Sports at Lunch, Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn took time out before the start of the the college baseball season to talk baseball. When Gwynn talks baseball, he can cover a variety of topics.
For example:
How Gwynn, one of baseball's greatest hitters took some advice, reluctantly at first, from another San Diegan widely regarded as THE greatest hitter of the game.
How Gwynn expects the Padres hitters to adjust to PetCo Park in team's second season as the spacious downtown ballpark and contend for the National League West title.
How he's based some of his recruiting efforts at San Diego State on advice from Jerry Coleman. He's stocked his middle infield and outfield positions with shortstops.
"Jerry says shortstops are your best players because they can play all over the field," Gwynn told the lunchtime audience. "I've got four shortstops on my field at at short, second, third and center field."
If you were at lunch, such subjects baseball and much more while he was talking baseball.
Gwynn is in his third year as the Aztecs’ head coach and fourth overall after serving an apprentice season in 2002 as a volunteer assistant before succeeding Jim Deitz. Coaching baseball allows Gwynn to continue his hands-on life in baseball. Maybe his 45-year-old body won’t allow him to take the field to hit .300, but his mind can still hit .300 teaching the game.
“There are a lot of people out there who four years ago said I wouldn’t be coaching at San Diego State, that I’d be somewhere else,” Gwynn said. “Well, I’m still here coaching. I’m still enjoying it.’
Gwynn spent 20 seasons with the Padres, connecting for 3,141 hits while winning eight National League batting crowns. He’s destined to become a first-ballot selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown when he becomes eligible in 2007. He could easily have banked on his name recognition and knowledge to land year-round TV work.
“I still work at ESPN in the summer and I do some Padres games, but that’s all secondary to the job I have at San Diego State,” Gwynn said. “At this point in my life, I don’t see that changing. I’m pleased; I’m happy.”
Gwynn’s Padres teammates didn’t always listen when he talked hitting, even while players from other teams sought advice from him. But his subjects on SDSU’s campus are all ears.
“It’s nice to be able to take the information you’ve gathered for 20 years and pass it on to someone who really wants it,” Gwynn said. “That part of my life has really been fun. I’m going to be doing this for a while.”
Gwynn’s goal is to build his alma mater – he was an All-American baseball player for the Aztecs as well as a basketball point guard – into an annual contender for the College World Series. Last year the Aztecs won the Mountain West Conference regular-season title, and he was named the conference’s Coach of the Year. But the Aztecs didn’t advance to the NCAA Tournament when they failed to win the MWC Tournament
