CBS Sports – Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn has died at age 54, MLB and the Padres have announced.
Gwynn had been battling cancer since 2010, when he had an operation to remove cancerous lymph nodes from his parotid gland. He later had surgery to remove a malignant tumor from the inside of his right cheek in 2012 and recently had to take a leave of absence from coaching San Diego State due to his cancer treatments.
During his playing career, Gwynn was one of the best contact and average hitters in MLB history. He was an eight-time batting champion who hit .338/.388/.459 (132 OPS+) with 3,141 hits in his career. In 10,232 career plate appearances, he only struck out 434 times.
A 15-time All-Star, Gwynn led the league in hits seven times. He also won five Gold Gloves and seven Silver Sluggers. His .338 career batting average ranks 20th in MLB history. He’s 19th in hits and his 543 doubles rank 28th in MLB history.
Gwynn played in two World Series for the Padres, in 1984 and 1998.
Though he never won MVP, Gwynn finished in the top 10 of MVP voting seven times.
In 2007, Gwynn received 97.6 percent of the vote in his first and only time on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot.
Gwynn is survived by his wife, Alicia, son, Tony Jr., and daughter Anisha Nicole.
