't think we will see someone get close to hitting .400 in a season, like he did. I want to say .394 was his best. I thought Mauer was going to be able to, but I just do not see it happening.

 

[Smith22]

I agree, but his doctors said that it wasn't related to tobacco use. I'm of the stance that you either have it or you don't. Luck of the draw.

Jim Kelly never used tobacco. Even LeBron James had a growth removed a few years back. IDK. Based on the # of former and current MLB players who did or do it, you would think that there would be a much larger percentage of cases.

I'm not seeing it. More ex players die of brain tumors than anything else. Is that related to wearing a hat all your life?

Not picking a fight. Just passing the boredom.

Lets put it this way, putting a carcinogen in your mouth every day for 20+ years likely contributes to getting salivary gland cancer. It surely doesn't lessen your chances of getting cancer.

I come from a family of smokers/drinkers, and a lot of my aunts/uncles have passed due to cancer. It KILLS you.

From what I understand, the cancer was on the same side of his face that he put his chew.

And yes, cancer does strike people that don't smoke. It could be bad genetics, diet, environment, etc...

 

[bounce]

I don't think the younger fans (I'm 34) will truly appreciate how good of a hitter this guy was. For example, with two strikes, he had a .302 BA. The next best hitter they can find is Wade Boggs, at .262.

Greg Maddux had 3371 strikeouts - good for 10th all time. Not a single one of those was against Tony Gwynn, despite facing him 107 times. Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine combined for 9602 Ks. In 265 ABs, Tony Gwynn had 3 of those.

Unbelievable hitter.

 

[burmafrd]

That very rare person who was a Hall of Famer both professionally and personally.