25 bids - Price: $170.50 - Watchers: 86. On April 30, 1996, three San Francisco pitchers held Gwynn hitless. Greg Maddux' Command. You never feel like youre getting in a real good swing, a swing youre happy with, a swing with follow-through, the San Diego star said. Greg Maddux has made a habit of handling hitters and even breaking their bats, as he did to five Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the World Series. Aztec Ticket Exchange. Keep in mind that this data only goes back to 1988, so we must adjust batters faced to 19,576 and intentional walks to 162. A year ago he suggested that today's livelier baseball would result in Gwynn hitting significantly more home runs without changing his swing. Tony Gwynn owned Greg Maddux, and Mad-Dog knew it. He hit .400 or better against eight different Cy Young winners -- Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Bret Saberhagen, Vida Blue, John Denny, Dennis Eckersley, Mark Davis and Doug Drabek -- and batted at . Some NFL teams dont make the grade, players say, New era of football begins at Mater Dei under coach Frank McManus. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Tony Gwynn and Greg Maddux. In his entire 20-year career, Gwynn struck out 434 times -- an average of 21.7 K's per season. The bad news is they are all in slightly cryptic puzzles. Since World War II, Gwynn is the only player to bat above .350 in five consecutive seasons (from 1993-97). He released his first book, Volume I of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs, in October of 2021. Heck, we knew, he knew and everyone else knew who was going to win that NL batting title before anyone even threw a pitch. Hes also drawn eight walks and whats more, is the only active batter whos faced Maddux more than a dozen times without ever striking out. He faced Greg Maddux 107 times, hit .415, and never struck out. In 103 plate appearances, Gwynn put the ball in play 93 times and walked 10 times. Tony Gwynn had 287 plate appearances against Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. Greg Maddux. . Did you know there were 97 hitters in the big leagues who whiffed at least 20 times just last month? His 6-for-7 performance raised Gwynns average to .357, though he would lose the batting title that season to Andres Galarraga, who batted .370 for Colorado. But not with Gwynn. Baseball News, Analysis, History, Schedule, Rumors. So let's talk Gwynn's hitting. 429 career average and he NEVER struck out against the Hall of Fame hurler. Here are nine incredible facts and stats from the career of Tony Gwynn. Doing the math shows us that only 3.2% of all hitters to face Greg Maddux from 1988 onward saw a 30 count, and one fourth of those were intentional walks. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. It dropped to 4.9% in 1993 and was only higher than 5% in one of his remaining seasons (2002). Gwynn has seven of those seasons, the most of any player in that span. Gwynn's .334 career second-half batting average is the third best in the last 50 years. It means Tony Gwynn would have had to go 0-for-his-next-1,183 to get his average to fall under .300 (and even then, it would have "plummeted" to a mere .29997). Greg Maddux vs. Tony Gwynn. He also had the second-most regular-season . Gwynn certainly did that. Tony Gwynn was the only player to have struck out Maddux 107 times. What's the Dodgers' plan at shortstop? We kid you not. In his entire 20-year career, Gwynn struck out 434 times -- an average of 21.7 K's per season. One reason was his pinpoint control, with his ability to notch front-corner strikes leading to claims that umpires gave him a much wider strike zone than the rest of the league. Here's how WBC offenses stack up with MLB's best. Is it wrong that I'm STILL not over letting him go as a free agent? Against Randy Johnson, however, Gwynn slashed .111/.111/.167 for a .278 OPS with no walks and five strikeouts in 18 PAs. For the 20-game batting streak in May and June, Gwynn hit an incredible .494 (39-for-79) with a .534 on-base percentage. Myth: Greg Maddux faced 20,421 batters during his career. Born: May 9, 1960 in Los Angeles, CA us Died: June 16, 2014 in Poway, CA Buried: Dearborn Memorial Park, Poway, CA . Madduxs walk rate during those two seasons was 10.1%, more than twice as high as the rest of his career. As Yahoo Sports' Eric Edholm dug up: Gwynn had 323 career at-bats against Maddux, Martinez, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz and struck out only . I'm looking for any Tony Gwynn or Greg Maddux cards that I need. Only 133 of them saw a 3-0 count. That's easily the highest average against Maddux for any player with at least 70 plate appearances. . How Many Times Did Maddux Strike Out Tony Gwynn? Gwynn got hits off Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton and Phil Niekro -- four men who won a combined 1,282 games. And he was proud of that. He thinks he might have an idea of why hes receiving some newfound fan support., An embarrassing graphic involving Russell Westbrook has gone viral. Ace of MLB Stats (@AceballStats) June 16, 2014. Last season, 129 players had struck out 22 times by the end of April. How incredible was Gwynns career batting mark? And Maddux knew it. 97 players struck out 20 or more times in May of 2014 alone (, If Gwynn went 0 for 4 for the next 295 games he would still have a career average over .300, per. Only Ty Cobb, who won 12, all before 1920, had more. Ronald Acuna vs Juan Soto Comparison. To find how many hitters faced a 30 count against Greg Maddux, we must look at the row labeled After 30. This brings us to the correct number 644. Those 13 walks are the most anyone has drawn. Evan is the owner and sole contributor of Thompson Talks, a website discussing the Big Four North American Pro Sports as well as soccer. NAME AB H HR RBI K AVG; Gwynn: 94: 39: 0: 9: 0.415: Maddux is indisputably one of the top pitchers in MLB history, racking up 355 career victories, four Cy Young Awards . Gwynn also had incredible success against many of the best strikeout pitchers. Share. Tony Gwynn broke Greg Maddux's spell. Barry Bonds TONY GWYNN Jeff Bagwell Ozzie Smith Greg Maddux PSA Auto Baseball. Well, heres the thing though: runs scored is not factored in WAR. However, since this is speculative, we cannot include that in the verdict. A. Aaron Judge; Aaron Nola; Adam Dunn; Adam Wainwright; Adrian Beltre; . Tony Gwynn stroked a run-scoring double for the San Diego Padres against the Chicago Cubs in 1994. . Sometimes hitters can pick up differences in spin. On Thursday night, the Clippers blew a halftime lead and lost 115-91 to the Golden State Warriors. In 2007, Gwynn was inducted into the Hall of Fame after receiving 532 of 545 votes -- the 10th-highest total in MLB history. Only 644 (that we know of; we are missing data for 1,166 batters) saw a 30 count and 153 came on intentional walks. Amazing strikeout stat No. He played in an era when it was big news if anyone even got within 50 points of that. As we outlined in #2 above, Gwynn tore apart Greg Maddux to the tune of a .429 career average and he NEVER struck out against the Hall of Fame hurler. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . San Diego State Aztecs. Evan Thompson is a member of the Roland Hemond (AZ) Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). In those three seasons, Maddux faced 3,060 batters, and 158 roughly 5.1% saw a 30 count. And none of these pitchers ever struck him out: Pedro Martinez (35 AB), Hideo Nomo (25 AB), Mike Hampton (33 AB) or, incredibly, Maddux (in 94 AB). In the history of baseball, only Ty Cobb and Nap Lajoie got there faster -- and when they played, the gloves were made of the same material as those trains they rode on. Free shipping for many products! That brought up Gwynn, hitting better than .500 lifetime against the Cub ace. Twins' Balazovic had mouth wired shut after 'sucker punch' f MLB sets up local media group, could broadcast 17 teams, Report: Padres add Odor on minor-league deal, The ultimate, personalized mobile sports experience, 7 Cubs pitchers combine to no-hit Padres in spring game, Red Sox use shift loophole to counter Twins' Gallo, Top plays in World Baseball Classic history, Scherzer tests pitch clock limits, gets quick-pitch balk, Ex-Met Wright: Judge facing 'pressure' with new contract, captaincy. The great players are usually the ones who are able to maintain their skills later than their contemporaries. Everybody in the stadium is shocked. Gwynn has hit .342 against those elite pitchers, including .364 against those still active and .406 against Atlanta's Tri-Young winners, Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. 1994 Quality Starts. His 45 games with at least four hits is 10th all-time (since 1954), and ranks fourth among left-handed batters behind Wade Boggs, George Brett, and Rod Carew. There are batting, pitching, and fielding stats available for every player on the site. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . That's 49 fewer punchouts than Miguel Cabrera's lowest total in a year. They can identify pitches if there are different release points or if a curveball starts with an upward hump as it leaves the pitchers hand. Because, thanks to him, you never had to dread that annual spring assignment of picking the batting champ. Did you know that Greg Maddux is the only pitcher in Major . Its mind-blowing. Mike Trout Goes to show just how dominant the Big Unit could be, even against one of the best hitters in baseball history. Reggie Jackson's Record-breaking Strikeouts How other hitters have done in the regular season with Maddux, according to STATS, Inc.: * Barry Bonds has hit six home runs, the most against Maddux. While others hit (and will continue to hit) for more power, no other hitter in my lifetime has been better at using his bat to get on Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. In the other 19, the batter put the ball in play. Gwynn batted .331/.371/.426. That will include, among pitchers, Greg M. Basically if you're a legendary pitcher, good luck with Tony Gwynn. Every other player who had a career batting average of .338 or better played before 1940. . But Gwynn played a pivotal role in that game, nonetheless, singling in the eighth, and scoring the tying run in the 10th after reaching on an error. This statement further cements his reputation as a control artist. Theres no need to add myths to the equation. Pete Rose vs Tony Gwynn Comparison. Gwynn hit below .300 just once in his career, Gwynn struck out less than 20 times in six straight seasons with a career-low 15 times in 1995. Mike Mussina stifled Ken Griffey Jr. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy spoke with reporters on Wednesday from the, The Los Angeles Dodgers took a chance on Jason Heyward this offseason, and their move seems to be paying off. I dont know that much about baseball but I wonder why Tony Gwynns WAR ranking is so low. We can make a rough estimate, however, by using the count data from 1988 to 1990, which was the last season Maddux had a walk rate that was 7.0% or higher. Gregory Alan Maddux was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Chicago Cubs (1986-1998), Atlanta Braves (1993-2003), Chicago Cubs (2004-2006), Los Angeles Dodgers (2006), San Diego Padres (2007-2008), and Los Angeles Dodgers (2008). If Maddux was the robot of pitchers, then Tony Gwynn is the robot of hitters. Answer (1 of 8): I would say Tony Gwynn. Gwynn finished his career batting .302 with two strikes. Eric Karros, though, hasnt been so fortunate. In the 14 seasons from 1984 through 1997, Gwynn finished in the top five in the batting race 13 times. Maddux didnt strike Gwynn out a single time NOT ONCE. Gwynn was hitting .390 as late as August 5, 1997, but cooled in late August and September and settled for a .372 average and his eighth batting title. Maddux summed it up perfectly. What's league average for batting average with bases loaded? So, as a result, in 287 plate appearances against Hall of Famers Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz, Gwynn only struck out three times while hitting .381. Gwynn's 60th celebrated all day, Sat. But Gwynn got every one of his hits in the National League. In his 20 seasons, Gwynn posted 45 games in which he had at least four hits: 35 with four hits, nine with five hits, and one with six hits. In that game, Gwynn lined a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth off Dennis Eckersley to tie the game and send it to extra innings. That six-hit game deserves closer examination. I read earlier that in 323 combined career PAs against Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Pedro Martinez, Gwynn struck out only three times. Aztec Game Videos. Last season, 129 players had struck out 22 times by the end of April. It means that there are 312 plate appearances that ended on a 30 count. A few moments later, Pedro Martinez (not THAT Pedro, the other Pedro Martinez), laid down a suicide squeeze that scored Ricky Gutierrez with the winning run from third. He banged out three hits two nights later against the Dodgers, two more in each of his next two games against the Marlins, and he didnt stop hitting, building a 20-game hitting streak that ran until June 10th. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Lakers playoff hopes take another hit after comeback fades vs. Minnesota, Ducks strike with a pair of late power-play goals to defeat Canadiens, With Norman Powell out, Clippers are edged at Sacramento for fifth loss in a row, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, 15 arrested across L.A. County in crackdown on fraudulent benefit cards, UCLA stuns top-seeded Stanford in Pac-12 womens basketball tournament semifinals, UCLAs senior trio has persevered in restoring the Bruins to national prominence, Harvard-Westlakes Bryce Rainer fires out 92-mph fastballs in first start since 2021, Hes taken the next step: How Boogie Ellis found his game as USCs point guard, Even after Gavin Lux injury, Andrew Friedman hints at patient approach with roster, Elliott: After trading away Jonathan Quick, Kings make more deals ahead of trade deadline, Hidden, illegal casinos are booming in L.A., with organized crime reaping big profits, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles. The baseball world was mourning the passing of one of its most beloved players on Monday, as San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn lost his battle with cancer at the age of 54. Tony Gwynn collected more regular season hits against Greg Maddux than any other batter (39 in 33 games). Finally, in 1998, the Padres advanced past the Houston Astros in the NLDS (this was the year Houston traded at the deadline for Randy Johnson), then beat the Atlanta Braves and their troika of aces in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz in the NLCS, before getting swept in the World Series by the New York Yankees; Gwynn only batted .200 .