Tony Gwynn was everything you wanted a sports star to be and what so many sports stars arent: Humble, approachable, a genuinely good guy, he never forgot where he came from and never got too full of himself.
The line "You don't have to have had the privilege of knowing him to be heartbroken right now; what you hoped Tony Gwynn was like, he was like." never fails to affect me.
I tear up every time I even think of Tony Gwynn, As im typing this I have tears running down my face, My all time favorite player, Greatest hitter of all time, RIP #19, Hope your talking to Ted Williams about hitting right now
I hope this never comes down. I come back and watch it every couple of months. Usually produces a tear or two. I loved Tony Gwynn. Hell, I still love Tony Gwynn.
My first ever baseball game was September 6th, 1989--San Diego Padres versus the Houston Astros at the Astrodome. We sat along the first base line, towards right field. My late father explained to me that the man standing in right field for the Padres was the best hitter in baseball. I'll always love Tony Gwynn--I shared an amazing moment with my father because of him, jerry-curl in all.
Beautiful tribute MR Keith Olbermann, your tribute brought up so many great memories of Tony Sr. Its Tony's B-day today and he would've 62 today. Gone way to soon, we saw a great career but losing Tony, we fans got robbed of so many things we could've learned from him after his retirement. I just heard a crack of the bat !!!, Tonny must've got a hit off the good Lord's best fatball !!! RIP Tony.
“‘You just can’t do it,’ Maddux said. ‘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.’”
In 1996, to win the NL West Division Title, Tony Gwynn got the game winning RBI in the second-to-last game, clinching a tie. His brother Chris got the GWRBI the next day, giving the Padres the division title. Those were great days to be a Padres fan.
I saw in person Tony's first ab whilst living in San Diego. And while is wasn't a hit, he drove in a run and one could see the beautiful stroke he possessed. Thank you Mr. Gwynn for the great memories and for your humility and class, something WOEFULLY LACKING today in sports in general.
I may not care for Olbermann's political views, but I'll be damned if he isn't one of the biggest baseball fans in the world, with eloquence to match. Great tribute to one of the greatest hitters anyone of us will ever see.
I'm a lifetime Yankees fan from the Bronx. But I lived in San Diego for ten years. I rooted against the Yankees in the 1998 World Series. For the first and only time.
This is obviously way after the fact but I had to chime in and say what a beautiful tribute this was to my favorite all time player. I still get stupidly emotional every time I see something like this about Tony Gwynn, and this one especially considering that the things I idolized and loved about the man were what was highlighted here. The man he was... the player he was... the epitome of someone who knows that what he does for a living is what most can only dream of, and the things that most players take for granted are what he treasured the most! It’s sad that there are not more players out there like Tony Gwynn... he was a class act first and a bad ass baseball player second! I was born in San Diego just a few years after Tony started his MLB career and he was the reason I fell in love with the game! We moved to the Bay Area when I was 9 and years later I was blessed to see one of his final major league games when the Padres played against the Giants here in SF. My father passed away 4 years before Tony did and I think that’s a part of why things like this make me ridiculously emotional. Our mutual love for Mr. Padre was something we’d shared for as long as I’ve been alive and in a way the day he died was a day I felt like I’d lost part of my Dad yet again. Tony Gwynn has and will always be my favorite all time MLB player.
He was so special. To see him get taken to the cleaners on contract after contract because the Padre management knew he didn't want to leave....it still pisses me off. He was an institution of the city.
That's a great story. It's very close to the experience I had with my dad and Tony except I'm still in San Diego. :) I watch this video once a year and I still cry and I'm a grown ass man who just turned 53!
I went to SDSU at the same time as Tony. I was a hoopster and played pick-up ball with him a few times. He was All WAC in basketball, but just a regular guy loving the game. He was cool with all the players. Class personified.
thanks Tony for the memories... saw him hundreds of times... 'now batting for the Padres #19 Tony Gwyn....' oooh man still feels chills down my spine :-(...
A good guy in the old fashioned way. I loved his manner almost as much as i love his batting average , and he played for the opposing team. What an example he set as a baseball player. Came back in 2022 to hear KO’s great tribute. I still get 😭
I moved to San Diego in 1979. I became a Padre fan soon after. And a Tony Gwynn fan soon after that. To live in San Diego and see the love that this town has for #19 is wonderful. I got to meet him once at a Ford dealership he was connected with. I actually got Tony to laugh. That laugh...All the base hits, all the awards, all the everything...To make Tony Gwynn laugh was the best.
Moved to SD in 1993. Didn't see Tony FAIL to win the batting title till 1998. He played one year basically one-legged. His Achilles was so bad it nearly came apart. What he did on those knees was mind-boggling. HOW he did it...with such class, joy and humility...was soul-wrenching. Miss you, Anthony Keith Gwynn!
I have loved and played baseball my whole life and always appreciated Gwynn's skill. That said, if you step back and think about it, it's fascinating that we give so much time, effort, money and adoration to athletes.
Amazing tribute Keith Olbermann, thank you for sharing your interactions with Tony over the years. It obviously takes one to know one (amazing , selfless human beings that have had positive and profound influences on kids and adults worldwide). Keep on!!
What a guy. It isn't true that it is always the good ones that go. But when they go it hurts.I never even heard of Tony Gwynn till now but hearing Keith's eulogy I feel like crying. Rest in peace, man.
Who are the 6 people that dislike this. I am an absolute wreck right now. Tony Gwynn was that rare exception where he was a better person than player. He was one of best players I have ever seen and easily in the top three hitters as well. Thanks Keith.
Tony was a true good guy in baseball...always had a smile saw him play many times in houston..before and between innings joking with someone from the astros..just good man..
Those of us who have lived in San Diego since the early 80’s know very well his personal and professional attributes of Tony Gwynn. Nothing said by Olbermann could enhance Tony’s reputation.
God damn you Olbermann!!!! Politically I absolutely can't stand you!. But, your sports narrations are as poetic and beautiful as anyone who has ever done them. Nobody comes close to you when it comes to these tributes ( Gordie Howe and Jean Beliveau were also incredible)
Oh wow. Not sure how I did not know or Remember this. Wow. I was not a Padres Fan but still even with that I knew who he was. I enjoyed watching him come to bat against my Atlanta Braves.
Btw, the first Padre to wear #19, in the old PCL, was Teddy Ballgame. The last, was Tony. Ted was born in SD (North Park), and Tony passed in SD. God rest them both.
