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Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hitting Gwynn won eight batting titles in his career, tied for the most in National League (NL) history. He is considered one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He had a .338 career batting average, never hitting below .309 in any full season. Gwynn was a 15-time All-Star, recognized for his skills both on offense and defense with seven Silver Slugger Awards and five Gold Glove Awards. He was the rare player in his era that stayed with a single team his entire career, and he played in the only two World Series appearances in San Diego's franchise history. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, his first year of eligibility. Gwynn attended San Diego State University (SDSU), where he played both college baseball and basketball for the Aztecs. He was an all-conference player in both sports in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), but was honored as an All-American in baseball. He was selected by the Padres in the third round of the 1981 MLB Draft as the 58th overall pick. Gwynn made his major-league debut the following year, and captured his first batting title in 1984, when San Diego advanced to its first-ever World Series. A poor fielder in college, his work on his defense was rewarded in 1986, when he received his first Gold Glove. The following year, he won the first of three consecutive batting titles. Beginning in 1990, he endured four straight seasons which ended prematurely due to injuries, particular to his left knee. However, he experienced a resurgence with four straight batting titles starting in 1994, when he batted a career-high .394 in a strike-shortened season. Gwynn played in his second World Series in 1998, before reaching the 3,000-hit milestone the following year. He played two more seasons, hampered by injuries in both, and retired after the 2001 season. Gwynn had .338 career batting average, never hitting below .309 in any full season, and finished with 3,141 career hits. A contact hitter, he excelled at hitting the ball to the opposite field. After meeting Hall of Famer Ted Williams in 1992, Gwynn became more adept at pulling the ball and using the entire field, as well as hitting for more power. He could also run early in his career, when he was a stolen base threat. Widely considered the greatest player in Padres history, Gwynn regularly accepted less money to remain with the small-market team. After he retired from playing, the Padres retired his No. 19 in 2004. He became the head baseball coach at his alma mater, and also spent time as a baseball analyst. Gwynn died of salivary gland cancer in 2014 at the age of 54. ==Early life== Gwynn was born in Los Angeles, California, to Charles and Vendella Gwynn. He was nine when his parents decided they would move from their apartment and buy a house in Long Beach, a location they chose because of their schools, parks, and youth sports options throughout the year.〔 He grew up with older brother Charles Jr., who played college baseball and became a teacher, and younger brother Chris, who also became an MLB player.〔〔Staples, Herschlag 2007, pp. 367.〕 Gwynn's parents were civil servants who were tag-team parents.〔 Gwynn's father worked at a warehouse from 7:30 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., and he also coached Pop Warner football and Little League Baseball; his mother worked at the post office from 5:30 P.M. until 3:00 A.M. His mother and father instilled in him the value of being prepared. He filled his time playing mostly basketball, which was his favorite sport.〔〔Will 1990, pp.164–5〕 Gwynn's father encouraged his sons to play ball in the makeshift baseball field that he assembled in their backyard.〔 The setup was a narrow strip of grass that was longer than wide.〔〔 Pulling the ball too much resulted in it being lost over the neighbor's fence, but left field being short ruled out hitting it to the opposite field as well.〔〔〔Staples, Herschlag 2007, pp. 373–4.〕〔 Once the brothers' supply of wiffle balls was exhausted, they resorted to using a sock rolled in rubber bands, a wad of tape, or a hardened fig from a neighbor's tree.〔 Although Gwynn was able to pull the ball in his back yard, he would naturally hit it the other way during regular games.〔 Growing up, he attended Los Angeles Dodgers games and watched his hero, Willie Davis; the Dodgers outfielder had twice as many stolen bases as home runs (398 SB, 182 HR) in his career. Gwynn admired Davis for being black, left-handed, and "aggressive but under control"; he respected Davis' work habits as well.〔Will 1990, p.228〕 Unlike other kids that tracked home run hitters, Gwynn checked the box scores in the newspaper every morning to follow high-average hitters like Pete Rose, George Brett and Rod Carew. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tony Gwynn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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