Remembering Tony Gwynn’s Career

We fondly remember Tony Gwynn, who would have turned 65 today. Regardless of what anyone says, we believe Gwynn was the greatest pure hitter of his generation – more so than Boggs, Mattingly, Puckett or Brett. In a 20 year career, Gwynn never batted below .309 in any full season, even as he was plagued by nagging injuries that robbed him of at least 360 games during his prime playing years before age 40. Had he not constantly lost 20 to 30 games a year to wrist, foot and hand injuries, there is a chance Gwynn could have approached the high 3,000s in hits, if not more had he extended his career well into his 40s as Pete Rose did. That’s what’s amazing about Gwynn, who had 8 batting titles. Even as he aged, he didn’t lose his ability to hit for average, still hitting approximately .323 in his final 2 partial, injury riddled seasons when he was in his early 40s. He also was fast, despite being built like a bit of a fire plug, stealing more than 30 bases four times. If we had to choose a leadoff hitter in their prime for our all-time NL team, it would have to be Tony Gwynn. So what do you think? Was Gwynn the greatest pure hitter of the 1980s and 1990s? If not, then who would you pick?

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