Part of HuffPost News. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Dan Holmes is the author of three books about baseball, including Ty Cobb: A Biography. 2004 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection ~ Game Patch ~ Tony Gwynn /75 BeautyF Patch! This row, however, does not mean that there were 312 plate appearances that saw a 30 count. Tony Gwynn and Greg Maddux. That's easily the highest average against Maddux for any player with at least 70 plate appearances. Gwynn has hit .342 against those elite pitchers, including .364 against those still active and .406 against Atlanta's Tri-Young winners, Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. As we outlined in #2 above, Gwynn tore apart Greg Maddux to the tune of a .429 career average and he NEVER struck out against the Hall of Fame hurler. A year ago he suggested that today's livelier baseball would result in Gwynn hitting significantly more home runs without changing his swing. You never feel like youre getting in a real good swing, a swing youre happy with, a swing with follow-through, the San Diego star said. Tony Gwynn collected more regular season hits against Greg Maddux than any other batter (39 in 33 games). With the specter of a strike hanging over the game, he ramped it up in August, hitting .475 in the 10 games before the game was stopped due to the labor strife. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. On Thursday night, the Clippers blew a halftime lead and lost 115-91 to the Golden State Warriors. Gwynn's .334 career second-half batting average is the third best in the last 50 years. On May 27th, Tony went 4-for-5 against the Braves and lifted his average over .400. Gwynns four games of five hits or more in 1993 are tied with Ichiro Suzuki (2004) for the most by one player in a season since 1970. A. Aaron Judge; Aaron Nola; Adam Dunn; Adam Wainwright; Adrian Beltre; . The next day at home against the Dodgers, Gwynn went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles off Ismael Valdez. Two vs. Glavine. By Tony Gwynn. Despite the respect shown in the above comment, Tony Gwynn faced Greg Maddux 103 times in regular-season games - and never struck out (and another four times in the post-season without a whiff. Gwynn has seven of those seasons, the most of any player in that span. And he was proud of that. The stat: Maddux faced 20,421 batters during his time in the league. In that game, Gwynn lined a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth off Dennis Eckersley to tie the game and send it to extra innings. He batted .381 with a 101 hits and 3 strikeouts. Hes also drawn eight walks and whats more, is the only active batter whos faced Maddux more than a dozen times without ever striking out. Of his 18 total awards, Maddux won 10 with the Braves, five with the Cubs, two with the Dodgers and one with the Padres. His 6-for-7 performance raised Gwynns average to .357, though he would lose the batting title that season to Andres Galarraga, who batted .370 for Colorado. Greg Maddux debuted on 9/3/1986 and was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2014 by the BBWAA. We can make a rough estimate, however, by using the count data from 1988 to 1990, which was the last season Maddux had a walk rate that was 7.0% or higher. And I have a feeling that won't change -- for about the next 12 centuries: Gwynn hit .338 over a 20-year career. Gwynn finished his career batting .302 with two strikes. He collected 83 hits in the 46 games, and even had a hit in the one game he didnt start, delivering a pinch-hit two-run single against the Astros on June 1st. In his entire 20-year career, Gwynn struck out 434 times -- an average of 21.7 K's per season. Ryan est venu te frapper. If Maddux was the robot of pitchers, then Tony Gwynn is the robot of hitters. Amazing. I was actually kind of shocked when I looked up this statistic on the web. It can be no coincidence that Gwynn developed a strong friendship with another one of the all-time great hitters, Ted Williams. In the history of baseball, only Ty Cobb and Nap Lajoie got there faster -- and when they played, the gloves were made of the same material as those trains they rode on. In 1994, Gwynn had his best season at the plate. The streak lifted his batting average to .402 as late as July 14th. Born: April 14, 1966 in San Angelo, TX us Draft: Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2nd round of the 1984 MLB June Amateur Draft from Valley HS (Las Vegas, NV).. High School: Valley HS (Las Vegas, NV) Debut: September 2, 1986 (Age 20-141d, 15,231st in major league history) Maddux made his debut with the Chicago Cubs in 1986, so we do not have any pitch count data for his first two seasons in the majors. NAME AB H HR RBI K AVG; Gwynn: 94: 39: 0: 9: 0.415: Maddux is indisputably one of the top pitchers in MLB history, racking up 355 career victories, four Cy Young Awards . six-time NL batting champion Tony Gwynn is . In his entire 20-year career, Gwynn struck out 434 times -- an average of 21.7 K's per season. Twins' Balazovic had mouth wired shut after 'sucker punch' f MLB sets up local media group, could broadcast 17 teams, Report: Padres add Odor on minor-league deal, The ultimate, personalized mobile sports experience, 7 Cubs pitchers combine to no-hit Padres in spring game, Red Sox use shift loophole to counter Twins' Gallo, Top plays in World Baseball Classic history, Scherzer tests pitch clock limits, gets quick-pitch balk, Ex-Met Wright: Judge facing 'pressure' with new contract, captaincy. Ronald Acuna vs Juan Soto Comparison. He batted .415/.476/.521 against the four-time Cy Young Award winner and Hall of Famer. chaque match, chaque manche, chaque frappeur pendant 25 saisons, Ryan a opt pour le retrait au bton. In his 20 seasons, Gwynn posted 45 games in which he had at least four hits: 35 with four hits, nine with five hits, and one with six hits. So let's talk Gwynn's hitting. He was 39-for-91 off the right-hander, with eight doubles and a triple. In 1995 the baseball season was delayed and didnt start until late April. He was that good. On 45 separate occasions, Gwynn recorded four hits in a game -- 11 more times than he recorded a multi-strikeout game. Gwynn was hitting .390 as late as August 5, 1997, but cooled in late August and September and settled for a .372 average and his eighth batting title. On Monday, ESPNs Ethan Strauss reminded us about a fantastic quote that Maddux once had about Gwynn that summed up his sensational career. We cant know for sure how many of the 1986-87 hitters faced a 30 count, but chances are good that the percentage is greater than or equal to his subsequent seasons in Chicago. And none of these pitchers ever struck him out: Pedro Martinez (35 AB), Hideo Nomo (25 AB), Mike Hampton (33 AB) or, incredibly, Maddux (in 94 AB). Gwynn was without question the best pure hitter in the game of baseball in the 1980s and 1990s. So mind-blowing, in fact, that it seems too good to be true. Of course, it's not like Gwynn's numbers against Maddux were an anomaly. 3: Gwynn never struck out against arguably the two greatest pitchers of his generation. From 1993 to 1997, his best five-year stretch, when he won four batting titles, Gwynn hit .368, a mark that was more than 30 points ahead of the next closest batter, Mike Piazza (.337). fun fact: Mark Reynolds struck out 434 times from 09-10. the same amount as Tony struck out in 20 years. A few years ago, a meme surfaced featuring a crazy Greg . Many see 30 count and notice that there are 312 plate appearances (PA) something the original meme creator might have rounded down to 310. And one final strikeout-related stat that blows the mind: Tony Gwynn hit .302 with two strikes on him. Every other player who had a career batting average of .338 or better played before 1940. Gwynn hit a blistering .444 off Smoltz and only struck out once against the hard thrower. It's pure speculation at this point, but he was batting .423/.472/.613 in the second half that year. Yes, he hit better against RHP in his career (.345 as opposed to .325 against southpaws), but as Gwynn got older, he got better, not worse, at hitting left-handers. (1915) @Wang Chi on the clock. Players. On the mound was the imposing presence of the Astros' right-handed flamethrower 38-year-old future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan - who already had 241 MLB wins . Tony Gwynn was the only player to have struck out Maddux 107 times. Lets just make sure were using the right number when describing Madduxs stats. OK, got all that digested. on MLBN. Results of Baseball Roundtable Survey on 2023 MLB Rules Changes, Book Review The Greatest Summer in Baseball History: How the 73 Season Changed Us Forever, Triple Crown Moundsmen Big Names with Big Seasons, A Look at MLB Triple Crown Winners Starting with Three-for-Three Oscar Charleston. In other words, the last pitch of the plate appearance came on a 30 count. Dude was a craaaazy good hitter. The primary advantage for Gwynn, however, was longevity. Padres fans have called the second game of the season, "Tony Gwynn Opening Day" for years, because of Gwynn's affection for the fans who showed up for Game 2. In the 73 years since Ted Williams last hit .400, all the other hitters who passed through the big leagues -- a group that includes Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Wade Boggs, yadda, yadda, yadda -- combined to do it only eight times. Only Ty Cobb, who won 12, all before 1920, had more. . Gwynn struck out 434 times in 10,232 plate appearances. In fact, Maddux saw Gwynn more than anyone. Finally, what does it mean to have piled up a .338 batting average over a 20-year career, over 9,288 at-bats? Did you know that Greg Maddux is the only pitcher in Major . Last season, 129 players had struck out 22 times by the end of April. He faced Greg Maddux 107 times, hit .415, and never struck out. He faced Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine, and Pedro Martinez a combined 323 times, and only struck out in 3 of those plate appearances. He won 18 Gold Gloves, the record for any position. He also is a credentialed member of the Diamondbacks press corps for Last Word on Baseball. Thats how you maintain an astronomical batting average year after year. Last Saturday, Gwynn faced a pitcher, Livan Hernandez, who was born 31 years after Jenkins and who was pitching for a franchise and a wild-card spot that did not exist when . Since Gwynn debuted in 1982, a hitter has finished a season with a batting average above .350 only 46 times. More on Gwynn's lack of strikeouts: He faced some great pitchers, but even the cream of the crop had trouble getting him out. 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. His batting average stood at .394 and unfortunately, a run at .400 was one of the things lost when the season was cancelled. I agree that Mr. Gwynn was a helluva player, and a great man. From 1991-1999, he struck out more than 20 times once. Fun/impressive fact: In 107 PAs, Maddux never struck out Tony Gwynn. In the other 19, the batter put the ball in play. Here are seven crazy stats and facts, in no particular order. For more details, review our, a fantastic quote that Maddux once had about Gwynn, Padres 16-year-old prospect turning heads in spring training, Kyle Busch addresses his surprising newfound fan support, Embarrassing graphic of Russell Westbrook goes viral, Mike McCarthy reveals where he and Kellen Moore clashed, Ex-World Series champion likely to make Dodgers roster, LeBron James inserts himself into tweet wishing reporter well. Tom Glavine, the other great pitcher in Atlantas rotation during Gwynns day, only struck out Tony twice. That will include, among pitchers, Greg M. * Andres Galarraga (61 at-bats) and Howard Johnson (74 at-bats, five home runs) have struck out the most, 18 times each. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? Born: May 9, 1960 in Los Angeles, CA us Died: June 16, 2014 in Poway, CA Buried: Dearborn Memorial Park, Poway, CA . He thinks he might have an idea of why hes receiving some newfound fan support., An embarrassing graphic involving Russell Westbrook has gone viral. Evan Thompson is a member of the Roland Hemond (AZ) Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). What's league average for batting average with bases loaded? On the morning of June 11th his mark was at .409 after another three-hit game against St. Louis at Qualcomm Stadium the night before. Tony Gwynn hit .415 against Greg Maddux and (expletive) did not strike out even once in 107 plate appearances! Elliott: Kings use their heads over hearts in trading Jonathan Quick, This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids, After four decades, trainer Ed Moger gets his first Triple Crown starter, An exclusive look at details of Chip Kellys two-year contract extension from UCLA, His shoe game is pretty tight. Why Dodgers hope Miguel Rojas play matches his swag, Rats in the laundry? Gwynn batted .300 in every season but his rookie year, giving him a record 19 straight seasons above .300. Et il a obtenu le retrait au bton plus que tout autre lanceur n'a jamais fait ou ne le fera jamais. Bob Gibson et Pedro Martinez et Greg Maddux sont venus vous battre. The pitcher that Gwynn faced most often was Greg Maddux, which makes sense since the two were in the National League together for 15 seasons. Gwynn's 60th celebrated all day, Sat. Now we have a better idea of why the team moved on. Greg Maddux's long and successful career was defined by his ability to change up his pitches and keep hitters off-balance. Gwynn hit below .300 just once in his career, Gwynn struck out less than 20 times in six straight seasons with a career-low 15 times in 1995. America's Pastime. 19. With the All-Star game in San Diego this season, it's impossible not to think about San Diego . Full quote: "Sometimes hitters can pick up differences in spin. I did a cursory study of different good hitters vs. good pitchers on several dimensions. In the seventh, Gwynn got his third hit, a double to left field off Dave Righetti. Gwynn batted .331/.371/.426. And in the only season he didn't -- in 1990 -- he missed by one hit. That was the first time in THREE YEARS that Gwynn had gone more than two games without a hit, and the first time in FIVE YEARS that he had gone more than 11 at-bats without getting a base hit. Against Nolan Ryan, Gwynn hit .302, and he famously never struck out against Maddux in 91 at-bats. He torched just about every pitcher he faced. The good is, Shawn left his picks. Nolan Ryan struck out Tony Gwynn more than any other pitcher with 9. In 36 pitcher/batter battles, Pedro Martinez never struck out Gwynn. Log in. On the day he retired 13 years ago, I took a look at his incredible hitting genius, measured through the columns on the stat sheet he owned like no one else -- the batting average column, the hits column and the strikeouts (or lack thereof) column. Except for that (expletive) Tony Gwynn.. His control was so impeccable that Orel Hershiser once said Maddux can throw a ball in a teacup. The reality of Greg Maddux is amazing enough. Tony Gwynn has the highest career batting average among players whose career started after 1947 (baseball first integrated), no surprises there . The next closest guy only got him 6 times. 1994 Quality Starts. As Howell broke for second, Gwynn put his picture-perfect swing into a Maddux slider and lifted it into center field . He was the second batter in the top of the first inning, as his Giants took on the Houston Astros. Same with Joaquin Andujar, Rob Murphy, and Kevin Brown, all of whom battled Gwynn at least 25 times. Gregory Alan Maddux was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Chicago Cubs (1986-1998), Atlanta Braves (1993-2003), Chicago Cubs (2004-2006), Los Angeles Dodgers (2006), San Diego Padres (2007-2008), and Los Angeles Dodgers (2008). They can be viewed by season or over an entire career. Finally, in 1998, the Padres advanced past the Houston Astros in the NLDS (this was the year Houston traded at the deadline for Randy Johnson), then beat the Atlanta Braves and their troika of aces in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz in the NLCS, before getting swept in the World Series by the New York Yankees; Gwynn only batted .200 . How does this translate to their WAR/WAA? Gwynn is a .431 career hitter (25-for-58) against the Atlanta ace. How great was Gwynns 1994 season? Hall of Famer Greg Maddux is one of the greatest pitchers of the Live Ball Era. We could spend all day listing Gwynns mind-boggling career achievements. Gwynn hit a blistering .444 off Smoltz and only struck out once against the hard thrower . Para muchos Tony Gwynn es uno de los mejores bateadores en la historia del beisbol de la MLB, razn por la que el premio al champion bat de la Liga Nacional lleva su nombre, pero cmo le fue este grande con el madero contra otras dos leyendas en Pedro Martnez y . **, Press J to jump to the feed. He had at least two hits in his first five games and hit safely in his first twelve. Gwynn has seven of those seasons . About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Another foot either way and it would have been a hit. More consistently than most major-league . He is ranked 74th on the Baseball Reference website on position players, he also had a relatively long career. Also, Mark Reynolds had the same number as strikeouts in 2009 and 2010 that Tony Gwynn had in 20 years. Press J to jump to the feed. Roy Halladay shut down Derek Jeter. Seven of those 19 times, the batter notched a base hit; the other 12 times, the batter made an out. One more thing: I took the top four vote-getters and went back to Twitter to post a couple of polls. As a DBacks fan I've always hated mark reynolds, Maddux on Tony Gwynn. In 293 of those, the batter walked; 153 were intentional. The game went into extra innings and Gwynn singled in the tenth, but the Pads were unable to score the winning run. This statement further cements his reputation as a control artist. Gwynns career batting mark was .338, the highest mark by any player who started his career after 1939. 25 bids - Price: $170.50 - Watchers: 86. We kid you not. Most players have a disadvantage when they are facing pitchers of the same stripe as them. Even against hitters who can hurt them, they rarely change much from how they approach every hitter. Greg Maddux vs. Tony Gwynn. The Book on Maddux, Glavine. Here comes more. No surprise, six-time NL batting champion Tony Gwynn is among the best against the four-time Cy Young winner. He was intentionally walked by Maddux six times, the most intentional walks that Gwynn received from any enemy pitcher. They were the 307th set of brothers in Major League Baseball history. Mike Hampton, a hard-throwing lefty who finished second in Cy Young voting one season, faced Gwynn 38 times and never struck him out. His 590 career assists are the most in school history and his 221 assists in the 1979-80 season are also a record. Share. In 20 seasons he struck out a total of 434 times most hitters today strike out that much in three seasons. Barry Bonds TONY GWYNN Jeff Bagwell Ozzie Smith Greg Maddux PSA Auto Baseball. From 1993-2001, the last nine years of his career, when he was 33-41 years old, Gwynn hit .349 against left-handed pitching. Gwynn has seven of those seasons, the most of any player in that span. He previously worked for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Basically if you're a legendary pitcher, good luck with Tony Gwynn. Gwynn faced Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz a combined 323 times. The baseball world was mourning the passing of one of its most beloved players on Monday, as San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn lost his battle with cancer at the age of 54. Kinda random it was just these two especially Pedro Martinez since it was probably only the beginning of his career when they were facing eachother. . The latest stats, facts, news and notes on Tony Gwynn of the San Diego * Andy Van Slyke, now an ESPN announcer, batted .343 (23-for-67) with four home runs and 11 walks. He didn't play baseball in an age when men routinely hit .424 or .404. Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. Maddux and Glavine are the first pair of Hall of Fame classmates both to record voting percentages in the 90th percentile since 2007 with Cal Ripken Jr. (98.5) and Tony Gwynn (97.6). Winner of eight batting titles, Gwynn finished in the top five for the league's best average 13 times from 1984 through 1997. * Dante Bichette is 1-for-9 and Colorado teammate Vinny Castilla is 0-for-8. Chris Cwik. Maddux was one of several pitchers who deftly described the challenge of retiring Gwynn at the plate. "Except," Maddux said, "for that [expletive] Tony Gwynn." Gwynn never struck out against Maddux . Tony Gwynn is the greatest pure hitter I have ever witnessed. You can check out the most watched Tony Gwynn cards of all years currently at auction through the live list below. I think I know part of the reason for Gwynns low WAR ranking, he ranks 101st among MLB players all time in total runs scored, behind Joe DiMaggio who had a much shorter career. Greg Maddux faced 20,421 batters in his career. The Padres' Hall-of-Fame right fielder faced the Braves' Hall of Famer more than any other pitcher in his career . 307 - Tony Gwynn has a younger brother, Chris Gwynn, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1987-1991), Kansas City Royals (1992-1993), Los Angeles Dodgers (1994-1995), and San Diego Padres . Gross tubs? If he hadn't let him go, we probably wouldn't have been able to put together all of those great teams from the 90's, andoh. Aztec Mesa Archives. Tony Gwynn vs. Pitchers Event data is only available for the American League and National League. He dazzled batters with his precision and command. That brought up Gwynn, hitting better than .500 lifetime against the Cub ace. Reggie Jackson's Record-breaking Strikeouts Fantasy baseball: Which prospects have fantasy value in 2023? Scott only fanned Tony three times in 95 matchups. Gwynn hit below .300 just once in his career, his rookie season. Order the book at store.bookbaby.com. . He would have to go 0 for his next 1,183 at-bats to fall under .300. Against Randy Johnson, however, Gwynn slashed .111/.111/.167 for a .278 OPS with no walks and five strikeouts in 18 PAs. Draft: Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 3rd round of the 1981 MLB June Amateur Draft from San Diego State University (San Diego, CA).