Quadruple-A Baseball: The Way To Honor Tony Gwynn

May 28, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; A bat flies out of the hands of San Diego Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal (8) and into the TV camera well during the second inning against Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

I am still sad about the passing of the great Tony Gwynn. He is easily the greatest player to ever play for the Padres in the 45+ years of the team’s existence.What is irking me is that the current Padres hitters look nothing like Tony. In fact, it seems they are doing the opposite of everything Tony did at the plate. He hardly ever struck out. The 2014 Padres have the 6th most strikeouts in the NL. He hardly hit for power, but always had a .300+ batting average. This year’s club is at a major league worst .214, 16 points lower than the New York Mets.

I am a little disgusted with the way the Padres are playing since the passing of Gwynn a few days ago. This is no way to honor a fallen legend. Perhaps the only reason why the Padres are relevant in today’s game is because of this man. Can’t the Padres find some ounce of pride and “Win for Gwynn”? Can’t they use this as motivation to press forward and get better?

The two games played since his death have been horrendous, scoring just 2 runs on 9 hits. I feel the best way the Padres organization could honor Tony is to take his approach at the plate. I’m not asking all our hitters 1 through 8 in the lineup to hit .325. I’m just asking for some life. Some energy. The offense needs to improve. The Padres have hitters who have produced in the past. These same players are reeling. Something has to give. 

Gwynn already has a statue, his number retired and his place in Cooperstown. The best way to honor him now is to hit the ball like he did. I love the Padres and I love Tony Gwynn. It’s breaking my heart seeing our Friars play like this after losing the greatest person this organization ever had.