Today is a special day for Major League Baseball.
On this day in 1960 an MLB legend was born.
His name was Tony Gwynn.
Gwynn was definitely a great star.
He spent his entire career with the San Diego Padres, reaching the big leagues in 1982 at the age of 22.
The slugger retired after the 2001 season at the age of 41.
Six years later, Gwynn was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, officially earning his place among the greats in MLB history.
On Twitter, MLB posted a nice tribute to the late Padres legend, while also listing some of his most impressive accomplishments over his 20-year career.
15 All-Star Games
8 batting titles
7 Silver Sluggers
5 The Gold Gloves
.338 career batting average
19 seasons hitting above .300
2007 @baseballhall inductionThinking back to the legend Tony Gwynn on what would have been his 63rd birthday. pic.twitter.com/6tibKnlSa7
— MLB (@MLB) May 9, 2023
Gwynn was a 15-time All-Star and eight-time batting champion.
He also won five Gold Gloves and seven Silver Slugger Awards.
During his illustrious career, Gwynn had a WAR of 69.2 and hit a total of 135 home runs.
He had a lifetime batting average of .338 and totaled 3,141 hits in 9,288 at-bats.
Gwynn helped guide the Padres to the World Series in 1998, where they were swept by the New York Yankees.
After his retirement, he served as a coach at San Diego State University, where he helped influence talented stars of the Washington Nationals such as Stephen Strasburg.
Gwynn sadly passed away in 2014 after battling cancer, but his great achievements live on in baseball history and his greatness will never be forgotten.
His achievements in San Diego earned him the sobriquet “Mr. Padre”.
Today would have been the 63rd birthday of the Padres legend.
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