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From Humble Beginning, Gwynn Among Greats

Published: Jul 29, 2007

As the perks of a Hall of Fame career piled up - a bronze statue at the ballpark in San Diego, his image on a Wheaties box, a party fit for a Hollywood star - Tony Gwynn let his mind wander back to his humble beginnings in pro baseball.

He roomed with John Kruk in rookie ball in the summer of 1981 and the two rode their bikes to the ballpark. They wondered how they'd ever show their talent when the bats the team provided were bigger than the ones they had been swinging.

"I can remember us sitting on the back of a bus in Walla Walla, Wash., it's 100 degrees and the windows wouldn't open, we're drinking Coca-Colas and talking about how great one day it would be if we could ever get to the big leagues," Gwynn said.

He made it, all right, all the way to Cooperstown.

"Part of the fun for me with the Hall of Fame is just imagining," Gwynn said. "Imagine what it would have been like to play against Lou Gehrig or Jackie Robinson or any of those guys, and to know you're going to have a plaque in there, where they have a plaque. Oh, that's pretty cool. It just doesn't get any better than that."

Gwynn grew up in the Los Angeles area and saw future Hall of Famers such as Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Mike Schmidt and Richie Allen come through Dodger Stadium.

Later he got to play against some of them and he was never shy about picking their brains.

"A lot of them helped me more than they'll ever know, because I was always asking questions. I was always being a pest because I wanted to get better, and I felt like, who better, let me go to Rod Carew, ask him a question. Let me ask Mike Schmidt. Ozzie Smith. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron," Gwynn said.

In recent weeks, the Padres honored Gwynn with a party in right field at Qualcomm Stadium and unveiled a 9 1/2 -foot bronze statue of the hitter on a grassy knoll just beyond Petco Park's outfield fence. His image is on a Wheaties box.

"I had no idea that all the things in my career were going to happen," he said. "I sure didn't see it. I just know the good Lord blessed me with ability, blessed me with good eyesight and a good pair of hands, and then I worked at the rest."