Tony Gwynn Sr broke the good news to his son, while his son was eating breakfast, the kid was traded to the San Diego Padres. Gwynn Jr grew up in San Diego, following his father all over Jack Murphy Stadium, while the elder Gwynn was starring for the Friars, on his way to a Hall of Fame career. Although the sequel is seldom as good as the original, Gwynn is hoping a fresh start will help his career.
Tony Jr bounced back in forth between the Milwaukee Brewers and the minor leagues, amassing a .248 batting average in 242 big league at bats. With Nashville this season, he was hitting .309 with a .387 onbase percentage, with 15 stolen bases. The Padres sent outfielder Jody Gerut to the Brewers in exchange for Gwynn.
“From what it sounded like, I was going to get an opportunity to play a lot. I don’t know how that’s going to work out,” Gwynn said. “I’m looking forward to coming home and putting that Padres uniform on.”
As for those inevitable comparisons with his father, Gwynn said he’s not too worried about them and that he understands he has to be himself.
“At the end of the day, it’s my job. If you go out and perform, then all of that pressure is eliminated,” he said. “At this point I think people have seen me enough to know I’m nothing like my father. It’s a different style of baseball. I’m going and playing my game.”