19: The Life and Career of Tony Gwynn 

All I can do is cry watching this. Growing up a padre fan didn't have much, but God damn it we had Tony.

Another Tony Gwynn fact: He once beat the Devil in a fiddle off before playing against the Atlanta Braves.

as someone from san diego that was beautiful we miss him everyday there isn’t someone here in san diego who is a longtime baseball fan who hadn’t met tony he literally always came out and met people, i always say his autographs aren’t worth anything because he literally signed so much for everyone here and always held hitting lessons for little leagues, there wasn’t a thing he didn’t do, was surprised you didn’t talk about how when a game ended because of a rain delay he told a teammate before the next day when the game would resume that he’d get a fastball outside and he would hit it through to left field for a rbi single, sure enough next day he gets his fastball for an rbi single into left field that’s how good he was

You don’t have to be a Padres fan to be a fan of “Mr. Padre,” but you’re not a baseball fan at all if you don’t respect this legend.

I can distinctly remember that All Star game moment to honor the legends Cal Ripken Jr and "Mr. Padre" Tony Gwynn. Also, way to make a lifelong baseball fan shed more tears.

One of my favourite players of all time, incredible man

Being born in San Diego I’ve heard so many stories about Tony’s insane hitting skill. Never get tired of hearing about him.

Jesus Christ, .473 for a full month. Also, I like that a 3.5 WAR .313 1988 was a complete crap year for him lol. Guys would kill for that

RIP Should have batted 400 in 1994

That Beckett ad was the most devastating fatality I've ever seen. Four cents...poor bip roberts

I'M NOT CRYING YOU ARE

I grew up in San Diego and got to watch Tony Gwynn play baseball. Him and Junior Seau were the heart and soul of the community. I know we never won it all in either sport, but it was a special time to be a sports fan in San Diego.

Truly an amazing mini documentary. Thank you for that. Tony is the first player I remember hearing about. I was 9 years old in 1999, I was watching SportsCenter specifically for NBA news, as I always did. I remembered hearing about Tony when he got his 3000th hit. I didn't realize how important that number was at that age but I knew it had to be something big. There was some news about Cal Ripkin that day too and I remembered that they were something special, even though I didn't know anything about baseball at the time. and then they both became first ballot HoFers the same year. I cried throughout most of this video. Well made.

RIP Tony, but also RIP Vin. That ending got my eyes watering. Beautiful.

You’re going places kid. Keep making content like this, and you’ll hit 1m subscribers in no time. BUT. Don’t ever lose your love for the game. Don’t ever lose sight of being humble. The world is full of assholes high on themselves. Don’t be one of them. I’m part of the first 3.5k. I look forward to your development. Be well 🤘🏻.

Tony Gwynn is everything right about baseball. We lost him too soon, Rest In Peace sir. You inspired a love for the game in a lot of kids who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and unlike with other heroes, that love is pure, not sullied by accusations of cheating, abuse or any of the other pitfalls of celebrity. Thanks Tony!

Man, i was 3 months old when he played his last game, and this video still made me tear up

Born and raised in San Diego and had an opportunity to meet him a few times when I was a kid, he was truly everything that has been said already and more 5.5/19

This reminds me of how great it was being a baseball fan in the late 90s. Gwynn was finishing up his incredible career. Cal broke Gehrig's record, the 98 HR chase. It was also the last time baseball had it's innocence. A lot of golden era guys were still living and around the game to a degree.

Playing youth baseball in the 90's, every coach mentioned Gwynn and his approach to hitting, and recommended learning from him

Damn this had me crying. The interviews from those fans, as well as him getting the phone call. Great video

As a life long San Diegan, and a huge Padres fan, this video had a real impact. For a young man, you created and captured someone with a maturity beyond your years. I am 55 yo, so Tony was only 5 years older than me. I was at his first game as a Padres, working in high school as a peanut vendor for Servomation Corp. at Jack Murphy “The Murph” stadium (before it was renamed Qualcomm stadium) from 1980 to 1983. In my mind I got paid to watch Tony Gwynn and his teammates. I now live in Rancho Bernardo just a mile away from his home and resting place in the adjacent City of Poway and bumped into him several times at Costco, local Restaurants, Albertson grocery store and he was always so gracious and friendly. I didn’t want to bug him, so generally just nodded and said thank you Tony. I saw him at Poway HS many times where Tony Jr. (who Jr. sounds just like him on the local sports radio station where he is a daily host and now a Padres TV sportscaster) played basketball with Gary Templeton’s son. I was so fortunate to attend the celebration of Tony’s life ceremony at Petco. I decided at the last minute to go and went alone, not something I normally would do, but I just felt compelled to go and was so blessed to attend and the Padres did a great job honoring our hero. As a 20+ years long time half season ticket holder and an avid baseball fan, there has not been a player like him ever. Trevor Hoffman comes close, as I have also have had the opportunity to meet him at various Padres events, and Trevor would tell you (as he has said publicly) that Tony had a major impact on him as player, but more off the field as a man, husband and father. Again, great video, not a dry eye as I watched this, and please keep up the great work.

I was born in San Diego in 86, and was lucky enough to grow up a mile from the stadium in a baseball family. So many memories with my dad and grandpa going to those games and watching Tony. I still have a ball he threw me at a game in 94 when I was 8, and I remember the moment. Thanks for this video man, brought back so many memories and emotions. Glad to have a baseball RU-vidr who’s also a Pads fan.

Look dude, I'm not much older than you so I never watched him play either, but god damn if you didn't have me sitting here crying like a baby. Your channel deserves way more recognition. Incredible work. RIP Tony Gwynn.

Very well made, I had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful human being on many occasions when I was a kid, so often in fact that he knew my family on sight. We were able to watch the man in action on a few occasions as well. Best hitter I ever had the pleasure of seeing play in person! RIP Mr. Padre!

I really enjoyed watching Tony Gwynn play baseball. He was a great player and an outstanding person.

One of my favorite Gwynn stats - his career high in strikeouts was 40 (1988). He only struckout 30 or more times in a season 5 times, all from 1985-89. After that he only struckout more than 20 times in a season twice for the rest of his career (23 in 1990 and 28 in 1997). He got better as he got older.

Nice video. I'd love to see more player tribute videos. Also, and early congrats on hitting 1,000 subs.

I love your videos man. When I wake up in the morning and drink my coffee I love to put on a video from some baseball content. I love yours so much. You put in a ton of excellent work. Few people do it as well as you. I'm positive you will be one of the big ones if you keep at it. Thank you for making me smile.

My dad and I are from San Diego. We live in Seattle now. I was born in 99 but my dad passed on his love for the Padres and for Gwynn onto me. The Padres were in town the day Gwynn died. Not sure if there was anything on earth that could have prevented us from going to that game. My dad shed a few tears at the moment of silence and the tribute to him. He has a small collection of authentic and game worn jerseys. That got him on the TV broadcast that day for wearing his game worn #19.

NOW IM IN MY FEELS. Why you do this to me Vin? WHY VIN WHY?! 😅😭

I share this to reinforce the stories shared about the type of man he was. I moved to fulfill my childhood decision to move to San Diego the year I graduated college. I was loving life there and used my sudden increase in expendable income to buy a ticket in the front row on the 1st base side at Qualcomm Stadium. I got there extra early to watch batting practice and take in a beautiful spring afternoon, when I start to hear murmurs on my left. I turn to see Tony Gwynn walking along the fence, shaking hands. He stops, shakes my hand, and asked me how my day was going. I said it was perfect, I'm sitting on a baseball field instead of inside doing engineering in the cold Northeast. He liked that answer, asked if I grew up there, and I explained briefly I'd grown up in LA county on Dodgers baseball and Vin Scully. He said "He's a good man." and then said maybe they'd convince me to become a Padres fan if they did well today, then sauntered into the dugout. That brief discussion was the kind of interaction that, if I were a kid, would change my life. I may not have become a Padres fan, but I certainly became a Tony Gwynn fan for life that day.

Watching this brings back so many good memories of baseball and childhood. Grew up a Dodgers fan, Going to the stadium and watching all of different teams and players over the mid 80's to mid 90's. One of the biggest memories I'll carry till I pass is, My dad telling my you see him(Tony Gwynn). That player is what this sport is or should be.... Right now my daughter is playing travel ball softball. She wants to kill the ball, hit the fences. I show her these video clips. Play hard and Have fun.😢 Thank you Mr Padre for the legacy you have left us. 🙏

I wasn’t a Padres fan, but I respected him as one of the best hitters in the game. He was a class act and left us way too soon. RIP Tony Gwynn...forever Mr. Padre.

thank you for this, as a life long padres fan, and having grown up watching Tony play, and even to meet him, he was and always will be a hero to myself and many other san diegans, this video brought me to tears multiple times, thank for making this beautiful work of art

I've gotten to see a lot of hall of famers in cooperstown over the years, but Tony Gwynn was the nicest one by far. He was being unfairly overshadowed by Ripken, but he didn't mind and was just happy to be there. He signed for maybe 50 people having conversations with us. I gave a wrong stat, but he teased me saying he'd take the extra 200 hit season. I think Gwynn was a better overall ballplayer than Ripken too.

Had me in tears at 9:00 when he gets that phone call for the HOF.. Seems like everyone says this about him but when I was a kid I met Tony(twice actually) and he was so incredibly kind to me that he’ll always be a hero to me and taught me a lot on how to treat others..He was special on his own without baseball

Grew up a huge Giants fan and watched Tony Gwynn. Now I live in SD and have a deeper appreciation for him. I'll be honest, I cheer for the Padres when they're not playing the Giants. This is a great channel, keep up the great work.

I never knew about Tony until this video and now he’s one of my favorite players ever

Great video!!!!! I love Tony! I saw his son play in Nashville many times. I always felt honored to see Tony Jr play. RIP #19

In the AL, it was Wade Boggs; in the NL, it was Tony Gwynn. The other GenX kids reading this will know exactly what I mean. Those were the greatest pure hitters of our childhood. I'm a Dodgers fan & still Gwynn is one of my 2 favorite players of the 80s (with Orel Hershiser). Btw, dude, your videos are better than TWIB vids. Just unreal... I am hella impressed. I hope this is what you do for a living, b/c you were born to narrate baseball videos the way Tony Gwynn was born to get basehits. (`in reality, I'm sure you work as hard as Gwynn did to get this good.) You had me tearing up by the end, man.

I grew up watching Mr Padre ever since I was 9 years old in 1993. Since then I love to see him play and his smile is what made my day. As a Braves fan I enjoyed watching Mr Gwynn play against the Braves and my goodness he was a really good player. Till this day I still remember him and his smile that I will never forget.

The fact that he was worried he wouldn’t make the HOF shows an insane level of humility because literally anyone who knows anything about baseball had no doubt that he was a surefire first ballot HOFer. Those aren’t common and neither was Tony Gwynn. RIP

I just came over from the srs collab, great content man. You definetley made a new subscriber today.

I was 1 year old when tony got into single A...started to realize what baseball was around 6. Had a chance to see some amazing baseball in my time. Tony was different...ripken was different....brett was different. Great video!

Damn it; I don't watch your channel to cry! I was fortunate enough to have watched the last 3rd of Tony's career and it was clear to me, even as a kid, just how respected he was in baseball. He was one of a kind

This was very well produced. The words at the end of the video by Vin Scully are a must watch. Gwynn was definitely one of my favorites growing up. I did get to see him play one game at "The Murph" in 1986. He went 3-for-4 with 2 OF Assists. He was the best player on the field that day in their 7-1 win over the Expos.

This was great; thank you. Though I grew up in Atlanta watching the Braves, he was one of my favorite players. His skill with the bat was unmatched.

One of the best videos I've ever seen of t gwynn. Thankyou

This video is honestly beautiful. My childhood glove was a Tony Gwynn. :) RIP to a Legend.

Great video. I got a little teary eye at the end with the great Vin Scully telling that story. RIP Mr Padre

Sorry you never got to see him, I was so blessed to watch him, he helped me at the old San Diego School of Baseball before an All Star Game. He worked with me for 15 minutes, that’s all… I went 3-4 the next game, it was surreal. I’m so lucky to have met my hero.

Throughout most of this video I kept making comparisons between Tony Gwynn and Kirby Puckett. Both were amongst the best hitters of their era and had that infectious smile and laugh that brought joy to so many people. And sadly both were taken way too soon.

i’ve watched this video like 5 times and get tears in my eyes everytime

He had the best laugh to go along with that smile...

I was born in 1987, I started becoming interested in baseball about 1996 and in 1998 as a St. Louis kid growing up watching Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chase the single season HR record I absolutely fell in love with The Cardinals and baseball. Growing up watching McGuire and even the start of Albert Pujols. Tony Gwynn was always a player I wanted to watch more than anything. The fact he could hit like that just blew me away. Aside from McGuire as a kid Tony was my favorite player and I was always Tony when I would come up to the plate in backyard baseball.

Thanks for this video, my friend! Always great to treasure some great history, and an incredible human being, at that.

I remember going to Aztecs games as a kid and always loved seeing tony he would talk to everyone and sign for everyone one time my little league team got to go on the field and meet the players and coach i got to meet Tony and Strasburgh I remember Tony coming to me and talking to me for a bit about baseball and then talked to me and my dad after the game the day he passed away was one of the only times I saw my dad cry that's how much Tony meant to the city

I gotta tell you this is an absolutely fantastic video. Really really well put together.

New subscriber & great job putting this together. One of my favorite players on & off the field. He always talked about the history of ⚾⚾

We need more videos like this because it is phenomenal how you put it together and do more please 🙏 please 🙏

This RU-vid channel is so underrated

A real class act. Thank you for making this

You research, editing, and flow were great. I appreciate the video.

Awesome video. Tony was such an incredible player. Thank you for putting this together!

One of the best hitters men. One of the best videos of baseball and Tony Gwyyn I've ever seen men. Good job with that video and good luck with your channel

When I first got to SD I saw him in passing at Ralph's in Carmel Mountain Ranch. I don't follow baseball and didn't know who he was. I could tell he was rich and living a great life. I turn on the news and his face is right there on the screen. I wish I could have said Hi to the guy. He looked very humble and down to Earth

You mentioned Rod Carew and George Brett as role models for Tony Gwynn which makes sense. Tony Gwynn was the best back side hitter the game has ever seen even Ted Williams hit into the pull side shift constantly. I don't know how hitters can wait that long on a baseball but no one's ever done it better than Tony Gwynn God Rest his soul he was a truly wonderful person by all accounts and a joy to watch imagine if he had a had a offensive backup all those years his numbers might have been even more crazy

This video alone has put him in my top 5 baseball players of all time

Thank you for that beautiful Memorial to my idol !

Wow! I loved this video so much! I was tearing up. Really great video!

I watched the lowly padres through many loosing seasons but I never missed a Tony Gwynn at bat. It was never a question of how hard he always hit the ball but only if it was right at someone for an out. With luck he could of hit .500. I always wanted the ball hit to him to see his deadly accurate arm throw someone out. In 60 years of baseball I've never seen a more exciting player and my no. 1 pick to start a team with. I ❤ you Tony Gywnn. Great video 👍

As a lifelong San Diegan, I had the honor of watching Gwynn for his entire career. Perhaps the most unassuming superstar in all of sports. RIP.

I was blessed to grow up in San Diego, I had a few conversations with Tony at the stadium before baseball game. He always took the time. One time he came to the gate with a baseball bat . In each hand swinging them , getting ready to go to work in the batting cages

What a beautiful doc. I'm sure he would be honored. Excellent work boss.

Great video man! I’m like you, I was born only 2 years before his final season so I haven’t seen much about his career. Great informative video it’s awesome to see how popular he was in San Diego. I’m from NJ where he isn’t talked about much

I cried thank you for this

wtf 2 minutes in and im already crying. Tony was a hero to my family as I grew up. He left us to soon man

Thank you for that! Incredible and moving!

Great vids man, keep em comin! Quality keeps getting better every upload

When Strasburg was pitching for the Aztecs I got to go see him play with my little league team. Tony came over to us and gave us a little pep talk. I'll always remember that.

I am late to finding your channel, congrats on 5K subs and more to come! You sound wise beyond your years, great content here. 1994. Great players were having record breaking seasons that year, and then the strike ended it all. I was a 15 yrs old watching these greats going for the record books: Gwynn, Griffey, Williams, and Maddux. Pedro, Unit, Big Hurt, Bags and Barry. 1993-1996 (except for the strike) were my favorite seasons of baseball.

Fantastic work man, I hope you can keep on growing, you deserve it

Great video man, glad I found this

Loved the video!!! I'm not crying you are!!

I grew up watching this man play in the old stadium. Met him and he was a class act. I was 12

Great video man

Gosh Vin scully. Got me in tears. That was absolutely perfect and just unrehearsed friendship

One of the greatest hitters to ever play baseball. Glad I got to see him play.

Absolutely amazing video man🙏👏

We miss u tony... My kids are grown, the park is quite. It's opening day and it doesn't feel like it... We still talk about going and seeing you but.. the kids have grown up.... We miss u MR. Gwynn #619 #19

Awesome video! So often forgotten and not mentioned when discussing the best hitters in the modern era. NOBODY could steer the baseball with a bat the way Tony could. Most guys are just trying to make contact. Tony could bloop it over the shortstops head if he wanted to. He could one hop the ball in between the first and second basemen if he wanted to. An amazing all around ball player.

This was amazing. Long Live the Great Tony Gwynn !

Before David Ortiz came on the scene, Tony was my favorite player. He was such a nice guy, a great hitter, a good person, and unfortunately I only started watching baseball in 1995 (the same year I started playing at 9), so I didn't get to see his .394 season. But when I saw he was a lefty like me, an outfielder like me, and a really good hitter like I wanted to be, I was hooked.

Outstanding video. I don't know why it doesn't have more views?

still have a picture i took of Tony running in from the outfield in between innings. Took it with a disposable camera and damn if it doesnt look professional. I have it sitting on the wall above a shelf with Tony's 3000th hit blue beanie baby in a display case. Favorite player ever.

Congrats on passing 10k subscribers while I watched this!

I can’t believe this video ended with Vin Scully, makes it more sad

20 year old Tigers fan that's only been a baseball fan since 2008 but goddamn was Tony one of a kind

AMAZING video... had me crying at the end of it oh man