Knudson: Son of Mr. Padre

By Mark Knudson, The Mtn. Insider
April 6, 2011

Unlike his Hall of Fame father, Tony Gwynn Jr. was never destined to play his entire major league career wearing just one uniform. Of course, few players do these days, meaning Junior is much more the rule than the exception in that way. Still, seeing the son of “Mr. Padre” wearing Dodger Blue can be a bit disconcerting.

How could such a thing happen? This is Tony Gwynn we’re talking about.

Twenty seasons in a Padre uniform.

3,141 hits.

The guy who returned to his alma mater, San Diego State, to become the school’s head baseball coach. Yet here is Tony Jr., after spending a year and a half with the Padres, signing as a free agent during the offseason with the Padres archrivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gasp!

Junior admits it has taken some getting used to. He obviously grew up a huge fan of the Padres; rooting for the Dodgers was unthinkable. Even when his uncle, Chris (now a Padre front office exec), was playing for LA, all Tony Jr. could do was root for his uncle during each at bat, nothing more.

Yet when the opportunity presented itself this past winter, Gwynn didn’t hesitate to become a Dodger.

“I was just glad to get to stay in southern California,” he shrugged prior to a game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. “You know, you get a new general manager, a new regime, you struggle a little bit and they want to make changes. I’m okay with it and so is my Dad.

“You realize that it’s a business, and things like this happen.”

After starring – as his father did – at San Diego State (Junior was a Mountain West Conference All-Star as a junior when he hit .359 and stole 25 bases), the younger Gwynn got his first taste of the big leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers, which suited him just fine. “I think it helped me to get away from home and learn about the game and everything that goes with it.”

It was during his time as a Brewer that Gwynn made his most memorable mark on the Padres. He crippled the playoff hopes of his hometown team on the second-to-last day of the 2007 regular season by lacing a ninth inning, two out triple off Trevor Hoffman. The Padres lost the next day as well, ending up in that memorable one-game play-off with the Colorado Rockies. San Diego lost in extra innings at Coors Field the next day and their season ended with a thud.

A year and a half later, while eating lunch with a teammate before a Triple A game in Portland, Junior got a call on his cell phone from his father. “You’ve been traded,” the elder Gwynn said. “Guess where? You’re a Padre!”

It’s easy to imagine the thrill in the voice of Tony Sr. as he told his son he was returning home to play for the team Dad still broadcasts games for (when they don’t conflict with the Aztecs schedule). That makes it hard to swallow now, doesn’t it? How would Mr. Hatfield feel about his son signing with the McCoys?

They’re making the best of it. Gwynn Jr. is fitting in with the Dodgers, playing left field and hitting second in the lineup. Tony Sr., who did get to coach his son for one season at SDSU, continues to try to build a consistent winner on the Mesa.

So how was Dad to play for?

“He’s definitely a players coach,” Tony Jr. smiled. “But he can get tough when he has to.”

He might have wanted to get tough before he let his son sign with the McCoys.

See all of Mark Knudson's blog entries HERE.