RIP Tony Gwynn

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.
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Wow. What a loss to the Sports World. Always liked the way he played the game. May he rest in peace.
 
He was an awesome hitter. 338 lifetime average. We won't see that again.
 
big dog cowboy said:
Sad story but there is a lesson to learn:
Click to expand...

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.
 
Likeable.
Class.
Played hard.

True gamer.

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

RIP
 
Sad news. Too bad. He was a great ambassador for baseball and one of the best pure hitters baseball has seen.
 
Joe Realist said:
He was an awesome hitter. 338 lifetime average. We won't see that again.
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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.
 
maxdallasfan said:
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.
Click to expand...

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