Sad Day in Baseball; Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn Dies

Photo Credit: MLB.com

By: Francisco Romero

“Today I lost my Dad, my best friend and my mentor,” Tony Gwynn Jr. twitted as the world learned that one of the greatest hitters of all times in Major League Baseball passed away.

Tony Gwynn Jr. is currently an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Known as Mr. Padre, Gwynn died at the age of 54; he had been battling cancer since 2010.

Gwynn played his entire career with the San Diego Padres (20 seasons). He finished his career with a .338 batting average; a 15 time all-star player is currently 19th in the all-time hit list with 3,141 hits was a five-time Gold Glove award winner and was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Gwynn played in two World Series with the Padres (1984 and 1998).

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig released the following statement, “Major League Baseball today mourns the tragic loss of Tony Gwynn, the greatest Padre ever and one of the most accomplished hitters that our game has ever known, whose all-around excellence on the field was surpassed by his exuberant personality and genial disposition in life. Tony was synonymous with San Diego Padres baseball.”

Gwynn was also known as a great ambassador of baseball throughout the world. He was currently San Diego State University Baseball’s Head Coach.

His death has touched those who played with him and against him. “He was one of the greatest hitters I played against,” said Alex Treviño, a former major league catcher, and added “He will be missed, he was an extraordinary player, but he was a better person, he left us way to soon.”