Why Tony Gwynn is such a big deal in San Diego

If you spend any time in San Diego you will hear the name, see the statue, or notice the number 19 on somebody's back. Tony Gwynn is not simply the best player the Padres have had — he is the figure the franchise's whole sense of itself is built around, and the reason is as much about staying as about hitting.

The numbers

Eight batting titles ties the National League record set by Honus Wagner. Add fifteen All-Star selections and five Gold Gloves, and the case is closed on its own. But the statistic people here reach for first is .394 in 1994 — a season cut short by the players' strike, in which Gwynn was hitting at a level nobody in the majors had managed since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. The strike ended the season in August. He never got the chance to chase it down.

Twenty seasons, one uniform

Gwynn played from 1982 to 2001 and never played for anyone else. In an era when the Padres were frequently not good and free agency was available to him, he stayed. That is the part older San Diegans will tell you about before they mention the batting titles — a city that watched an NFL franchise leave and a stadium come down has a particular feeling about the man who stayed.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, on the first ballot, with 97.6% of the vote. His number 19 is retired by the Padres, alongside 6 (Steve Garvey), 31 (Dave Winfield), 35 (Randy Jones), 51 (Trevor Hoffman) and 42, retired across all of baseball for Jackie Robinson.

Where to find him at the ballpark

The Gwynn statue stands in Gallagher Square, the lawn beyond centre field at Petco Park, next to the Tony Gwynn Terrace. That part of the ballpark opens to the public on certain non-event days, so you do not necessarily need a game ticket to go and look at it — see our tip on Gallagher Square.