Padres - Tony Gwynn Memories

As a fan and one-time sports reporter, I have three memories of Tony Gwynn that stand out above the rest on this Hall of Fame induction weekend.

The first is something you may have seen, read about or heard about over the years since it's mentioned occasionally. And it really goes against the T. Gwynn stereotype. But the guy hit about the hardest home run I ever saw at Qualcomm Stadium. Early 90s maybe, maybe mid 90s. Don't remember the opponent or the pitcher. Just remember Gwynn swinging, the ball on a line, and it reaching the low rows of fans in right field. A frozen rope. Awesome.

(What's kind of funny, speaking of going against stereotype, but you know who I also saw hit one of the hardest home run balls at The Q? Quilvio Veras! Took it inside-out right down the third base line, and it hit the higher wall just inside fair territory.)

The second and third were a pair of chance meetings while I was reporting for my Sandiegosportstown.com web site earlier this decade.

Remember when former San Diego State baseball coach Jim Dietz was on the ropes, but then Athletic Director Rick Bay relented and let him stay? Gwynn, you'll recall, was a major Dietz booster and publicly supported him. The day that Bay announced his decision, the Padres had a game that I decided to cover, and when I went down to the first-base photographer well to get some pictures, I passed Gwynn in a hallway. A strange set-up at The Q, with players and the media sharing space! Knowing his interest in the subject, I whispered to him as he went by that Dietz was being retained. He said, "Really?" in kind of a drawn-out way. You generally don't engage players in conversation during a game, but I thought that was a good time for an exception.

The final moment was one of the last major events I covered for the web site in June 2004, the high school baseball finals at the park that had been named for him on SDSU's campus. I was in the press box, standing in the back and off to one side. Gwynn walked in and began engaging us in conversation. That was the day when it was announced that President Reagan had died, so I brought it up. I was amazed by his reaction. He was really crushed, really saddened by the Gipper's passing. Gwynn was not a guy who ever, to my knowledge, mentioned his politics -- and there's no question that Reagan made a monumental impact on our generation -- but I was kind of surprised.

Maybe it's that last story that best sums up the public persona of Tony Gwynn. He's a ballplayer and that's about it. You thought about him at the plate, in the batting cage and watching endless hours of videotape. Always working harder to get better. You never thought about him having political thoughts (unlike Curt Schilling) or needing a plumber or taking Tony Jr. to the dentist. He was a ballplayer through and through. And that's a big reason why he's in Cooperstown this weekend -- and for all of time.