We kid you not. Ronald Acuna vs Juan Soto Comparison. Perhaps the greatest pure hitter of his generation, the back of Gwynn's baseball card has enough nuggets and oddities to keep trivia buffs busy for days. Did you know that Greg Maddux is the only pitcher in Major . 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. In 1995 he went 35 games without striking out. However, since this is speculative, we cannot include that in the verdict. Maddux is also one of only ten pitchers who has both 300 wins and 3,000 strikeouts. While most left-handed batters are declining and being rested against southpaws in their twilight years, Gwynn was punishing them. Here are seven crazy stats and facts, in no particular order. 2004 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection ~ Game Patch ~ Tony Gwynn /75 BeautyF Patch! 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. The historic 1994 season in which Gwynn batted .394 -- the closest anyone has come to hitting .400 since Ted Williams did so -- was cut short by the strike. He had at least two hits in his first five games and hit safely in his first twelve. Gross tubs? Gooden used his fastball and curveball to keep Gwynn off-balance, actually holding Mr. Padre to a .243 mark in 77 matchups while fanning him six times. Get the latest news, stats, videos, highlights and more about starting pitcher Greg Maddux on ESPN. In the other 19, the batter put the ball in play. Thats how you maintain an astronomical batting average year after year. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. (1915) @Wang Chi on the clock. The game went into extra innings and Gwynn singled in the tenth, but the Pads were unable to score the winning run. 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. In the 14 seasons from 1984 through 1997, Gwynn finished in the top five in the batting race 13 times. Greg Maddux got to see that firsthand. There are few ballplayers in the history of Major League Baseball that were as skilled in the batters box than Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who passed away on Monday. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for BASEBALL MLB Legends Sports Magazine Cards ALL VARIATIONS YOU PICK at the best online prices at eBay! Gwynn got hits off Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton and Phil Niekro -- four men who won a combined 1,282 games. He torched just about every pitcher he faced. Same with Joaquin Andujar, Rob Murphy, and Kevin Brown, all of whom battled Gwynn at least 25 times. A. Aaron Judge; Aaron Nola; Adam Dunn; Adam Wainwright; Adrian Beltre; . Log in. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . 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 . 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. Some NFL teams dont make the grade, players say, New era of football begins at Mater Dei under coach Frank McManus. In those three seasons, Maddux faced 3,060 batters, and 158 roughly 5.1% saw a 30 count. During his 20-year career, he struck out 434 times, an average of 21.7 K% At the end of April, 129 players had struck out 22 times, a 49% increase from the previous year. That six-hit game deserves closer examination. 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. Martinez is the current leader with four straight .300-plus seasons. April 11, 2020 6:05 AM PT. 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. If Maddux was the robot of pitchers, then Tony Gwynn is the robot of hitters. It was the third straight game he failed to get a hit (even though he had been on fire that month and his batting average was still at .403 after the three hitless games). Regardez le Salaire Mensuel de Npcap Vs Winpcap Wireshark en temps rel. San Diego State Aztecs. Registered: Jul 13, 2005. Maddux made 24 quality starts in 1994. *In 323 AB vs. Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux, Tony Gwynn struck out a total of three times. Press J to jump to the feed. He won 18 Gold Gloves, the record for any position. * Andres Galarraga (61 at-bats) and Howard Johnson (74 at-bats, five home runs) have struck out the most, 18 times each. Across his 23 seasons, he walked 999 hitters. Mr. Padre Captain Video . Theres no need to add myths to the equation. But baseball is a funny game, and so sometimes, a superstar finds Thats why he didnt score a lot of runs in comparison to other members of the 3,000 hit club, for example. "Tony Gwynn would hit .338 in 2021, '31, '41 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. In his entire 20-year career, Gwynn struck out 434 times -- an average of 21.7 K's per season. His career high in hits (220) came during his age-37 season. Greg Maddux faced Tony Gwynn 107 times, walked him intentionally 7 times, and never once struck him out. . He hit .415 (in 107 plate appearances) vs. Greg Maddux, .303 against Tom Glavine (105 PA) and .444 against Smoltz (75 PA). He finished his illustrious Hall of Fame career with a 3.16 ERA, 3,371 strikeouts, 17 Gold Gloves, and one of the best two-seamers ever thrown. Hall of Famer Greg Maddux is one of the greatest pitchers of the Live Ball Era. Against the Braves' Hall of Fame trio, Gwynn fared pretty well. Gwynn has seven of those seasons, the most of any player in that span. 7 Cubs pitchers combine for no-hitter vs Machado, Padres, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live', Fantasy baseball rankings, projections, strategy and cheat sheets, Rojas to withdraw from WBC, stay with Dodgers, The best pitcher in MLB? Fantasy baseball: Which prospects have fantasy value in 2023? How great was Gwynns 1994 season? In fact, Maddux saw Gwynn more than anyone. Wow. That's 49 fewer punchouts than Miguel Cabrera's lowest total in a year. Aztec Sports and Conference Discussions. As Howell broke for second, Gwynn put his picture-perfect swing into a Maddux slider and lifted it into center field . The bad news is they are all in slightly cryptic puzzles. Gwynn struck out 434 times in 10,232 plate appearances. But if a pitcher can change speeds, every hitter is helpless, limited by human vision. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? In 1997 he was 37 years old but his bat hadnt slowed down. Then again, he also didn't play baseball in an age when we were obsessed with walks, or on-base-percentage, or wRC+. 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. 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? Here are nine incredible facts and stats from the career of Tony Gwynn. Maddux was one of the best pitchers who pitched exclusively in the Live Ball Era. The great players are usually the ones who are able to maintain their skills later than their contemporaries. He hit .303 against fellow lefty Tom Glavine and struck out twice in 105 times at the plate . But Gwynn also extended that success to other fine pitchers, such as Madduxs teammate John Smoltz. July 12, 2016, 10:48 PM. So, as a result, in 287 plate appearances against Hall of Famers Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz, Gwynn only struck out three times while hitting .381. 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. Mark Loretta had 208 hits in 2004. #Padres Tony Gwynn faced Greg Maddux 107 times in his career, more than any other pitcher; Gwynn batted .415, Maddux never struck him out. Because, thanks to him, you never had to dread that annual spring assignment of picking the batting champ. THREE 72 AB vs Smoltz he hit .444 with a .697 slug% and 1 strikeout 99 AB vs Maddux and hit .415 and never struck out. Last season, 129 players had struck out 22 times by the end of April. The baseball world is mourning the loss of Hall of Famer and "Mr. Padre" Tony Gywnn the best way it knows how: by remembering how incredible a player he was. As we outlined in #2 above, Gwynn tore apart Greg Maddux to the tune of a . He also is a credentialed member of the Diamondbacks press corps for Last Word on Baseball. Greg Maddux (94 ABs) and Pedro Martinex (135 ABs) never recorded a K against the Padres outfielder. He hit .400 or better against eight different Cy Young winners -- Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Bret Saberhagen, Vida Blue, John Denny, Dennis Eckersley, Mark Davis and Doug Drabek -- and batted . More consistently than most major-league . Gwynn also had incredible success against many ofthe best strikeout pitchers. In the twelfth, San Diego put together a rally, Gwynn lining a single to center for his sixth hit of the game to send the winning run to third base. . That was 1997 when he struck out 28 times and hit .372. He batted at least .300 against 32 of those 38 pitchers, including Tom Glavine, Nolan Ryan, John Smoltz and Orel Hershiser. Position: Rightfielder Bats: Left Throws: Left 5-11, 185lb (180cm, 83kg) . Madduxs walk rate during those two seasons was 10.1%, more than twice as high as the rest of his career. Aztec Recruiting. Including postseason play, Gwynn faced 18 Hall of Fame pitchers for a total of 541 plate appearances. His first and biggest love is baseball. 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. He struck out 3 times and hit .381. The last player to finish his career with a higher average was Ted Williams' .344 mark. Who did Tony Gwynn never strike out against? Last season, 129 players had struck out 22 times by the end of April. No surprise, six-time NL batting champion Tony Gwynn is among the best against the four-time Cy Young winner. Answer (1 of 8): I would say Tony Gwynn. Tony Gwynn is my favorite baseball player and he always will be. In 1994, Gwynn had his best season at the plate. Tony Gwynn hit .415 against Greg Maddux and (expletive) did not strike out even once in 107 plate appearances! Share. Gwynn faced Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz a combined 323 times. Priode. 2013 Panini Pinnacle Clear Vision Single 68 Tony Gwynn 1993 Upper Deck Base Set #488 Greg Maddux 1996 Pinnacle Select Certified #32 Greg Maddux He didn't play baseball in an age when men routinely hit .424 or .404. Gwynn has seven of those seasons, the most of any player in that span. Nolan Ryan struck out Tony Gwynn more than any other pitcher with 9. He had a swing that made pitchers cry themselves to sleep. Winner of eight batting titles, Gwynn finished in the top five for the league's best average 13 times from 1984 through 1997. Its mind-blowing. And he was proud of that. With Maddux it always seemed that batters were either being fooled as they watched a pitch nip the corner of the plate, or they were getting a bad swing on a pitch that dove away from their bat at the last second. Only 644 (that we know of; we are missing data for 1,166 batters) saw a 30 count and 153 came on intentional walks. Greg Maddux once explained that you could trick any hitter into not being able to read the speed of a pitch"Except for that fucking Tony Gwynn." G/O Media may get a commission 13% off 3: Gwynn never struck out against arguably the two greatest pitchers of his generation. They can identify pitches if there are different release points or if a curveball starts with an upward hump as it leaves the pitchers hand. 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. He batted .381 with a 101 hits and 3 strikeouts. Maddux didnt strike Gwynn out a single time NOT ONCE. MLB: Tony Gwynn y sus increbles nmeros vs Pedro Martnez y Greg Maddux. Amazing strikeout stat No. He batted .415/.476/.521 against the four-time Cy Young Award winner and Hall of Famer. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. It occurred on August 4, 1993, against the Giants on a weekday evening at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. His 590 career assists are the most in school history and his 221 assists in the 1979-80 season are also a record. The former Atlanta Braves hurler faced Gwynn 107 times during their overlapping Hall-of-Fame careers. Gwynns career worst strikeout rate was 6.9% in 1988 when he struck out 40 times in 578 at bats. They signed Xander Bogaerts, re-signed Manny Machado, and last year they pulled off trades for Juan Soto and, Kyle Busch is in a new car and part of a new racing team this year, and he seems to also have some new fans. Westbrook went 3/12 in the, The Dallas Cowboys surprisingly decided to part ways with Kellen Moore after losing in the playoffs. From 1993-2001, the last nine years of his career, when he was 33-41 years old, Gwynn hit .349 against left-handed pitching. Greg Maddux's long and successful career was defined by his ability to change up his pitches and keep hitters off-balance. Gwynn finished his career batting .302 with two strikes. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=81411994, Yankees Free Agency Push Needed Post-Lockout, Ten Greatest Comebacks in MLB History: #3 (2), A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs. Bonds is batting .313 (25-for-80) with 13 walks and 13 strikeouts. Those 13 walks are the most anyone has drawn. He led the league with 220 hits, becoming the oldest player to do so. Jeff Bagwell hit .368 that year the 13th highest batting average since 1961 but he still finished 30 points behind Gwynn in the batting race! I did a cursory study of different good hitters vs. good pitchers on several dimensions. Gwynn's 60th celebrated all day, Sat. You didn't get Tony Gwynn out, Maddux used to say. "Mr Padre" is one of the best and most consistent contact hitters in the history of baseball. Sometimes hitters can pick up differences in spin. Thank you for reading and commenting, Christian. "Except," Maddux said, "for that [expletive] Tony Gwynn." Gwynn never struck out against Maddux . He started in 25 games. Of course, it's not like Gwynn's numbers against Maddux were an anomaly. Gwynn hit a blistering .444 off Smoltz and only struck out once against the hard thrower. Scherzer tries to test pitch clock limits, gets balk, 7 Cubs combine for 1st spring no-no since 2017, Jays 'playing it safe' after Guerrero tweaks knee, PitchCom-tipping: Loud device leaks Twins calls, Eflin's first start after $40M deal impresses Rays, Rangers' Leclerc to miss WBC with neck injury, Rockies' Rodgers may need surgery, '23 at risk. SAN DIEGO -- There's never a bad time to rehash the insane numbers Tony Gwynn put up during his 20 Hall of Fame seasons in San Diego. Now we have a better idea of why the team moved on. Gwynn batted .300 in every season but his rookie year, giving him a record 19 straight seasons above .300. His 4.9% walk rate is the second-lowest among Hall of Fame pitchers who pitched solely in the Live Ball Era (Robin Roberts, 4.7%). But Gwynn also extended that success to other fine pitchers, such as Maddux's teammate John Smoltz. Evan is the owner and sole contributor of Thompson Talks, a website discussing the Big Four North American Pro Sports as well as soccer. Evan lives in Mesa, Arizona and loves history, especially of sports. Only Warren Spahn (363 wins) had more wins than Maddux (355) during that era. No 3,000-hit man who was born after 1900 had a higher lifetime batting average than Gwynn (.338). On Monday, ESPNs Ethan Strauss reminded us about a fantastic quote that Maddux once had about Gwynn that summed up his sensational career. And one final strikeout-related stat that blows the mind: Tony Gwynn hit .302 with two strikes on him. On April 30, 1996, three San Francisco pitchers held Gwynn hitless. 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. Gwynn is a .431 career hitter (25-for-58) against the Atlanta ace. He thinks he might have an idea of why hes receiving some newfound fan support., An embarrassing graphic involving Russell Westbrook has gone viral. Barry Bonds TONY GWYNN Jeff Bagwell Ozzie Smith Greg Maddux PSA Auto Baseball. Why? If we apply that percentage to the 845 batters he faced in his first two seasons, that makes 43.6, which rounds up to 44. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. What's league average for batting average with bases loaded? Wade Boggs comes in second at .262. Gwynn also had incredible success against many of the best strikeout pitchers. Fun/impressive fact: In 107 PAs, Maddux never struck out Tony Gwynn. One more thing: I took the top four vote-getters and went back to Twitter to post a couple of polls. Except for that (expletive) Tony Gwynn." -Greg Maddux. Dude was a craaaazy good hitter. 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 . Sa fortune s lve 2 000,00 euros mensuels Before signing with the Atlanta Braves prior to the 1993 season, his lowest walk rate for a season was 6.2% (1991). Except for the fact he did that every darned year, no matter what. And here's Ryan on the same thing. Gwynn played both baseball and basketball at San Diego State, and he still owns several records in basketball for the Aztecs. Thus, naturally, Maddux and his machine-like control generated some truly ridiculous numbers. It means Tony Gwynn would have had to go 0-for-his-next-1,183 to get his average to fall under .300 (and even then, it would have "plummeted" to a mere .29997). Its really hard to pick a periodin one of Gwynns 20 seasons and say definitively that it was the hottest stretch of his career. And Maddux knew it. Roy Halladay shut down Derek Jeter. Runs scored is an opportunity stat, and it really has little to do with how good a player is. To find how many hitters faced a 30 count against Greg Maddux, we must look at the row labeled After 30. This brings us to the correct number 644. I read earlier that in 323 combined career PAs against Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Pedro Martinez, Gwynn struck out only three times.