’Pen Pal
A couple of baseball icons have decided to retire from the game they've played so well for so many years. Cal Ripken of the Baltimore Orioles and Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres are saying aloha. Cooperstown gets
another bat and gloveTony Gwynn began his Major League career in 1982, and all of his big league seasons were spent with the Padres. Not many players today can say they played for only one team. Gwynn has won eight batting titles and has a career batting average of .338, which ranks him in the top 20 of all-time.
I believe that Ted Williams was the best hitter who ever played the game, but some serious consideration must be given Gwynn as one of the best. Gwynn was certainly the best hitter of the past 20 years. There can't be a lot of argument there. There are those, as there always will be, who will claim that Gwynn doesn't deserve the accolades he has received because he isn't a team player. Well, maybe he hasn't always put the team ahead of himself, but we're not talking about team here. We're talking about a pure hitter.
Gwynn has been legendary in his quest to be the best. He has been known to take a VCR on road trips to be able to review his daily at bats. Not many players can say they do that!
Gwynn's swing is a thing to behold, even today. His swing stays level through the hitting zone, giving him a better chance of solid contact. He can be described as a contact, line-drive type of hitter with more power than he's been given credit for. Gwynn can drive the ball out of the park, but has chosen to be a hitter for average, not power.
In two seasons, Gwynn will become the head coach at San Diego State University, replacing Jim Dietz, the man who coached him. Since the SDSU stadium is named after Gwynn, how could the job go to anyone else?
Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle are my favorite players of the past. My favorite player of the present is Cal Ripken. Cal, I'll call him Cal because I know him, also began his MLB career in 1981, the year before his streak began. From the moment he started his first game until he ended it in 1998, Cal had played an amazing 2,632 consecutive games. He also has played for only one team.
Cal wasn't known for his hitting, he is a career .277 hitter, but rather his defense. He does have, however, 431 home runs. He set the bar a little higher for shortstops, being such a big guy, at 6-4. Teams began looking everywhere for a shortstops that size.
THETHINGTHAT separated Cal from most players is his humility. He is truly a nice guy. He has spent quite a bit of time in Hawaii with his clinics, and has thought nothing of hanging out with us local coaches, all of whom were in awe that "The Man" was in our presence.
What does separate these two men from others in their generation, is the respect they have shown for the game. They have shown nothing but class and dignity in their years as ball players, not to mention talent.
When the required five-year waiting period is over, Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn will undoubtedly be first ballot selections for the Baseball Hall of Fame. They deserve it.
Pal Eldredge is a baseball commentator for KFVE
and former varsity baseball coach at Punahou School.
His column runs Mondays during the Major League Baseball season.
Star-Bulletin sports can be reached at 529-4785 or: sports@starbulletin.com