Tony Gwynn Will Retire at Season's End
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Tony Gwynn, an eight-time NL batting champion and member of the 3,000-hit club, will retire at the end of this season, his 20th with the San Diego Padres.
``Today I have to make it official - This is my last year playing with the Padres,'' Gwynn said at a news conference.
``But I'm not dying today,'' he said with a laugh.
``It's time to start thinking about what I'm going to do next and everybody knows what I'm looking at,'' he said, referring to his interest in coaching baseball at his alma mater, San Diego State.
Gwynn, arguably the best pure hitter of his generation, has struggled to get back into the Padres' lineup because of a strained right hamstring that's sidelined him for all but 16 games this season.
He hasn't played since May 9, his 41st birthday, when he injured his hamstring for the second time this year. Gwynn has hinted strongly for a month that this will be his final season, but also has said he wants badly to return to action.
``Somehow I want to get back on the roster and finish my career,'' Gwynn said.
Gwynn ran in the outfield before Wednesday night's game.
``Tony is getting closer,'' manager Bruce Bochy said. ``When he does come back he will pinch hit, but not play in the field.
``He's certainly one of the greatest hitters of all time, but he's just as great a person,'' Bochy said. ``He's been a real pleasure. I hope to get him back at some point this year. He means a lot to this ballclub. He's done a lot for San Diego. It's been frustrating for him with his injuries, and hopefully we'll get him back out here.''
Teammate Trevor Hoffman said the most impressive thing was that Gwynn spent his whole career with the Padres.
``I think that's pretty fitting for him, that he should finish it here,'' Hoffman said.
Gwynn made it to the playoffs just three times in two decades, but always chose to stay in San Diego.
``It was obviously his choice to stay here in those times,'' Hoffman said. ``But I don't think he regrets not going anywhere else. He had an opportunity to play in two World Series, and he was pretty productive in them.''
Gwynn, 16th in baseball history with 3,124 hits, has strongly hinted for a month that this would be his final season.
On May 29, he said he would like to coach baseball at San Diego State when the job opens in June 2002. Although he wouldn't say it publicly at the time, that would rule out him playing next season if he got the job.
Gwynn's announcement came less than two weeks after Cal Ripken Jr. announced he will retire at season's end.
Ripken and Gwynn are scheduled to play their final games on Sept. 30, Ripken at Yankee Stadium and Gwynn at San Francisco's Pac Bell Park.
Gwynn has played in only 16 games this season, getting 16 hits in 48 at-bats for a .333 average. He hurt his hamstring for the first time on April 20 in Los Angeles, trying to stretch a hit into a double.
Gwynn has been plagued by leg injuries the last several years. He underwent a sixth operation on his left knee last season and was limited to a career-low 36 games.
Unsure about his knee, the Padres put him through the wringer in negotiations last winter after Gwynn filed for free agency for the first time. They finally agreed to an incentive-laden contract in which half of his $2 million salary is deferred.
Gwynn played both baseball and basketball at San Diego State, and was drafted by both the Padres and the then-San Diego Clippers on the same day in 1981.
Last season, Gwynn hit above .300 for the 18th straight season, breaking Honus Wagner's NL record. With his eighth and final batting title in 1997, Gwynn tied Wagner for the most in the NL.
Gwynn has a lifetime .338 average. Hall of Famer Ted Williams, a San Diego native, hit .344, the only player in baseball with a higher batting average than Gwynn since World War II.
Gwynn's best year was 1994, when he was batting .394 when the players' strike began. It was the highest in the majors since Williams batted .406 in 1941.
Gwynn got his 3,000th hit on Aug. 6, 1999, at Montreal.
He reached the World Series twice, but the Padres lost to the Detroit Tigers in 1984 and the New York Yankees in 1998. One of his career highlights was homering off the upper-deck facade in Yankee Stadium in Game 1 of the '98 Series.
Originally published June 28, 2001.
