Agreed that Gwynn was one of the top pure hitters to ever play the game. I don't know if he is top 3 all time, but certainly one of the two best of his own era (with Boggs). I agree. Gwynn was just about the toughest out in baseball for over a decade. We don't know if he did or did not use PED's. The idea that PED's only equated to home runs is not true, it helped hand-eye coordination a great deal. Further, Gwynn's best seasons were during the PED era. Having said that, every player in that era gets suspicion.... although Gwynn does not deserve any special scrutiny. I didn't know Gwynn personally so I cannot say if he was a great person or not. I have never heard anyone speak ill of him before other than Bill Wagner... and Wags wasn't exactly a popular guy with other players. Gwynn is a Hall of Famer, and one of the 2-3 best pure hitters in the last 50 years.
Tobacco, Alcohol, and Amphetamines are not new to the steroid ERA. You are clearly suggesting he was a PED user which somehow played into his cancer. Nobody is absolved from PED suspicion, so we can't say for sure one way or the other. He likely died because of tobacco use, which players have been doing for decades. His death had nothing to do with the "hitters" ERA he played in, to suggest otherwise is disrespectful.
I am not SUGGESTING anything other than Gwynn was part of a generation of players that engaged in many activities that were potentially dangerous to their health.... one of those activities popular that time was smokeless tobacco. Guess what? Gwynn had cancer, and he had several surgeries on his jaw to control the cancer. Further, Gwynn believed his cancer was related to.... smokeless tobacco.... which was commonly used by baseball players in that era. PERIOD If you choose to jump to some other conclusion, have fun with it... just leave me out of it.
seems unbelievable, even given Tony's K (or lack thereof) history. Just incredible <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I have a blog of awesome Tony Gwynn numbers coming soon. But how bout this: 129 AB vs. Maddux & Pedro . . . ZERO strikeouts</p>— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) <a href="https://twitter.com/jaysonst/statuses/478594539645448192">June 16, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
More good #'s/info: http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11092617/mlb-late-tony-gwynn-incredible-hitting-numbers Little sample:
Consider the source.... My oldest son was about 5 and I took him to a game in which Gwynn was playing. When Gywnn came to the plate, my son said hey Dad who is the fat dude. That's the best pure hitter in the game son. Gwynn tore up the Astros pitching that day. RIP Tony. You were one of the best that I was ever privileged to watch hit a baseball
For anyone interested, there's a more respectful thread, with no petty bickering, in the Hangout. Thanks to those of you posting stats. As I said in the other thread, Bochy had some interesting things to say about Gwynn's health the last couple of years.
Read your own words here. I'm not hating on a dead guy that'd be you. Just shut up already and quit digging a bigger hole to crawl out of.
Only 434 strikeouts in 20 years. Amazing. R.I.P. Tony. Other than Bonds he's the best hitter I have ever seen.
