Tony Gwynn Hoping to Hit 400 This Year
San Diego, CA – Eight years removed from his hall-of-fame baseball career, former San Diego Padres great Tony Gwynn is hoping that this will finally be the year that he hits 400.
Gwynn, who is currently the head baseball coach at San Diego State University, his alma mater, has been in hot pursuit of the accomplishment since the day he retired, and this could be this season that all his work could pay off.
“Back in my playing days, I didn’t give it much thought, as the day-to-day activities of taking BP, fielding balls in the outfield, and running sprints make it very difficult to pack on a few pounds. Throw the calories you burn during the game on top of that, and you’re talking about a very difficult feat to accomplish.”
However, all of that changed when Gwynn retired from baseball in 2001. “Retiring from baseball made a huge difference for me. No longer was I saddled with the burden of having to burn calories as part of my job. I could take them all and turn them into body fat.”
Whether or not he reaches this historical milestone, Gwynn is thankful just to have made it close. “Thinking back to my college days, where I was an All-American baseball player and also a point guard on the SDSU basketball team, I didn’t think there was any chance of this happening. And if I had kept on that path, I don’t think I would have even been able to hit 250.”
That opinion was echoed by ‘Baseball Tonight’ analyst Peter Gammons, who said “Not many people know this, but in addition to being such a great baseball player, Tony made the all-Western Athletic Conference basketball team [WAC] in two seasons. And to this day, remains the only player in WAC history to be named to the all-conference team in two sports. A two sport athlete like that would never get anywhere near 400.”
Gwynn also credits his celebrity for allowing him to make this historical run. “Let’s face it, I get recognized a lot. Especially living in the same city that I played pro baseball in for twenty years. Because of that, people are always buying me meals and drinks. It’s great. Some nights I eat like three or four dinners.”
Should Gwynn reach this historic milestone, Gammons also said “Baseball Tonight” would be moving its set and broadcasting from San Diego for a week.
