re: Will there ever be another Tony Gwynn?

I wonder how TG would have done today with the glut of power arms in the game. he would have no doubt had higher slugging numbers but I wonder if he would have higher Ks too just from being occasionally outmatched by a 98/99 mph pitch

I know he saw heat in his day, just wondering if the higher volume of heat would have made a difference to him good or bad. Higher speed fastballs tend to be straighter, he may have simply crushed pitching today. Looking at the numbers versus Maddux/Glavine etc he effectively handled low 90s with movement

we watched a lot of west coast baseball and a lot of Gwynn, the only way to really strike him out was have him incorrectly guessing speed. You really didnt blow it by him unless he was just looking for off speed and got busted.

The one pitcher Tony Gwynn could not hit

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Frank DiPino spent more than a decade in the big leagues, and he pitched in more than 500 games. He was a hard-throwing lefty and useful out of the bullpen, his best seasons coming with the Astros, Cubs, and Cardinals. He was never a LOOGY, but he was a situational lefty, which is what they called the wrong-handed middle relievers in those days. One year in Houston, DiPino saved 20 games.

But Frank may have been in the majors for one reason and one only: to get out one of the best hitters in history.

Tony Gwynn won eight batting titles and hit .300 in 19 of his 20 major league seasons. He had a swing that made pitchers cry themselves to sleep. He had a special knack for hitting screaming line drives between third and shortstop. Gwynn hit .429 against the best pitcher of his generation, who might have been the best pitcher of all-time. .429!

But Tony Gwynn couldn’t hit Frank DiPino.

Who the hell is Frank DiPino? Sounds like a character from The Sopranos.

contd

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Tony Gwynn is my favorite player.

A cards fan but watched a lot of TBS WGN... so it was always great when the Braves Cubs played STL or SD

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Maybe, but the same analytics LOVE OBP. Gwynn would be the guy that uses the shifts to hit .500

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No one would shift against him. That would be stupid.

No because he's dead.

Tony won 8 batting titles and hit over 300 in 19 of 20 seasons….

Let this sink in for a minute…

I thought there was already another Tony Gwynn

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They wouldn’t shift for Gwynn come on man.

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No they would not.
And he would continue to do what he always did...
hit 'em where they ain't.


Maybe the best pure hitter of all time.
The only others I would even consider in his league would be Ty Cobb and Pete Rose.

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Rogers Hornsby was a beast. As was Rod Carew.

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OK, so now we have our top 5.

There will never be another player with his strike out rate for sure

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In 2,440 career games, Gwynn struck out 3 times in a game:

Once

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