“You just can’t do it. Sometimes, hitters can pick up differences in spin. They can identify pitches if there are different release points or if a curveball starts with an upward hump as it leaves the pitcher’s hand. But if a pitcher can change speeds, every hitter is helpless, limited by human vision.
Except for that (expletive) Tony Gwynn.”
– Greg Maddux
These words are all you need to know about Tony Gwynn. While Maddux, Hall of Fame class of 2014, had difficulty explaining Gwynn, I’m up for the challenge.
Pour yourself your favorite drink, plop down into your favorite chair, and allow me to have the opportunity to take a deep dive into Gwynn. I hope to be able to teach you a thing or two.
First, allow me to share Gwynn’s career numbers.
G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
2440 | 9288 | 1383 | 3141 | 543 | 85 | 135 | 1138 | 790 | 434 | .338 | .388 | .459 | .847 |
If you’re like me, the first thing that stands out is that he struck out only 434 times during his 20-year career. That’s an average of 21.7 times per year. Do you want your mind blown? In April 2023, 115 batters struck out 22 or more times. Here is a link to FanGraphs to check it out for yourself. http://bit.ly/48DocPT
Speaking of strikeouts, did you know that Tony Gwynn struck out two times in a game only 33 times. Guess how many times a single batter struck out at least twice during the 2023 season? (Hint: The same batter can do it multiple times. For example, Mike Zunino had 15 games where he struck out twice.). Before I divulge the answer, ensure you are sitting down and not operating any heavy equipment. The number of times a batter struck out at least twice in a single game during the 2023 season was………10,293. And Gwynn had only done this 33 times in his career. Here is a link to Stathead so you can see for yourself. https://stathead.com/tiny/vRXVa
I will pause for a while to let you gather yourself after that Tony Gwynn fact.
Since 1940, the only batter with a better lifetime batting average (min. 3,000 AB) was Ted Williams, who batted .346.
Player | BA | From | To | AB | H | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Ted Williams | .346 | 1940 | 1960 | 7141 | 2469 | .485 | .636 | 1.121 |
Tony Gwynn | .338 | 1982 | 2001 | 9288 | 3141 | .388 | .459 | .847 |
Stan Musial | .331 | 1941 | 1963 | 10972 | 3630 | .417 | .559 | .976 |
Wade Boggs | .328 | 1982 | 1999 | 9180 | 3010 | .415 | .443 | .858 |
Rod Carew | .328 | 1967 | 1985 | 9315 | 3053 | .393 | .429 | .822 |
Kirby Puckett | .318 | 1984 | 1995 | 7244 | 2304 | .360 | .477 | .837 |
Vladimir Guerrero | .318 | 1996 | 2011 | 8155 | 2590 | .379 | .553 | .932 |
Roberto Clemente | .317 | 1955 | 1972 | 9454 | 3000 | .359 | .475 | .834 |
Todd Helton | .316 | 1997 | 2013 | 7962 | 2519 | .414 | .539 | .953 |
Joe DiMaggio | .316 | 1940 | 1951 | 4502 | 1423 | .399 | .556 | .955 |
If you limit it to players who have played since 1980, Wade Boggs has had the second-highest batting average. He batted .328.
Player | BA | From | To | AB | H | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Tony Gwynn | .338 | 1982 | 2001 | 9288 | 3141 | .388 | .459 | .847 |
Wade Boggs | .328 | 1982 | 1999 | 9180 | 3010 | .415 | .443 | .858 |
Kirby Puckett | .318 | 1984 | 1995 | 7244 | 2304 | .360 | .477 | .837 |
Vladimir Guerrero | .318 | 1996 | 2011 | 8155 | 2590 | .379 | .553 | .932 |
Todd Helton | .316 | 1997 | 2013 | 7962 | 2519 | .414 | .539 | .953 |
Nomar Garciaparra | .313 | 1996 | 2009 | 5586 | 1747 | .361 | .521 | .882 |
Larry Walker | .313 | 1989 | 2005 | 6907 | 2160 | .400 | .565 | .965 |
Manny Ramirez | .312 | 1993 | 2011 | 8244 | 2574 | .411 | .585 | .996 |
Edgar Martinez | .312 | 1987 | 2004 | 7213 | 2247 | .418 | .515 | .933 |
Ichiro Suzuki | .311 | 2001 | 2009 | 9934 | 3089 | .355 | .402 | .757 |
Since 1940, Ichiro Suzuki has been the only left-handed batter with a better lifetime batting average against left-handed pitchers (min. 2,000 AB), and he batted .329.
Player | BA | From | To | AB | H | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Ichiro Suzuki | .329 | 2001 | 2018 | 2842 | 935 | .368 | .418 | .786 |
Tony Gwynn | .325 | 1982 | 2001 | 3226 | 1048 | .371 | .435 | .806 |
Stan Musial | .316 | 1941 | 1963 | 3563 | 1126 | .392 | .524 | .916 |
Rod Carew | .310 | 1967 | 1985 | 2905 | 900 | .376 | .396 | .772 |
Larry Walker | .306 | 1989 | 2005 | 2109 | 645 | .385 | .518 | .903 |
Todd Helton | .298 | 1997 | 2013 | 2315 | 689 | .387 | .449 | .836 |
Richie Ashburn | .297 | 1948 | 1962 | 2265 | 672 | .384 | .358 | .742 |
Wade Boggs | .297 | 1982 | 1999 | 2740 | 815 | .372 | .389 | .761 |
Mark Grace | .296 | 1988 | 2003 | 2551 | 755 | .363 | .422 | .785 |
Don Mattingly | .296 | 1982 | 1995 | 2480 | 734 | .344 | .448 | .792 |
If you narrow it down since 1980, Gwynn stands out from his peers.
Player | BA | From | To | AB | H | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Ichiro Suzuki | .329 | 2001 | 2018 | 2842 | 935 | .368 | .418 | .786 |
Tony Gwynn | .325 | 1982 | 2001 | 3226 | 1048 | .371 | .435 | .806 |
Larry Walker | .306 | 1989 | 2005 | 2109 | 645 | .385 | .518 | .903 |
Todd Helton | .298 | 1997 | 2013 | 2315 | 689 | .387 | .449 | .836 |
Wade Boggs | .297 | 1982 | 1999 | 2740 | 815 | .372 | .389 | .761 |
Mark Grace | .296 | 1988 | 2003 | 2551 | 755 | .363 | .422 | .785 |
Don Mattingly | .296 | 1982 | 1995 | 2480 | 734 | .344 | .448 | .792 |
Brett Butler | .294 | 1981 | 1997 | 2524 | 741 | .384 | .360 | .744 |
Joe Mauer | .290 | 2004 | 2018 | 2231 | 646 | .360 | .381 | .740 |
Garret Anderson | .289 | 1994 | 2010 | 2583 | 746 | .309 | .437 | .745 |
Hall of Fame peers’ batting averages with 2 strikes
Player | BA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | SO | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Tony Gwynn | .302 | 1926 | 581 | 88 | 14 | 25 | 266 | .341 | .401 | .742 |
Barry Larkin | .234 | 3009 | 704 | 121 | 33 | 49 | 723 | .299 | .345 | .644 |
Cal Ripken, Jr. | .219 | 2795 | 612 | 105 | 11 | 52 | 769 | .294 | .320 | .614 |
Jeff Bagwell | .216 | 3540 | 763 | 161 | 11 | 139 | 1513 | .334 | .385 | .719 |
Chipper Jones | .212 | 3442 | 728 | 141 | 9 | 124 | 1383 | .321 | .366 | .687 |
Harold Baines | .206 | 2104 | 433 | 88 | 3 | 55 | 797 | .206 | .296 | .329 |
Larry Walker | .205 | 2714 | 556 | 118 | 19 | 88 | 1188 | .300 | .360 | .660 |
Eddie Murray | .200 | 1951 | 391 | 59 | 3 | 43 | 631 | .271 | .300 | .571 |
Ken Griffey, Jr. | .192 | 4364 | 836 | 150 | 13 | 197 | 1764 | .270 | .367 | .637 |
Fred McGriff | .176 | 3670 | 647 | 123 | 9 | 104 | 1730 | .291 | .300 | .591 |
Are you $#!**$! Kidding me facts about Tony Gwynn
- Tony Gwynn struck out thrice in a game only once – versus Bob Welch of the Dodgers on April 14, 1986. During his career years (1982-2001), there were 14,968 times when a single batter struck out at least thrice.
- Including the postseason, Gwynn faced 18 Hall of Fame pitchers for 541 plate appearances (approximately an entire season’s worth). During these at-bats, Gwynn batted .331.
- Against Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Pedro Martinez, Gwynn batted a combined .384 (109 hits, 284 at-bats), walked 19 times, and struck out only three times.
- Gwynn had 45 games with at least four hits – 11 more times than he suffered a multi-strikeout game (see above).
- Except for his rookie season (.289), Gwynn batted at least .300 for 19 straight seasons. Currently, Freddie Freeman has the longest streak with only four seasons.
- Lefthander Frank DiPino was Gwynn’s most challenging pitcher (minimum of 20 at-bats). DiPino kept Gwynn to a .050 (one hit, 20 at-bats).
Here are some cool Tony Gwynn vs MLB average charts I found on FanGraphs.
Tony Gwynn vs MLB Average Season K%
Tony Gwynn vs MLB Average Batting Average
Tony Gwynn vs MLB Average On Base Percentage
I want to conclude by sharing one of my favorite quotes by Gwynn:
Remember these two things: play hard and have fun.”
Works Cited
Baseball-Reference.com https://stathead.com/tiny/hgpMM
Boswell, Thomas. “Baseball Hall of Fame: Greg Maddux Used Methodical Approach to Get To Cooperstown,” Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/greg-maddux-a-hall-of-fame-approach-that-carried-an-average-arm-to-cooperstown/2014/01/07/fdd7ae82-77d3-11e3-af7f-13bf0e9965f6_story.html.
Fangraphs http://bit.ly/48DocPT
Goldstein, R. (2014, June 16). Tony Gwynn, Hall of Fame batting champion, dies at 54 of cancer. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/17/sports/baseball/tony-gwynn-8-time-national-league-batting-champion-is-dead-at-54.html
SI Staff. (2014, June 16). Tony Gwynn Best Si Photos – Sports illustrated. SI’s Best Photos of Tony Gwynn. https://www.si.com/mlb/2014/06/16/classic-si-photos-tony-gwynn
Please, email me at danajberry@icloud.com with any comments about what you may have liked or what you didn’t like.